Professional and Personal Physical Therapist Development through Service Learning in Collaboration with a Prisoner Reinsertion Program: A Qualitative Study

There is a great concern whether Physical Therapy students upon completion of their educational program are ready and equipped with the requisite skills to construct and implement a successful patient intervention with culturally diverse groups. The purpose of this study is to describe the professional and personal physical therapist development of Physical Therapy students after participating in Solidarity Activities in Collaboration with a Prisoner reinsertion program as a service-learning course. A qualitative approach was used. A convenience sample of twenty physical therapy students doing service learning and one teaching professor were included. Student diaries were analyzed. Semi-structured interviews were done to explore five students’ and the professor’s judgements. Internal and external observations and filling out structure field-notes were also used as data triangulation in order to build the conceptual model. The main findings include that the application of knowledge and practice of skills in different environments are the most important skills attained with this service learning. Five key themes emerged from the data analysis, namely: application of knowledge, adaptation to different environments, improving communication with patients, assisting people and providing treatment with self-confidence. A recommendation is that Physical Therapy programs include workplace practice in different environments to enhance the development of professionalism among students.

On Disruption and Construction, Reflection and Reorganization in Psychotherapist Development: A Taxonomy of Transformative Learning Outcomes

The beginning period of psychotherapist development has been conceptually and empirically identified as the most difficult and potentially problematic. The budding therapist is struggling to define a therapist identity, settle into the role of being a “helper,” and come to grips with being a helper who can “heal.” That struggle, I contend, is at its core a transformative learning process that involves developing a guiding vision of oneself as therapist, where the shift from becoming to being is made reality. In what follows, I examine transformative learning theory as a framework for enhancing our understanding about the beginning period of therapist development. The specific question that I consider is: What transformative learning outcomes occur for the beginning psychotherapist in the process of developing a therapist identity? I draw on and analogize from Hoggan’s typology of transformative learning outcomes in providing an answer to that question.

‘Courses for Horses’: designing, adapting and implementing self practice/self-reflection programmes

Self-Practice/Self-Reflection (SP/SR) has been proposed both as an adjunct to therapy training programmes, and also as a means for therapist development among experienced therapists. Research suggests it develops aspects of knowledge and skill that may not be addressed through other training methods. With increasing interest in SP/SR, a growing evidence base regarding both participant benefits and potential risks from SP/SR, and the development of SP/SR programmes across a range of therapeutic modalities, we argue it is timely to identify a set of principles that can guide the design, adaptation and implementation of SP/SR programmes. At this stage, there is little empirical evidence to guide trainers wishing to implement SP/SR in different contexts. Accordingly, these principles have been derived from reflection on developing, testing and implementing SP/SR programmes as well as on other training and supervisory experience. The first set of principles detailed in Section 1 draw on various theories of learning and development and frame the processes involved, the next principles speak to the content of SP/SR programmes, and the final principles address structure. Within Section 2, the principles are then considered for their practical implications. In Section 3, the sharing of what are initially private self-reflections is then considered together with some implications for SP/SR programmes, especially when there is assessment involved. We argue that SP/SR will continue to progress with well-designed standard programmes, careful implementation, thoughtful adaptation, ongoing innovation, and especially more evaluation.Key learning aims(1)To understand the principles for designing, adapting and implementing SP/SR programmes that are drawn from theory and from the authors’ experience of developing and implementing SP/SR programmes over the last 20 years.(2)To understand the possible factors that guide the processes, content and structure of SP/SR programmes.(3)To understand how best to maximize effective engagement and learning (and limit harm) when planning or implementing an SP/SR programme.

Personal and Professional Characteristics of Japanese Master Therapists

This study explores the characteristics of 10 Japanese master therapists who gained the largest number of nominations from Japanese psychotherapists. Qualitative data analysis was processed utilizing the grounded theory approach and the consensual qualitative research method. Results clarified important characteristics of Japanese master therapists. First, as a foundation, they possess positive personality traits, such as modesty, warmth, sincerity, absence of self-centeredness, and resilience. Second, they possess an exceptional ability to perceive and process various cognitive and emotional information from the client, from the therapist him- or herself, and from the therapy process. Third, master therapists are able to continuously learn from their experiences, stimulated by their curiosity and creativity, as well as their sense of responsibility and discipline as professionals. Finally, cross-cultural comparison of Japanese and American master therapists are discussed, a model of master therapist development is proposed, and suggestions for future research and therapist training are offered.

Knowing our ‘ABCs’: self-reflection using cognitive-behavioural formulation of client–therapist interaction in work with a survivor of torture

Self-reflection can aid therapist development, particularly interpersonal skills. It can be achieved through using cognitive-behavioural therapy techniques, for example, formulations of the therapist's cognitions and behaviours have been used to aid self-reflection. As interpersonal skills may be an area that benefits from self-reflection, an approach to formulating the interaction between client and therapist may be beneficial. This study reports the use of simple ‘antecedent-belief-consequence’ (ABC) formulations for the client and therapist to conceptualize their interaction. This description of a treatment failure focuses on cross-cultural work with a survivor of torture, where self-reflection may be particularly indicated to promote cultural competence and address the impact of the content on the therapist. ABC formulations for the client and therapist were completed and through this structured self-reflection, the therapist was able to identify the impact of her own beliefs on the process of therapy. This method identified areas for further development and generated hypotheses for how to continue therapy with this client. Using ABC formulations then may provide a useful and structured way to conduct self-reflection with explicit focus on the interaction between client and therapist.