KEY TAKEAWAYS

• “But where and how is the poor wretch to acquire the ideal qualification which he will need in this profession? The answer is in an analysis of himself, with which his preparation for his future activity begins.”
• Psychotherapists may seek personal therapy for personal reasons and/or for training/professional reasons. Sometimes undergoing therapy can be required. What are the goals in undergoing personal therapy? Would encourage clinicians to attend personal therapy?
• The question of whether the practitioner who has undergone personal therapy can be empirically shown to be more effective than colleagues who have not received such therapy has been occasionally investigated. All of the early reviewers (e.g., Clark, 1986; Greenberg & Staller, 1981; Macran & Shapiro, 1998) concluded that there is no evidence that engaging in personal therapy is positively or negatively related to client outcome. In our recent review of this literature (Orlinsky et al., 2005), we echoed our colleagues’ overwhelming laments about the poor quality of the studies to date. Do you feel personal therapy impacts outcomes with your clients?
• How personal therapy may enhance clinical effectiveness:
  1. Personal treatment improves the emotional and mental functioning of the psychotherapist; it makes the clinician’s life less neurotic and more gratifying in a profession where one’s personal health is an indispensable foundation.
  2. Personal treatment provides the therapist-patient with a more complete understanding of personal dynamics, interpersonal elicitations, and conflictual issues: the therapist will thereby conduct treatment with clearer perceptions, fewer contaminated reactions, and reduced countertransference potential.
  3. Personal treatment alleviates the emotional stresses and burdens inherent in the practice of psychotherapy; it enables practitioners to deal more successfully with the special problems imposed by the craft.
  4. Personal treatment serves as a profound socialization experience; it establishes a sense of conviction about the validity of psychotherapy, demonstrates its transformational power in our own lives, and facilitates the internalization of the healer role.
  5. Personal treatment places therapists in the role of the client; it thus sensitizes them to the interpersonal reactions and needs of their clients and increases respect for their patients’ struggles.
  6. Personal treatment provides a firsthand intensive opportunity to observe clinical methods; the clinician’s therapist models interpersonal and technical skills.

• Self-Care Practices
  1. Commence personal treatment at the beginning of your career.
  2. Select Your Psychotherapist Carefully-  Select a person capable of providing a personal relationship-one in which you feel affirmed, appreciated, and respected by another human being whom you like, appreciate, and respect.
  3. Pursue Couple and Family Therapy as Well- Recommend family of origin work: learn the messages we received and the roles we played in our families of origin.
  4. Embrace the  Inside- Consider “wounded” as little more than a veteran of life experiences; vulnerable and wise.
  5. Confront Your Resistance Not to Pursue Personal Therapy.
  6. Supplement Psychotherapy with Self-Analysis- Self-examination is a necessary part of effective practice.
     You are the one patient that never leaves your practice.
  7. Return to Personal Therapy Periodically.
  8. Obtain an Annual Satisfaction Checkup- Talk with a professional mentor or former therapist about your aspirations, disappointments, fears, and joys. Ask for an assessment of your overall well-being.
  9. Encourage Personal Therapy in the Profession.
  10. Regard as One Form of Self-Development- Personal therapy is only one form of self-development. It is not either personal therapy or nothing; it is personal therapy plus other restorative self-care strategies.

Is there anything you would add to this list for self-care personal practices?

• Individual psychotherapy functions as the symbolic core of professional identity in the mental health field.
• Psychotherapists who have undergone personal therapy believe it is more important than those who have not. Level of perceived importance varied by theoretical orientation.
• Psychoanalytic had the highest ratings of importance of participating in therapy, behaviorists had the lowest ratings.
• Freud believed that personal therapy is the deepest and most rigorous part of one’s clinical education. Freud suggested taking an analysis of oneself at least once every 5 years.
• Therapists rarely attend therapy due to problems with clients.
• Some positive outcomes of attending personal therapy endorsed by psychotherapists:  higher self-esteem,  improved work functioning, fulfilling social life, better emotional expression, less characterological conflicts, lower symptom severity, increases in professional development, and higher empathy for clients.