Abstract

Practice wisdom as well as anecdotal evidence supports the value of personal psychotherapy for clinical practitioners. Although a few surveys of clinical social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists have found that most therapists enter personal psychotherapy at some point in their careers, little research has focused on the potential meaning of personal therapy to the development of a professional self. This chapter is based on a study that used in-depth interviews to explore the significance of personal psychotherapy to the professional roles of experienced therapists and advanced graduate students.