Abstract
Simulated patient role-plays (SPRs) with trained actors are a recent development in the training of clinical psychologists. This paper reports on the introduction and evaluation of SPRs as both a method used to teach clinical consultation skills and as a method to formatively assess trainee clinical psychologists' acquisition of these skills. The evaluation used a number of focus groups with clinical psychology trainees, programme staff and clinical supervisors to explore the acceptability of these methods in teaching and assessment, the experience of using them and the impact on trainees' learning. Focus group interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using template analysis. The core theme from the analysis concerned the capacity of SPRs to authentically recreate a clinical environment and capture the trainee's clinical practice. The concept of authenticity is discussed in relation to clinical skills teaching and the wider profession of clinical psychology.