The Teaching and Learning of Psychotherapy

Abstract

The authors have tackled the elucidation of the difficult problems of training in psychotherapy. No satisfactory model for supervision has yet been universally acclaimed in the many existent training centers for psychiatrists, social workers, or psychologists who are learning the processes of psychotherapy. The problems involved are represented by a clinical rhombus which involves the administrators, the supervisors, the therapists, and the patients. The authors attempt to understand the various interactions among these four foci of persons involved in learning and teaching. Under four main headings, entitled (1) The Training Setting; (2) The Beginning Phase; (3) The Learning Process; and (4) The End Phase, various problems of interaction between teacher and student are thoroughly considered. Each section includes examples taken from real situations as experienced by the authors. Their examples are lucid and clearly expose the many problems involved in teaching and learning psychotherapy. All psychiatrists who are naturally involved