Demonstration videos of psychodynamic and systemic techniques in clinical psychology education

Demonstration videos are an innovative method for teaching approach-specific techniques. This randomised-controlled study examines the impact of approach-specific demonstration videos on students’ practical skills. Undergraduate psychology students (N = 123) received approach-specific instructional texts and were then randomised into one of four groups in preparation for a standardised simulation. In two intervention groups (IGs), students watched a video on either psychodynamic or systemic techniques, whereas the control groups (CGs) reviewed the respective instructional text again. In the real-life simulation with a standardised patient, trained psychologists rated approach-specific techniques using behavioural anchors. Students in the systemic IG performed significantly better in systemic techniques (M = 3.91) than those in the systemic CG (M = 3.11), p < .001, d = 1.03. There was no significant difference in the implementation of psychodynamic techniques between the psychodynamic IG (M = 3.22) and CG (M = 3.41), p = .477, d = − 0.19. These findings indicate that students can practically implement techniques from demonstration videos. Videos requiring a more comprehensive theoretical background and insight into psychotherapists’ thought processes might be less beneficial for undergraduate students. Further studies are necessary to explore the long-term development of skills through demonstration videos.