Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: 1 Chapter 1 3 Chapter 2: Freud and the Foundation of Training Analysis 9 Chapter 3: Literature on Personal Therapy for Therapists 14 Using Primary Experience 14 Provides a model of therapy. 15 Provides depth 16 A question of ethics 16 Improved clinical performance 18 Awareness of Countertransference 20 Wounded healers. 23 Therapeutic Alliance 24 From the client’s point of view. 27 Supervision and Training 27 Parallel process. 28 Professional Development 30 Personal and professional identity 30 Trainee remediation 31 Self-Care 33 Burnout. 36 Chapter 4: Literature on the Limitations of Personal Therapy 37 Impact on the Clinician-in-Training 38 Creation of Institutional Concerns 41 Effect on Client Outcome 44 Chapter 5: Themes Across Three Major Studies 48 Survey Summaries 48 Utility of Personal Therapy 50 Drawbacks of Therapy During Training 51 MOVING AWAY FROM UNDERSTANDING iv Views on Mandating Personal Therapy 53 Chapter 6: Discussion and Conclusion 56 Appendix 60 References 71 MOVING AWAY FROM UNDERSTANDING v Acknowledgements It has been a long and arduous road but alas I have arrived at this point in my life. With this last document I jump through my final hoop, and if it were not for the love and dedication of several people, I would never have made it. First, I would like to thank my father for prodding me to make the best of my life and to challenge myself to try things I never thought I could do. Whenever I was stressed or anxious about the trials of graduate school he was there to lend an ear to listen or a boot to kick my ass, and on rare occasions, both simultaneously. Second, I will thank my mother, my close friends, and the rest of my family for supporting me through the past 6 years. I may not have always been emotionally present, but you made me be even when I begrudgingly refused, so I humbly thank you for your patience. Lastly, I thank my teachers, my dissertation committee, and most honorably Susan Hawes, Lorraine Mangione, and Colby Smith for being so dedicated to my progression. If it were not for any of the aforementioned people I surely would never have made it this far. But now I continue on my path knowing that I have been prepared for what lays ahead and am deeply and humbly appreciative of such grounding. May my future clients be at your mercy as well as my own. MOVING AWAY FROM UNDERSTANDING 1 Abstract Personal therapy has never been a training requirement for clinical psychology in the American Psychological Association (APA). This became more evident when the field of Clinical Psychology at the Boulder Conference over 30 years ago in which personal therapy was omitted as a requirement of doctoral education because there was a lack of sufficient empirical evidence to support such a mandate in the United States. While there has been research in the field of psychodynamic theory on personal therapy, the stance taken during the Boulder Conference (and to some extent the Chicago and Vail Conferences thereafter) continues to be the standard in regards to the training of psychologists. This has resulted in new psychologists having limited understanding of themselves and, at times, difficult or impaired relationships with their clients. This dissertation will look at the original psychoanalytic writings on training analysis and will use these points to explain the more recent literature on the utility of personal therapy, particularly in countries that still require it. In addition to these main points, the arguments against personal therapy will also be included to help showcase both sides of the issue. Using three major studies on personal therapy, this dissertation will use the themes found in the literature review to see if there is still a justification for not requiring personal therapy, as well asPersonal therapy has never been a training requirement for clinical psychology in the American Psychological Association (APA). This became more evident when the field of Clinical Psychology at the Boulder Conference over 30 years ago in which personal therapy was omitted as a requirement of doctoral education because there was a lack of sufficient empirical evidence to support such a mandate in the United States. While there has been research in the field of psychodynamic theory on personal therapy, the stance taken during the Boulder Conference (and to some extent the Chicago and Vail Conferences thereafter) continues to be the standard in regards to the training of psychologists. This has resulted in new psychologists having limited understanding of themselves and, at times, difficult or impaired relationships with their clients. This dissertation will look at the original psychoanalytic writings on training analysis and will use these points to explain the more recent literature on the utility of personal therapy, particularly in countries that still require it. In addition to these main points, the arguments against personal therapy will also be included to help showcase both sides of the issue. Using three major studies on personal therapy, this dissertation will use the themes found in the literature review to see if there is still a justification for not requiring personal therapy, as well as providing personal opinions on why the field has moved away from self-understanding and towards a predominantly outcome-focused approach to psychotherapy.
Author: Michael Paul Tartaglia
Institution: Antioch University
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W110262903