Pilot study of implementing Managing and Adapting Practice in a German psychotherapy master's program.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Mental Health Care
• Educational Reform

Background:

• Systemic implementation of evidence-based practices (EBP) in youth mental health care remains limited.
• Fragmented evidence bases pose challenges for effective practice implementation.
• A novel direct service model, Managing and Adapting Practice (MAP), aims to consolidate the evidence base.

Purpose of the Study:

• To pilot the feasibility of implementing the MAP model within a reformed psychotherapy training curriculum in Germany.
• To evaluate student perceptions, knowledge acquisition, and confidence in using EBP after MAP training.

Main Methods:

• A pilot study involving master's students at Philipps-University Marburg.
• Training included seminars on MAP, role-playing, and supervised application in case seminars.
• A repeated-measures survey assessed knowledge, perception, and self-rated confidence in EBP.

Main Results:

• Students perceived the MAP model as manageable to learn.
• Positive changes were observed in student knowledge and self-reported confidence in using EBP.
• Limitations include small sample size, lack of statistical power, and absence of comparison groups.

Conclusions:

• The MAP model demonstrates feasibility for integration into psychotherapy training.
• Further research with larger, diverse samples and control groups is needed to generalize findings.
• The study highlights implications for future investigations into EBP implementation in mental health training.