A Refreshing and Necessary Start: Commentary on Westra and Di Bartolomeo (2024)

Westra and Di Bartolomeo (2024) make a compelling case for integrating “process acuity” skills into routine clinical training. The authors have done the field a service by articulating the need for novel and process-science-informed psychotherapy training and practice. This brief commentary echoes the authors’ observations about the status quo of clinical training and expands upon what else will need to be considered to fully realize the goals of their proposal. Specifically, research on negative process signals has outpaced research on the optimal responses to such process signals. Further, process–outcome associations and the relevance of other technical mechanisms vary by the therapist/trainee (and dyad), which will require enhanced training personalization and precision. Future work on implementation will require elucidating responsive clinical strategies based on the accumulation of more sophisticated and contextualized process–outcome and training research.