Clinical trial NCT03038347: Training of Cross-cultural Competencies in Psychotherapists
Official title: Evaluation of an Internet-based Training Program to Improve Cross-cultural Competencies in Psychotherapists
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Healthy Volunteers
Keywords: cross-cultural competencies
internet-based training
cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT)
psychotherapy training
competence training
Lead sponsor: Philipps University Marburg
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
First posted: 2017-01-31
Enrollment: 173
Sex: ALL
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Brief summary: The purpose of this study is to determine whether a web-based training program with text-based information as well as practical exercises can improve cross-cultural competencies in therapists.

Detailed description: As the number of patients from diverse cultures increases in psychotherapeutic care, cross-cultural competencies of therapists become increasingly important. In particular, mental health care of patients with immigration background needs to be improved as studies show that these patients drop out of treatment more often and benefit less from therapy. In addition, patients with immigration background and refugees show higher prevalences in mental illnesses. Nevertheless, evaluated training programs to improve cross-cultural competencies in psychotherapists are lacking. In particular, web-based training programs, which allow therapists to work time-flexible and at their own pace on a training, are, to date, missing completely.

For the current study, a web-based training program to improve therapists' cross-cultural competencies was developed. It is based on existing conceptions of cross-cultural competencies. The developed program consists of six modules with the following contents: definitions and conceptions of culture, the role of cross-cultural competencies in psychotherapy, the influence of prejudices and discrimination as well as the role of migration and acculturation, and culturally sensitive diagnostics. The modules contain PDF-files with text-based information, video files, case studies with associated questions as well as practical exercises. The main focus of the training is the participants' self-reflection concerning their conceptions of (their own) culture and their beliefs about culturally diverse patients. The training group will be compared to two other groups, i.e. an education only and a waitlist control group. Whereas the waitlist control group will not receive any training materials, the education only group will receive a slimmed down version of the training consisting only of text-based information files.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* current psychotherapeutic work
* Internet access
* sufficient German language skills
* ongoing or completed training in Psychotherapy

Exclusion Criteria:

* too much previous knowledge about cross-cultural competencies (\> 10h training)

Primary outcomes:
measure: Transcultural Competencies of Psychotherapists Questionnaire (TKKP; Reichardt et. al., in prep.)
timeFrame: pre-training, post-training (6 weeks after the start of the training); follow up (6 month after training completion)
measure: Multicultural Counseling Inventory (MCI; Sodowsky, 1994)
timeFrame: pre-training, post-training (6 weeks after the start of the training); follow-up (6 month after training completion)
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Cultural sensitivity in actual psychotherapeutic work I
timeFrame: pre-training, post-training (6 weeks after the start of the training), follow-up (6 month after training completion)
measure: Cultural sensitivity in actual psychotherapeutic work II
timeFrame: pre-training, post-training (6 weeks after the start of the training), follow-up (6 month after training completion)
measure: Cultural sensitivity in actual psychotherapeutic work III
timeFrame: pre-training, post-training (6 weeks after the start of the training), follow-up (6 month after training completion)
measure: Cultural sensitivity in actual psychotherapeutic work IV
timeFrame: pre-training, post-training (6 weeks after the start of the training), follow-up (6 month after training completion)
measure: Knowledge regarding the provision of cross-cultural psychotherapy
timeFrame: post-training (6 weeks after the start of the training)
measure: Training satisfaction scale
timeFrame: post-training (6 weeks after the start of the training); follow-up (6 month after training completion)
measure: Learning success scale
timeFrame: post-training (6 weeks after the start of the training); follow-up (6 month after training completion)
measure: Cultural sensitivity in psychotherapeutic work (Behavioural change measure)
timeFrame: post-training (6 weeks after the start of the training), 2 months after training completion; follow-up (6 month after training completion)
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Marburg
country: Germany
facility: Philipps University Marburg
state: Hessen
Study officials:
affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Philipps University Marburg
name: Cornelia Weise, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Philipps University Marburg
name: Winfried Rief, PhD
role: STUDY_CHAIR
affiliation: Department of Transcultural Psychology, Humboldt University Berlin
name: Ulrike von Lersner, PhD
role: STUDY_CHAIR
affiliation: Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping University
name: Gerhard Andersson, PhD
role: STUDY_CHAIR
References:
citation: Fazel M, Wheeler J, Danesh J. Prevalence of serious mental disorder in 7000 refugees resettled in western countries: a systematic review. Lancet. 2005 Apr 9-15;365(9467):1309-14. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)61027-6.
citation: Gaitanides, S. (2001). Zugangsbarrieren von Migrant (inn) en zu den sozialen und psychosozialen Diensten und Strategien interkultureller Öffnung. In G. Auernheimer (Hrsg.), Migration als Herausforderung für pädagogische Institutionen (pp. 181-194). Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien.
citation: Mösko, M., Baschin, K., Längst, G., & von Lersner, U. (2012). Interkulturelle Trainings für die psychosoziale Versorgung. Psychotherapeut, 57(1), 15-21.
citation: Mosko MO, Pradel S, Schulz H. [The care of people with a migration background in psychosomatic rehabilitation]. Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz. 2011 Apr;54(4):465-74. doi: 10.1007/s00103-011-1245-x. German.
citation: Reichardt, J., von Lersner, U., Rief, W., & Weise, C. (in Vorb.). Entwicklung und Validierung des Inventars zur Erfassung transkultureller Kompetenzen bei Psychotherapeuten (TKKP).
citation: Sodowsky, G. R., Taffe, R. C., Gutkin, T. B., & Wise, S. L. (1994). Development of the Multicultural Counseling Inventory: A Self-Report Measure of Multicultural Competencies. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 41(2), 137-148.
citation: Sue, D. W., Arredondo, P., & McDavis, R. J. (1992). Multicultural counseling competencies and standards: A call to the profession. Journal of Counseling & Development, 70(4), 477-486.
citation: Reichardt, J., von Lersner, U., Rief, W., & Weise, C. (2017). Wie lassen sich transkulturelle Kompetenzen bei Psychotherapeuten steigern? Vorstellung eines webbasierten Trainingsprogramms [How to improve cross-cultural competencies in psychotherapists? Introduction of a web-based training program]. Zeitschrift für Psychiatrie, Psychologie und Psychotherapie, 65(3), 155-165. doi:10.1024/1661-4747/a000316