Who plays the client? Collaborating with theater departments to enhance clinical psychology role‐play training exercises

Abstract

This article offers a description of a student-active method of teaching clinical psychology applications, such as interviewing and psychotherapy, that involves collaboration between psychology and theater departments. Clinical psychology instructors recruit theater students to play the client roles in live dyads with the instructors or other students. These dyads may take place during or outside of class and may be videotaped for use in other educational settings. Practical and logistical issues are discussed, and empirical data are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of this method.