Becoming psychotherapists: Experiences of novice trainees in a beginning graduate class.

Abstract

The authors investigated the experiences related to becoming psychotherapists for 5 counseling psychology doctoral trainees in their first prepracticum course. Qualitative analyses of weekly journals indicated that trainees discussed challenges related to becoming psychotherapists (e.g., being selfcritical, having troubling reactions to clients, learning to use helping skills), gains made during the semester related to becoming psychotherapists (e.g., using helping skills more effectively, becoming less self-critical, being able to connect with clients), as well as experiences in supervision and activities that helped them cope with their anxieties. Results are discussed in 5 broad areas: feelings about self in role of psychotherapist, awareness of reactions to clients, learning and using helping skills, reactions to supervision, and experiences that fostered growth. Implications for training and research are provided.

Counselor Trainees' Views on Their Forthcoming Experiences in Practicum Course

“…This anxiety may prevent them from being natural and giving responses spontaneously (Levitt & Jacques, 2005). Because of over-identification with clients, they worry about being sympathetic and feeling more like a friend than a professional (Hill et al, 2007). This finding is consistent with the finding that beginning counselors have anxiety over regulating emotional boundaries with clients , and findings from Aladag et al(2014) about counselor candidates who indicated the difficulty of controlling their personal reactions.…”

“…One way of expressing respect is being non-judgmental and/or being objective in the counseling process (Brown & Srebalus, 1996). In other words, they are anxious about judging and evaluating their clients from their personal standpoint (Hill et al, 2007).…”

“…They were concerned about difficulties in relating to clients empathetically because of their failure to handle differences or be sympathetic. They feared working with resistant and involuntary clients and displaying nonprofessional behaviors like giving advice (Hill, Sullivan, Knox, & Schlosser, 2007).…”

“…Graduate students also evaluated supervision and supervisors positively, and they found their supervisors objective, encouraging, and supportive (Buyukgoze-Kavas, 2011). Similarly, novice therapists searched for feedback and support from supervisors to cope with their FOI (Hill et al, 2007;Thériault et al, 2009). …”

Novice Counselors’ Conceptualizations and Experiences of Therapeutic Relationships

“…Furthermore, although certain relational struggles of the novice counselor have been identified (e.g., fears about their ability to connect with clients; Hill et al, 2007), these models do not adequately specify how novice counselors understand and handle such struggles.…”