{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,10]],"date-time":"2026-07-10T18:14:17Z","timestamp":1783707257926,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":59,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,10]],"date-time":"2026-07-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783641600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Facilitative interpersonal skills (FIS) are widely used as an operationalization of therapists\u2019 interpersonal competence. However, the degree to which FIS are specific outcomes of formal psychotherapy training or instead reflect more general abilities developed across different professional pathways or outside of any formal training is unclear.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods and analysis<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To test whether psychotherapy students show a stronger stage-related increase in FIS levels than students from other fields, this study protocol outlines a cross-sectional cohort design in which FIS levels are assessed at three training stages (entry university level, end of bachelor, end of master) across four professional pathways. The group comparisons include (1) psychotherapy students as the reference group, (2) nursing and (3) teacher education students as comparison groups with high interpersonal demands but without mental health training, and (4) students from the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) as a baseline group with low interpersonal demands and no mental health training. We will use linear mixed-effects models with professional pathway and training stage as fixed effects. The primary test will evaluate the fixed effects of the factors professional pathway and training stage, and their interaction.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n                    <jats:title>Ethics and dissemination<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Compared to previous studies, our non-clinical, non-interventionist design eliminates any risk of harm to patients and removes variance associated with patient and dyadic factors. Approval has been obtained from the Ethics Commission at Sigmund Freud Private University Vienna. Data and analysis scripts will be shared via open-access repositories. We intend to disseminate results through at least three peer-reviewed publications: primary analyses, secondary analyses, and a theoretical synthesis on implications for psychotherapy training and interprofessional competence.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0349702","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,10]],"date-time":"2026-07-10T17:26:21Z","timestamp":1783704381000},"page":"e0349702","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The specificity of psychotherapeutic competence: A study protocol on the development of facilitative interpersonal skills across professional pathways"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Niccol\u00f2 Fiorentino","family":"Polipo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Constanze Maria","family":"Springinsfeld","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nina","family":"Pfatrisch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amelie","family":"Bihl","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gabor","family":"Aranyi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0872-1131","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Andrea","family":"Jesser","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,10]]},"reference":[{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0349702.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"412","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1939-0025.1936.tb05248.x","article-title":"Some implicit common factors in diverse methods of psychotherapy","volume":"6","author":"S Rosenzweig","year":"1936","journal-title":"American J Orthopsychiatry"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0349702.ref002","first-page":"2","article-title":"The dodo bird verdict is alive and well \u2013 mostly","volume":"9","author":"L Luborsky","year":"2002","journal-title":"Clin Psychol Sci Pract"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0349702.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.1093\/clipsy.9.1.21","article-title":"Let\u2019s face facts: Common factors are more potent than specific therapy ingredients","volume":"9","author":"SB Messer","year":"2002","journal-title":"Clin Psychol Sci Pract"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0349702.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"43","DOI":"10.1037\/a0022187","article-title":"Empathy","volume":"48","author":"R Elliott","year":"2011","journal-title":"Psychotherapy"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0349702.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"270","DOI":"10.1002\/wps.20238","article-title":"How important are the common factors in psychotherapy? 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