PREDICTING TRAINEE PSYCHOTHERAPIST GRADUATE STUDENT SUCCESS WITH ACADEMIC AND PERSONALITY MEASURES

Abstract

Success in counseling psychology programs includes both academic and clinical performance. Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) and undergraduate grade point average (UGPA) have been linked to the academic aspects of success in programs (e.g., Daehnert & Carter, 1987). Letters of recommendation, personal statements, and interviews are thought to assess interpersonal functioning, which is important in therapeutic ability (e.g., Barnicot, Wampold, & Priebe, 2014). However, these assessments have significant limitations. The current study uses standardized personality assessments in conjunction with GRE and UGPA to predict student success. The Empathic Concern subscale of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; Davis, 1980, 1983) was used to assess self-reported empathy. Additionally, a performance-based measure, the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale – Global Rating Method (SCORS-G; Westen, 1995) was used to rate Thematic Apperception Test (TAT; Murray, 1973) narratives to assess trainees’ interpersonal functioning. Variables related to students’ completion vs. non-completion of the first year of a master in clinical and counseling psychology program were analyzed using t-tests and discriminant function analyses. Our findings suggest that a performance-based measure of interpersonal ability is useful at assessing applicants to counseling psychology programs, while GRE scores may not be as useful in the admissions process. Additionally, a significantly higher rate of male vs. female non-completers may reveal a trend in clinical/counseling psychology programs that needs to be addressed.