Professor Shares Interactive Teaching Techniques at Conference

HIGH POINT, N.C., Jan. 13, 2015 – Dr. Christopher Lootens, assistant professor of psychology at High Point University, attended the annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies in Philadelphia, where he presented some of the engaging and interactive techniques he uses to teach psychology students about treating patients.

During a panel presentation, Lootens talked about how he creates fictitious patients for students to diagnose in his counseling and psychotherapy courses at HPU. A good “fake patient,” he says, is one that students find interesting and presents problems complex enough to be challenging but reasonable for their level of knowledge. The interactive exercise helps students learn how to think about a patient’s problems and the kinds of treatment that would be appropriate.

“This helps the students to understand the big picture of case conceptualization and how it is related to treatment planning,” Lootens says. “They usually enjoy the hands-on nature of this and thinking about how this might apply to an actual patient in a treatment setting.”

Lootens’ participation in the panel presentation was sponsored by an ABCT special interest committee on teaching, of which he is a founding member and is currently serving as vice president. He has also served as a member of the ABCT program committee for three years, a group of professionals that selects projects and presentations for the conference each year.

“Over my years of involvement, I have been able to network with other career teachers from schools that emphasize undergraduate education like HPU. We often share resources and advice on teaching, but we also share knowledge about advising undergrads and getting students involved in research,” says Lootens, who will become president of the teaching committee in November. “I am proud to have represented HPU at this highly regarded national conference for clinical psychology, and I look forward to serving this organization in even more meaningful ways in the future.”

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