Therapy Bites : Promoting Competence in Psychotherapy Through an Exploration of Vampire Fiction Ashley Jones, MD, Leslie Frinks, MD, Nioaka Campbell, MD Linda Hazlett, PhD, Rudolph Parrish, PhD and April Carpenter, MD INTRODUCTION: T hrough the years psychiatrists have used literature and film to enhance training in psychotherapy and psychiatric assessments. One concern often reported by psychiatry residents is their timidity in formulating a psychological assessment and treatment plan. Educational emphasis on biological psychiatry and manual based therapies often leaves residents seeking additional supervision in their clinical training. With the recent change in requirements of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology regarding competency in psychotherapies, it is crucial that residents are able to demonstrate the appropriate knowledge of psychological formulations, displaying confidence in their assessments and treatment recommendations. Incorporating popular fiction or media into training can be a useful tool in engaging residents in their development. USA Today’s top 100 titles of 2008 were Twilight, New Moon, Breaking Dawn, and Eclipse, the four novels in the Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer. This vampire fictional literature was read and discussed in a 12 week literary elective consisting of residents at multiple levels of training and attending physicians. This poster reviews the effectiveness of a literary elective in improving resident knowledge of psychological formulations and defense mechanisms. Changes in confidence levels for the ability to formulate psychological frameworks, recognize defense mechanisms and present biopsychosocial formulations is reviewed. Funding source: None EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: 1.Assess the understanding of psychological frameworks and formulation in psychiatry residents at various levels of training 2.Evaluate the effectiveness of a literary elective in improving core knowledge of psychological formulations and defense mechanisms 3.Compare the qualitative confidence level of psychiatry residents in presenting biopsychosocial assessments pre and post literary elective 4. Identify future implications for resident electives within a curriculum that may enhance training in psychotherapy and psychological formulations METHODS: This proposal was approved for IRB exemption  12 weeks, voluntary participants, De-identified  Pre-/Post- Surveys included knowledge questions, qualitative confidence level assessments and Counseling Self-Estimate Inventory 1 RECOMMENDATIONS:  Residency training programs should strive to identify and incorporate innovative ways to enhance psychotherapy training  Literature and media may facilitate further educational development References 1 Beitman B, Yue D: Learning Psychotherapy, New York, WW Norton & Company, Meissner WW: Theories of Personality and Psychopathology. In Kaplan and Sadock’s Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, 8th ed, vol 1. Edited by Sadock BJ, Sadock VA. Philadelphia, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005, pp 701– Misch, DA: Psychosocial Formulation Training Using Commercial Films. Acad Psychiatry 2000; 24: Zerby, SA: Using the Science Fiction Film Invaders From Mars in a Child Psychiatry Seminar. Acad Psychiatry 2005; 29: RESULTS: KNOWLEDGE (35 questions)  Average Pre-test score 57.9%  Average Post-test score 71.7%  Increase of 13.8% (p =0.016) POST TEST QUALITATIVE (Survey)  36.4% felt more comfortable writing formulations  63.6% felt more comfortable recognizing defense mechanisms  54.6% felt more comfortable using terms transference and object relations  72.3% felt more comfortable recognizing psychological developmental tasks POST TEST QUALITATIVE (Beitman, Yue)  31/37 questions indicated positive change  Mean improvement significant (p=0.05)  Average improvement (95% confidence interval)  6/37 questions showed lack of improvement CONCLUSIONS:  This 12 week literary elective reviewing vampire fiction increased the residents’ knowledge of defense mechanisms and psychological development  Resident confidence/comfort levels increased in writing and assessing psychological formulations  Counseling Self-Assessment Inventories revealed overall positive change in self assessments for the resident group, indicative of increased confidence as therapists overall  Participants were self-selected  Results included all participants regardless of % attendance Copyright © 2005 by Stephenie Meyer PRE-POST TEST GROUP IMPROVEMENT