Teaching Trauma Therapy via Strategic Simulated Scenarios

Overview: This session will describe the results of a pilot project using simulation software to prepare advanced standing MSWs for challenging therapy situations with clients. The software will be briefly demonstrated, and implementation strategies, faculty and student surveys and focus groups, and suggestions for future utilization will be explored.Proposal text: Clinical Social Work classes have historically been challenged to provide students with real-world, genuine client experiences to practice their counseling skills. Currently, our clinical counseling classes consist of matching students with other students to practice or using actors to practice counseling. These types of experiential assignments are effective; however, they are not as impactful as having the opportunity to practice, in private, make mistakes without harm to client, and then continue to practice until more precision is achieved. Practicing with classmates or with actors has the disadvantages of superficiality or artificiality of issues, or the awkwardness and insensitivity of roleplaying issues of suicide, depression or addiction. Washburn et al. (2016) reported that while peer-to-peer role-playing activities can be helpful, it is often difficult and inappropriate for a classmate to “act” suicidal or in need of a behavior assessment or intervention. Students may feel triggered as they or a friend/relative may currently have addictions, mental health concerns, or suicidal thoughts and in a classroom environment this could pose further risk to a student’s mental health. Washburn et al. (2016) goes on to suggest the lack of sincerity with student role-playing which also impacts student learning.

There are inevitable errors and risks of harm to the client when inexperienced students are practicing their counseling skills. Simulation software provides students opportunities for an environment of practice without risk of harm to the client. Much like medical students practicing their trade with manikins, this would be a type of “manikin” for our students to practice with. The purpose of the project was to conduct a pilot program that would incorporate and evaluate an innovative simulation software into the social work department’s clinical courses. The simulation software has an adaptive component which the client adapts as students respond, to provide various lifelike experiences that will enhance student skills. It also includes targeted counseling topics such as suicide assessments, drug and alcohol screenings and hostile client interactions. The simulations engaged the students through outlining best practices in suicide assessments followed by a simulation utilizing an on-screen actor displaying suicidal thoughts. The student would then play the role of the social worker by asking questions and/or responding to the client. This software provided the students with immediate feedback regarding the quality and appropriateness of the interaction allowing for skill development and professional growth. Since the feedback is private, provided only to the student and professor, it alleviates the typical nervousness and non-realistic client environment students would go through if they were practicing these skills in front of a class full of peers. As mental health practice continues to evolve during and after the pandemic, these new and advanced practice environments will contribute to a more prepared social work workforce.
This session will highlight data from pre and post surveys, analytics from the software, focus groups with students and interviews with faculty. The session will provide attendees with a brief demonstration and an opportunity for discussion.