Use of Simulated Clients in Marriage and Family Therapy Education

Simulted patient modules were created to help clinical faculty address suicidal, homicidal, child maltreatment, & domestic violence situations in a protected learning environment. Quelitative data over the course of 2 years revealed six thematic domains regarding therapists’ performance, therpists’ emotions, the simulation experiences, & lessons learned. Educational, clinical, & research recommendations include tools to implement simulation exercises into marriage & family therapy programs as well as suggestions to assess for teaching effectivness. An appendix provides the crisis simulations, including one of a middle-aged female who has made a previous suicide attempt & has a current plan. (26 refs.)