aVLPS051c Medical Psychology and Psychosomatics - practice

Faculty of Medicine
spring 2027
Extent and Intensity
0/3/0. 2 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. et Mgr. Zdeňka Barešová (seminar tutor)
PhDr. Pavel Humpolíček, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
doc. PhDr. Martin Loučka, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Mgr. Tatiana Malatincová, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
doc. PhDr. Alena Slezáčková, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Mgr. Pavel Strašák (seminar tutor)
doc. PhDr. Miroslav Světlák, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
MUDr. Rastislav Šumec, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Miroslav Světlák, Ph.D.
Department of Medical Psychology and Ethics – Theoretical Departments – Faculty of Medicine
Contact Person: Blanka Suchá
Supplier department: Department of Medical Psychology and Ethics – Theoretical Departments – Faculty of Medicine
Prerequisites
aVLFY0422p Physiology II - lecture
Practice is only in English language.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Abstract

The course builds on the theoretical teaching of medical psychology and focuses on its practical application in clinical encounters with patients. The seminars are oriented toward concrete situations from everyday medical practice in which the manner of communication significantly influences the physician’s understanding of the patient, the patient’s cooperation, and the quality of clinical decision-making.

Teaching develops core clinical skills, including conducting the medical interview, working with emotions, supporting behavior change, and communicating in challenging situations. Students learn how to structure a clinical conversation, respond to strong emotions, use silence in communication, disclose serious information, and communicate about uncertainty, values, and subsequent steps in care.

Emphasis is placed on the understanding that communication is not an adjunct to medicine, but one of its fundamental clinical tools. Through model situations, students practice specific communication strategies, reflect on their own approach, and learn how to translate psychological principles into real clinical practice. The course also includes work with students’ own professional burden and supports the development of capacities necessary for sustainable functioning in the medical profession.

Learning outcomes

The student conducts a clinical interview according to the Calgary–Cambridge model: initiating contact, setting the agenda, exploring concerns, and closing. They allow an uninterrupted account and use open and closed questions, active listening, summarization, and checks of understanding. When providing information, they use Ask–Tell–Ask and Teach-back.

The student applies clinical phenomenology at the start: suspending assumptions, distinguishing description from interpretation, and creating space for subjective experience, including bracketing, description, and horizontalization.

The student recognizes psychological needs, especially safety, control, understanding, and relational connection, and emotional responses such as anxiety, fear, sadness, anger, helplessness, or aggression. They name emotions, respond validly using NURSE, and adapt communication to support trust and safety.

The student uses motivational interviewing to support behavior change and adherence. They explore the patient’s perspective, work with ambivalence, support autonomy, and use OARS: open questions, reflective listening, summarizing, affirmation, and change talk.

The student explains psychosocial influences on health and illness. They clarify bodily–psychological links, including nociception, pain, and suffering, and broaden the perspective to include emotions, stress, expectations, context, and placebo/nocebo.

The student communicates serious and unfavorable information via SPIKES: assesses baseline understanding, provides brief information, responds to emotions, and supports orientation.

The student explores values, preferences, and expectations and uses them in interviewing and shared decisions. They introduce values sensitively, structure and summarize them, and connect them with medical options, including uncertainty, risks, and further care.

The student recognizes when to open serious prognosis, hope, and end-of-life topics. They introduce them sensitively, connect medical information with its meaning for the patient, work with uncertainty and different forms of hope, and create space for questions and concerns.

The student applies crisis intervention and psychological first aid: establishing contact, identifying needs, stabilization, de-escalation, and ensuring safety. In acute situations, they adapt communication to reduced patient capacity.

The student prepares the patient for an examination or procedure with regard to psychological state. They work with expectations, uncertainty, and fear, structure information, and check understanding.

The student applies mindful presence and self-reflection. They recognize their own experience, stress responses, and their impact on communication. They identify signs of chronic stress and burnout and use self-care strategies, such as pacing, boundaries, and support.

These skills are assessed through presentations, case analyses, interview proposals, patient education, role-play, scenarios, and structured reflection.

Key topics

Structured conduct of the clinical interview: initiating the encounter, setting the agenda, exploring the patient’s concerns, and closing the consultation; working with open and closed questions, active listening, and checking understanding, including the Calgary–Cambridge model, Ask–Tell–Ask, and Teach-back.

The phenomenological approach to the patient: working with subjective experience, distinguishing description from interpretation, and understanding the significance of context and the patient’s perspective, including bracketing, description, and horizontalization.

Empathy, compassion, and the professional relationship: recognizing the patient’s psychological needs, including safety, control, understanding, and relational connection; validating emotions; and maintaining appropriate boundaries in the professional encounter, for example using the NURSE framework.

Motivational interviewing in medicine: supporting health behavior change and adherence to treatment, working with ambivalence, and supporting patient autonomy, including OARS and change talk.

Communication in emotionally challenging situations: working with anxiety, fear, sadness, helplessness, anger, and aggression; stabilizing the situation; and adapting communication to the patient’s current state.

Foundations of crisis intervention and psychological first aid in healthcare: establishing contact, identifying the patient’s needs, stabilization, and de-escalation of the situation.

Communicating unfavorable and serious information: structured approaches to communication, including SPIKES; pacing and chunking information; responding to emotional reactions; and supporting the patient’s orientation within the situation.

Communication about serious prognosis, hope, and the end of life: timely and appropriate opening of these topics, working with uncertainty, and addressing the meaning of the information for the patient and their loved ones.

Psychological preparation of the patient for examination and treatment procedures: working with expectations, uncertainty, and fear; structured provision of information; and checking the patient’s understanding.

Values history and shared decision-making: eliciting the patient’s values, preferences, and expectations; communicating about risks and uncertainty; and connecting medical options with the patient’s individual situation.

Psychosocial factors in health and illness: the influence of stress, emotions, expectations, and context on symptom perception and patient decision-making, including their relevance to pain, such as nociception, pain, suffering, and placebo and nocebo effects.

Mindful medical practice: working with attention, regulating one’s own emotional responses, and maintaining presence in the clinical encounter.

Psychological burden of healthcare professionals, self-reflection, and self-care: recognizing stress and warning signs of burnout, understanding their impact on one’s own functioning, and using strategies for coping with burden, working with attention, setting boundaries, and supporting long-term professional sustainability.

Study resources and literature
    required literature
  • Gilligan T, Bohlke K, Alpert AB, Coyle N, Harichand-Herdt S, et al. Patient-Clinician Communication: ASCO Guideline Update. J Clin Oncol. 2026 Apr 10;44(11):1040-1057.
  • Gilligan T, et al. Patient-Clinician Communication: American Society of Clinical Oncology Consensus Guideline. J Clin Oncol. 2017
  • AYERS, Susan and Richard DE VISSER. Psychology for medicine. First published 2011. Los Angeles: Sage, 2011, xiv, 530. ISBN 9781412946902. info
Approaches, practices, and methods used in teaching

Teaching is designed as skills-based training and focuses on the direct application of psychological principles in clinical practice. Its foundation is the active engagement of students through practice, work with model situations, and reflection. Teaching includes instruction, demonstration, guided dialogue, and discussion, all aimed at understanding and practically applying the topics addressed in the course.

A key component of the course is role-play, through which students practise specific clinical situations, such as conducting an interview, working with emotions, and supporting patient motivation. These activities are accompanied by direct supervision by the instructor and group reflection, enabling students to develop their own communication style, become aware of their own reactions, and deepen their understanding of the clinical context.

Case studies and model scenarios are also used in teaching. Based on these materials, students analyse situations, propose possible approaches, and discuss their potential consequences. Emphasis is placed on connecting theoretical knowledge with specific clinical decisions and the professional behaviour of healthcare providers.

The final part of the course, consisting of the last three seminars, takes place at the Simulation Centre of Masaryk University, where students verify and further develop the knowledge and skills they have acquired under realistic conditions. They work with professional actors in the roles of patients and, under the direct supervision of instructors, address clinical situations such as working with anxiety, depression, and fear, conducting motivational interviews, and communicating unfavorable news.

Method of verifying learning outcomes and course completion requirements

Assessment is based on the continuous evaluation of practical skills during the seminars. The award of course credit requires 100% attendance at all seminars and active participation in teaching activities.

Students demonstrate achievement of the learning outcomes on an ongoing basis through participation in practice activities, including role-play, work with model situations, and subsequent reflection. Assessment focuses on the ability to apply psychological principles in a clinical context, particularly in conducting the clinical interview, responding to patients’ emotions, structuring communication, and working with one’s own reactions.

Assessment also includes active participation in simulation-based teaching at the Simulation Centre, both in the role of an active participant conducting an interview with a patient and in the role of an observer who carries out structured observation, analysis, and reflection on the performance of others.

Successful completion of the course requires demonstration of a basic level of clinical communication skills and the ability to reflect on them.

Alternate completion

This course cannot be completed in an alternative format. Teaching is based on active participation, practical training, and the gradual development of skills through interaction with the instructor and other students; these elements cannot be fully replaced by self-study or individual instruction.

In justified cases, such as long-term illness or another serious situation, students may consult the instructor individually. However, the possibility of fully replacing the required teaching cannot be guaranteed.

Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
The course is taught each semester.
Teacher's information
https://is.muni.cz/predmet/med/aVLLP7X1?lang=cs&obdobi=6903
The course is also listed under the following terms autumn 2022, autumn 2023, spring 2024, autumn 2024, spring 2025, autumn 2025, spring 2026, autumn 2026.
  • Enrolment Statistics (spring 2027, recent)
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