Personal Therapy and the Life of Psychotherapists - Essay Example

Assignment: A Critical Analysis of paper risky business or safety net? Trainee perceptions of personal therapy: a qualitative thematic analysis. European Journal of Psychotherapy and Counselling, 11(4), 369-384. Word count: 1000 words Name: Institution: Date: Critical Analysis Moller, Timms, & Alilovic (2009) in their article, “Risky business or safety net?Trainee perceptions of personal therapy -A qualitative thematic analysis” have echoed the issues that revolve around making personal therapy mandatory for learners in Clinical Psychology, Counsellor and Counselling Psychology programmes. This is attributed to the fact that some accredition bodies in the United Kingdom consider it a requirement for one to become a fully recognized practitioner in the fields of counseling, clinical psychology, as well as counseling psychology. One example of such bodies is the British Psychological Society Division of Counseling Psychology which requires practitioners to attend more than forty two hours of personal therapy for those in doctoral training (Moller et al., 2009). However, the accreditation bodies has not made it a mandate for learners to pursue a course in personal therapy despite acknowledging that it is an extremely essential aspect for clinical psychologists (Moller et al., 2009). The article explicates in details the reasons for and against the introduction of mandatory personal therapy. Additionally, it discusses a research that was conducted to determine the necessity of introducing compulsory personal therapy to clinical psychology trainees. The study uses both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Several psychotherapists argue that counseling psychology trainees should undertake personal therapy because they believe it is an essential component needed by anyone who aspires to become an effective counselor (Atkinson, 2006). This is attributed to the fact that personal therapy helps these trainees to acquire essential and significant personal development learning which supplements the skills-based and academic learning. Personal developments that can be polished by personal therapy include; improved psychological functioning of the trainee, first-hand experience of counseling outcomes, support of training stresses, experience faced by the clients, just to mention but a few. Moller, Timms, & Alilovic (2009) asserts that psychotherapists entered therapy because of personal reasons as opposed to training or motivational reasons. On the other hand, psychotherapists opposed to introduction of personal therapy during training argue that there is no direct link between the client’s outcome and the therapist’s personal therapy. However, if by any chance there is a link, then the link is bound to be extremely weak. This is attributed to the fact that there are several other factors that determine the outcome of any client’s therapy, and none of these factors is related to the therapist’s personal therapy. Additionally, it is also worth noting that most of the psychotherapists who oppose the introduction of mandatory personal therapy say that it is extremely costly (Moller et al., 2009). This comes about as a result of the increased financial burden that students may have when pursuing the mandated personal therapy proposed by training organizations. The compulsory personal therapy may make it difficult for those students who are financially challenged to pursue their intended training; thus, promoting discrimination since the economically endowed students would embrace its introduction at the expense of the less fortunate ones (Moller et al., 2009). It is worth noting that clinical psychology trainees in Britain do not pay a dime to acquire training in personal therapy (Atkinson, 2006). This is because it is offered to them free of charge (Atkinson, 2006). In order to find out the true opinions of counseling practitioners regarding the controversial issue of introducing mandatory personal therapy, a qualitative and qualitative study was conducted. Thirty six people, thirty females and six males, were given questionnaires so that they fill in their opinions and views regarding the issue. The thirty six participants were drawn from three different counseling programmes. Eleven participants were Clinical Psychologists; thirteen were pursuing Doctorate in Counseling Psychology, and another thirteen were trainees pursuing Diploma in Counseling. After conducting the study, the results had three outcomes that cut across the three different course programmes. First, the analysis of the results revealed that most of the participants believed that personal therapy is an essential tool that makes them better practitioners. Secondly, they also accepted the fact that personal therapy is costly. Lastly, majority of them believed that personal therapy should be made mandatory in psychotherapy training. The research also employed the use of qualitative research methods in the data collection and analysis. This is attributed to the fact that qualitative research method entails collection and analysis of non-numerical data using psychological lens to provide detailed descriptions of how people decipher the world as well as their experiences. Through this research method, the researchers realized that personal therapy makes practitioners better. The participants had varied reasons to explain the manner in which personal therapy promotes them. For instance, one participant asserted that personal therapy would be beneficial since it would enable him or her understand clients’ better since he or she would have undergone through the same experience as clients’. In echoing the same sentiments, another trainee asserted that undertaking personal therapy gives one an insight as to how responses from therapist’s can affect clients (Moller et al., 2009). This is attributed to the fact that they have the first-hand experience as clients. From all these, it is evident that most psychotherapists believe that undertaking personal therapy plays an integral role in shaping them into becoming effective practitioners in future (Moller et al., 2009). Qualitative analysis helped the researchers to draw conclusions on how personal therapy affects the life of psychotherapists. Moller, Timms, & Alilovic (2009) asserts that most trainees revealed that personal therapy is an extremely costly undertaking. Trainees pursuing Doctorate in Counseling Psychology and Diploma in Counseling argues that personal therapy is a financial burden since they have to dig into their pockets in order to fund its execution (Moller et al., 2009). However, they argued that if training accreditation bodies or universities offered stipends or aids to facilitate its execution, they would gladly and fully support the program. On the hand, participants pursuing Clinical Psychology did not consider personal therapy training as a burden (Moller et al., 2009). This is because their fee for personal therapy is paid to them; thus, they do not spend a dime. Lastly, most of the participants believed that personal therapy is important and should be made mandatory during training. This is attributed to the fact that it makes trainees have the confidence of venturing into the profession when they already have a feel of what it entails. Additionally, the trainees believed it is an integral aspect of counselor training that should be embraced, valued and integrated (Moller et al., 2009). Since its positive outcomes outweigh the perceived costs, the trainees applied to the relevant authorities to find ways to incorporate it into their training programmes (Moller et al., 2009). It is evident that Moller, Timms, & Alilovic have tacked the controversial issue of personal therapy in an exhaustive manner. References Atkinson, P. (2006). Personal therapy in training of therapists’. European Journal of Psychotherapy and Counseling, 8(4), 407–410. Moller, N. P., Timms, J., & Alilovic, K. (2009). Risky business or safety net? Trainee perceptions of personal therapy: a qualitative thematic analysis. European Journal of Psychotherapy and Counselling, 11(4), 369–384. Read More