Abstract
Introduction: Clinician-client relationships impact treatment outcomes in speech-language pathology. Training clinicians to improve these relationships might therefore improve treatment outcomes but has not been examined in the field. This study is a preliminary investigation of whether training student clinicians can enhance clinician-client relationships in children’s speech-language treatment. Methods: The study followed a single-subject multiple baseline design. Five graduate student clinicians completed a web-based training on clinician-client relationships, which was implemented as a series of three modules discussing goals, tasks, and bond. The training’s impact on the student’s relationships with their child clients was examined through weekly ratings completed by the students, their supervisor, and some parents and children. Intervention effects were measured by visual analysis of baseline versus intervention phases and by Tau-U effect sizes. Results: Visual analyses supported change in just under half the possible opportunities, but improvements in the relationship were also present in many of the baseline phases. Tau-U effects that corrected for baseline trend reached significance in 18 of 29 instances, providing support for the effects of the intervention. Conclusions: This study provides initial evidence that clinician-client relationship training can be effective for speech-language pathology graduate students. Clinician-client relationship training is a promising area for future investigation.
Recommended Citation
Ebert, K. D.,
&
Fairchild, M. E.
(2023).
Improving the Clinician-Client Relationship in Children’s Speech-Language Treatment: An Exploratory Online Training Study.
Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders, 7(1).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30707/TLCSD7.1.1675490380.853104
