"Now I know the terrain": phenomenological exploration of CFTs learning on evidence-based practice

Couple and family therapists are rarely the focus of research yet are critical for positive outcomes in therapy. The attempts to integrate evidence-based approaches into the practice of couple and family therapy have been controversial resulting in passionate and at times divisive dialogue. The aims of this research project were to explore what do couple and family therapists experience when learning an evidence-based approach to working with couples and families. A total of 14 couple and family therapists were interviewed about their experience with learning an evidence-based approach. The research was guided methodologically by interpretive phenomenological analysis. Three themes emerged from the participants’ experiences including: the supports and challenges in learning; the embodiment of a therapy practice; and the experience of shame while learning

Towards an empirically grounded model of psychotherapy training: Four thousand therapists rate influences on their development

Various influences on their own development as therapists were rated by more than 4,000 psychotherapists who differed in terms of professional background, career level, theoretical orientation, and nationality. Despite these and other differences, considerable agreement was found concerning the factors that facilitate or impede professional development. Most important as positive influences were practice-related interpersonal situations, chiefly the experience of working directly with patients, as well as formal supervision and the therapist's own personal therapy. Academic learning, whether by taking courses or reading books and journals, was accorded a significant but distinctly secondary role. Institutional conditions of practice were the only noteworthy negative influence. Implications of these findings for an empirically grounded model of psychotherapist training include proposals for an early start to direct patient contact and concurrent development of clinical skill through supportive supervisory relations and successful personal therapy or an equivalent experience, along with relevant didactic work