The path towards a professional identity: An IPA study of Greek family therapy trainees

Abstract

Objective: Contemporary psychotherapy research has focused mainly on practitioners' training and education. The impact of training on professional development and the application of therapeutic skills have been the primary foci of the empirical literature. The aim of this paper is to present the experiences of seven family therapy trainees regarding their personal paths toward the development of professional identity as they underwent training in systemic psychotherapy. Method: In-depth interviews were conducted and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Results & Conclusions: Seven themes were identified: The Quest, Developing by Relating, Learnings, Personification of Training, Use of Self, Self-Care and Empowerment, and Reflecting on the Role of the Therapist. The findings are discussed with regard to the development of the 'therapist as a person', gaining acknowledgement and autonomy, and the development of a community of therapeutic practice.

How trainee therapists experience resilience: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

“…Although most participants linked external support and relational connection to resilience, Jane appeared to place emphasis on self‐reliance. This adds a new dimension to Fragkiadaki et al () as, rather than being nurtured in an accepting and nonjudging training community, Jane suggests her self‐acceptance was born of life's challenges and prior to her training.…”

“…Through accepting their limitations and weaknesses as beginning therapists, trainees in Fragkiadaki et al () found new, less‐punitive ways of approaching themselves. Moreover, their anxieties were eased through forming more realistic expectations for themselves as therapists.…”

“…This emerged as meaningful to practising counsellors in Patsiopoulos and Buchanan (), along with achieving balance through holistic self‐care strategies. From a trainee perspective, Fragkiadaki, Triliva, Balamoutsou, and Prokopiou () found self‐care and self‐acceptance were important to trainee family therapists.…”

“…Since trainees’ voices have had limited representation on this topic, the authors of the present study contend that a deeper exploration of trainees’ experiences of resilience is essential to a fuller understanding of what fosters and maintains it throughout training, as well as onwards in professional lifelong practice. Indeed, others have called for enquiry into the subjective and lived experiences of trainee therapists (Fragkiadaki et al, ; Pascual‐Leone, Wolfe, & O'Connor, ). Therefore, an in‐depth exploration of trainee experiences of resilience would, in addition to identifying what nurtures and sustains resilience, contribute to a broader picture of the trainee experience.…”

‘I have to hear them before I hear myself’: developing therapeutic conversations in British counselling students

“…Studying contemporary counselling education can contribute to this enquiry (e.g. Fragkiadaki et al, 2013;Georgiadou, 2014). In a detailed qualitative study of a single counselling student's experience, Folkes-Skinner et al (2010) foregrounded the deconstruction of the counsellor's self.…”