Deliberate Practice with Motivational Interviewing: Basic Listening Skills for Undergraduates

Background Training in professional psychology is moving beyond knowledge-based education and toward competency-based education. Similarly, experiential learning, focused more on skills than facts, is emphasized in undergraduate education. Few studies, however, have investigated the use of skill-based learning for clinically relevant skills in undergraduate psychology courses. Objective This study investigated deliberate practice as a skill-based method for training undergraduates to use basic Motivational Interviewing and reflective listening skills. Method In an upper-level undergraduate clinical psychology course, students were randomly assigned to an MI workshop that included deliberate practice to learn basic reflective listening skills or a waitlist control group. Results In both between (workshop versus waitlist) and within (pre versus post) group comparisons, students’ ability to use reflective listening improved as evaluated by raters, blind to condition, and in self-report measures of MI knowledge and skill. Conclusion Deliberate practice may be effectively incorporated into undergraduate courses to prepare novice helpers with basic listening skills. Teaching Implications Competency-based training in listening skills may help undergraduate students prepare for graduate school in the helping professions or any of multiple post-graduation professions not requiring professional training and licensure.