1171 Commonly Encountered Yet Not Confident: Graduate Psychology Students’ Experience and Confidence Managing Sleep Disturbances

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Trainee psychologists receive minimal sleep education during graduate psychology training programs, despite the frequent co-occurrence of sleep disturbances in mental health conditions. This study aimed to explore graduate psychology students’ experience working with sleep disturbances and their perceived skills and confidence to assess and treat sleep problems in clinical practice. Methods Australian graduate psychology students (N = 163) completed a novel survey developed specifically for the study, inquiring about their experience, skills and confidence to manage sleep disturbances in clinical practice. Students perceived skills to manage sleep disturbances were recorded on a 7-point Likert scale, where 1 = ‘strongly disagree’ and 7 = ‘strongly agree’. Students’ confidence to treat specific sleep disorders was also recorded. Results Sixty-eight percent of students reported having already worked with a client who experienced a sleep disturbance as part of their training. However, students’ perceived skills to assess and treat sleep disturbances were low. Only 14.9% ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that they had the skills to assess and diagnose common sleep disorders (M = 3.22, SD = 1.75). Similarly, less than a quarter of students ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that they felt comfortable using common sleep-related assessments (23.7%; M = 3.56, SD = 1.96) or empirically-supported interventions for sleep disturbances (22.6%; M = 3.71, SD = 1.83). The majority of students reported they were ‘not confident at all’ to treat parasomnias (80.3%); hypersomnias (77.9%); OSA (71.3%); circadian rhythm disorders (50%) or insomnia (41%). Conclusion Graduate psychology students report low levels of confidence in assessing and managing sleep disturbances in clinical practice, despite over two-thirds of students already working with clients experiencing sleep difficulties. Clinical training in the management of sleep disturbances is required for graduate psychology students. Support N/A