The dalhousie family therapy training program: our 6-year experience

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Psychology
• Social Work
• Family Therapy Education

Background:

• Family therapy training is often lacking or poorly defined in general psychiatry residency curricula, particularly during child rotations.
• This gap limits residents' exposure to essential family assessment and intervention skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe an interdisciplinary, experiential family therapy course for psychiatry residents.
• To evaluate the course's impact on resident training during child psychiatry rotations.

Main Methods:

• An interdisciplinary, systemic-reflective course was developed based on 6 years of experience with 56 trainees (psychiatry, social work, psychology).
• The model emphasized experiential learning, with integrated skill-building for trainees and supervisors reflecting on their roles.

Main Results:

• Residents reported extremely high satisfaction with the course upon completion of their rotation.
• The training successfully introduced residents to family assessment and systemic principles.

Conclusions:

• Experiential, interdisciplinary courses introducing family assessment and systemic/reflective principles are highly valuable for psychiatry residents.
• Such training provides skills with lasting benefits for practicing psychiatrists, enhancing their ability to work with families.