Trainee difficulties with therapeutic engagement: a qualitative study of in-session critical incidents. (June 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cartwright, Duncan; Gardner, Mark
• Is Part Of: South African journal of psychology =. Volume 46:Number 2(2016:Jun.)
• Page Start: 254
• Page End: 265
• Publication Date: 2016-06
• Subjects: Interpersonal process recall -- novice therapists -- psychotherapy skills -- therapeutic alliance -- trainees; Psychology -- Periodicals; 150.5
• DOI: 10.1177/0081246315605679
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0081-2463

Abstract

Trainee therapists or psychologists starting to practice psychotherapy are met with a number of inherent difficulties in engaging their clients in the treatment process. Using interpersonal process recall and interpretive phenomenological analysis, 18 counselling/clinical psychology trainees were interviewed about core difficulties they faced in engaging their clients in a therapeutic process. Interviews look place after 10 weeks of training and trainees were asked to self-select a single video-taped session for the interview. The analysis uncovered seven main themes: (1) difficulties with 'personal material'; (2) difficulties with certainty, control, and idealized intentions; (3) frustrations with the client's presentation; (4) difficulty in becoming the focus of attention; (5) reactions triggered by perceived exclusion; (6) anxieties about difference; and (7) interpersonal strategies to manage intense emotions. Findings are understood to be organized around the trainee's struggle for self-definition and agency at the expense of empathic relating.