The Clinical Experience of Therapists in a Training Program

This study examined the relationship between student-therapists clinical experience and three therapeutic factors shown in the literature to be associated with client outcome - the therapy alliance, the number of dropouts, and the number of completed sessions therapists have with their clients. Data were gathered from 24 student-therapists and 420 cases seen at an accredited Marriage and Family Therapy program in the Southeast. Clinical experience was measured using two formats: Time in the training program and the number of client-contact hours accrued by student-therapists. Results showed a negative, significant relationship between clinical experience and the number of dropouts, and a positive, significant relationship between clinical experience and the number of sessions completed with clients.