Towards an Empirically Grounded Model of Psychotherapy Training: Four thousand therapists rate influences on their development

AbstractVarious influences on their own development as therapists were rated by more than 4,000 psychotherapists who differed in terms of professional background, career level, theoretical orientation, and nationality. Despite these and other differences, considerable agreement was found concerning the factors that facilitate or impede professional development. Most important as positive influences were practice-related interpersonal situations, chiefly the experience of working directly with patients, as well as formal supervision and the therapist's own personal therapy. Academic learning, whether by taking courses or reading books and journals, was accorded a significant but distinctly secondary role. Institutional conditions of practice were the only noteworthy negative influence. Implications of these findings for an empirically grounded model of psychotherapist training include proposals for an early start to direct patient contact and concurrent development of clinical skill through supportive supervisory relations and successful personal therapy or an equivalent experience, along with relevant didactic work.