Impact of E-Learning and Role Play-Based Training on Psychology Students’ Communication Skills: A feasibility study

Background: Given the importance of communication skills in the psychologist-patient relationship, several training programs have been proposed. Cumulative microtraining (CMT) has shown positive impacts on communication skills in previous studies.
Method: The aim of this naturalistic pre-post study was to test the feasibility of a hybrid CMT program and to obtain preliminary data on its impact on communication skills in French-speaking third-year psychology students. The training included an e-learning curriculum and role-plays. Pre-post measures included peer-to-peer role-plays recorded and then self-assessed by participants themselves using the Calgary Cambridge Grid (N = 38) and assessed by an independent rater (N = 29) with a checklist focused on objective behaviors and the CARE questionnaire measuring perceived empathy.
Results: Results show increases in most communication skills at different levels. Most skills assessed by the independent rater, increase significantly: summarizing (²= 14.35; p<.001), paraphrase (t = 2.48, p = 0.01), and structure (t = 5.47, p<.001). All categories of self-reported measures largely increased after the training (all ps<.001). Empathy and trust assessed by an independent rater, increased after the training (all ps <.05).
Conclusion: This study brings new evidence of the impact of CMT including e-learning and role-plays on both self-rated and assessed by an independent rater measure of communication and empathy in a population of French-speaking students. These findings highlight the importance to implement such training in initial training despite costs involves. It demonstrates the feasibility of its inclusion in university curriculum, facilitated by the adaptation of theoretical aspects of teaching in e-learning.