Rolling with resistance: what clients said after the training

The study: A secondary analysis of the Westra et al. trial. Interviews by 60 community therapists with ambivalent simulated or volunteer clients, four months after training, were coded for client language.

What they found: Interviewees of therapists trained with deliberate practice produced significantly less resistant talk (statements opposing the therapist) than interviewees of therapists from the traditional workshop.

Why it matters for practice: Resistant talk is linked to poorer outcomes. If practice-based training reduces it, the benefit may reach the conversation itself, not only the therapist's skill score.

Di Bartolomeo, A. A., Shukla, S., Westra, H. A., Shekarak Ghashghaei, N., & Olson, D. A. (2021). Rolling with resistance: A client language analysis of deliberate practice in continuing education for psychotherapists. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 21(2), 433–441. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12335