Psychotherapy Practices and Training Experiences: A National Survey of Young Thai Psychiatrists

Psychotherapy Practices and Training Experiences:

A National Survey of Young Thai Psychiatrists

Thammanard Charernboon MD*,

Muthita Phanasathit MD*

* Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Thammasat University, Pathumthani, Thailand

Objective: To survey the psychotherapy practices among young Thai psychiatrists, including perceptions pertaining to training experience and satisfaction of psychotherapy supervision.

Material and Method: The present study employed a cross-sectional descriptive survey. The sample consisted of all psychiatrists aged 40 years old or under. A questionnaire was developed by the research team and mailed to 142 young psychiatrists.

Results: There were 82 responders (57.7% response rate). The majority of the responding psychiatrists (80.5%) expressed their willingness to perform psychotherapy, however 57 of them (69.6%) were actually practicing it for 4 hours or less per month. Additionally, 41.5% had no self-confidence in using psychological interventions. The common barriers to practicing psychotherapy reported were lack of time to practice (85.4%), and no psychotherapy advisor (54.9%). Regarding psychotherapy training experience, 67.1% indicated that the training was sufficient. Types of psychotherapy training that young psychiatrists had received the most were supportive psychotherapy, Satir’s systemic psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, respectively. The main factor affecting specific psychotherapy training experiences was the difference in the availability of training courses offered between the institutes. In regards to perceptions of psychotherapy supervision, 72.0% of the sample satisfied with psychotherapy supervision, although they had received an average of 4.8 hours per month only.

Conclusion: Most of young Thai psychiatrists showed positive attitude to psychotherapy, and also preferred further training. However, they performed psychotherapy in their work only a few hours per month due to heavy workloads, no supervisor andlack of confidence. The findings may have implications for individuals who are interested in the improvement of the quality and standard of the residency training program.

Keywords: Psychotherapy practice, Psychotherapy training, Thai, Psychiatrist

J Med Assoc Thai 2011; 94 (Suppl. 7): S95-S101
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