Something has sort of opened up for me: psychology students' reflections after participating in an apprenticeship training model.

Abstract

Typically, psychotherapy training comprises of didactic approaches and clinical practice under supervision, with students rarely having the opportunity to observe other therapists' work in real time. Many trades and professions employ apprenticeship to teach new skills. However, it is rarely employed in psychotherapist training. This qualitative study was part of a pilot study that developed and tested the feasibility of an apprenticeship model to be used in psychotherapy training, and investigated how students experienced such training. Ten first-year clinical psychology students joined experienced therapists as observers and/or co-therapists. Each student attended up to 8 therapy sessions with different therapists/patients. The students wrote reflective log entries after each session. In sum, 66 log entries were collected and analyzed with reflective thematic analysis. Five themes were generated, reflecting how the students changed their perspectives from an internal focus to an increasingly external focus: Being informed by emotions, What sort of therapist will I become? Shifting focus from me to the other, The unpredictable nature of therapy, and Growing confidence in therapeutic change. The students gained insights into the dynamic nature of therapy, therapists' responsiveness, and how internal and external foci of attention inform the therapeutic work. Such tacit knowledge is difficult to convey via didactic methods and might receive limited attention in clinical programs. Apprenticeship training is a promising supplement to traditional training.