GRADUATE TRAINING IN PSYCHOTHERAPY - ARE THERAPY OUTCOMES ENHANCED

Several sources of indirect evidence supporting the value of graduate training in psychotherapy are reviewed here. Training protocols that a re known to enhance trainees' skills are briefly discussed, as are con clusions of meta-analytic reviews examining relationships between ther apist experience and training, and therapy outcome. An updated meta-an alysis of therapy outcome studies involving within-study comparisons o f psychotherapists of different levels of training and experience is s ummarized. It is concluded that a variety of outcome sources are assoc iated with modest effect sizes favoring more trained therapists. In ma ny outpatient settings, therapists with more training tend to suffer f ewer therapy dropouts than less trained therapists. Shortcomings of av ailable research and speculations about possible variables influencing outcomes are discussed.