“It’s incredibly fun”: Psychotherapists’ perspectives on participating in a pilot study of an apprenticeship model for training psychology students

Abstract

Learning by co-working with experienced therapists is rare in clinical psychologists’ education; high working demands in clinical services challenge the provision of such situated learning. This study examined the feasibility of providing an apprenticeship model within ordinary mental health care clinics. The perspectives of nine clinicians participating as supervisors were explored through focus-group interviews. Reflexive thematic analysis yielded three themes organized on a continuum from an intra- to interpersonal perspective on teaching: meaningfulness in contributing tacit knowledge, experiences of joy and motivation when teaching, and the positive influence of students’ naïve gaze in the therapeutic dyad for the therapeutic process.