Teaching transference focused psychotherapy to South African mental health practitioners

Personality disorders (PDs) are estimated to occur in 6.8% of South Africans and in 45% to 80% of clinical populations. Mental health practitioners often harbour negative attitudes and lack confidence in working with such patients. Brief training in transference focused psychotherapy (TFP) has been shown to improve attitudes and confidence in the management of clinical encounters with PD.

This study aimed to describe the characteristics of attendees at a brief TFP training workshop and determine the impact of training on attitudes and clinical confidence towards patients with PD.

We conducted two 3 h online workshops, spaced 1 week apart to staff at South African University training hospitals.

At baseline, participants (N = 41) completed questionnaires on demographics, perceived need for training, supervision adequacy and perceived confidence. At baseline and after the second session, the Attitude to Personality Disorder Questionnaire (APDQ) and the Clinical Confidence in Personality Disorder Questionnaire (CCPDQ) were completed. Longitudinal data were analysed using linear mixed-effects regression.

In the completer sample (N = 13), there were significant improvements in the APDQ enthusiasm subscale (p = 0.029) and in clinical confidence (CCPDQ) (p = 0.032). The APDQ total and other subscales also showed improvements. Participants with higher baseline confidence were more likely to drop out.

Brief training in TFP can lead to significant improvements in attitude and confidence in managing patients with PD.

This is the first study in the South African context demonstrating the potential value of brief teaching in TFP.