Deliberate practice exercises help students and trainees rehearse
fundamental child and adolescent psychotherapy skills to develop basic
competence and hone their own personal therapeutic style.
Each book in the Essentials of Deliberate Practice series contains
customized exercises consisting of role-playing scenarios in which two
trainees act as a client and a therapist, switching back and forth under
the guidance of a supervisor. The trainee playing the therapist
improvises appropriate and authentic responses to a series of client
statements organized into three difficulty levels--beginner,
intermediate, and advanced--that reflect common problems and concerns
encountered by practitioners who work with children and adolescents.
The first 12 exercises each focus on a single skill, such as observing
and elaborating on play, exploring identity through a multicultural
orientation, and addressing difficult issues like safety concerns and
sex. These are followed by two comprehensive exercises--an annotated
transcript and free-form mock therapy sessions--in which trainees
integrate these essential skills into a single session.
Step-by-step instructions guide participants through the exercises,
identify criteria for mastering each skill, and explain how to monitor
and adjust difficulty. Guidelines and forms to help trainers and
trainees get the most out of training are also provided.
