Group Training for Psychiatric Residents: Support Group Facilitation and Supervision with Didactics

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Medical Education
• Psychotherapy Training

Background:

• Group psychotherapy training is crucial for psychiatry residents but often limited by curriculum constraints.
• Implementing effective group facilitation training presents educational challenges within residency programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of a voluntary support group training intervention on psychiatry residents' self-reported skills and knowledge in group facilitation.
• To evaluate a novel educational model combining didactic instruction with experiential group facilitation and supervision.

Main Methods:

• A voluntary training intervention was provided to psychiatry residents (PGY I-IV).
• The intervention included a 6-hour didactic series followed by at least 6 months of group facilitation and supervision.
• Self-report surveys with Likert scales and open-ended questions were administered pre- and post-intervention to assess skill and knowledge.

Main Results:

• Twenty-three residents participated in the didactic component; 12 completed the experiential phase.
• Post-intervention surveys indicated a significant increase in self-reported knowledge and skills in group facilitation (88% of respondents).

Conclusions:

• The novel educational intervention successfully enhanced psychiatry residents' self-reported group facilitation knowledge and skills.
• Future research should focus on incorporating feedback, utilizing objective assessment measures, and exploring peer-to-peer mentoring.