Difficult experiences for counselling psychologists in mandatory process groups during their training

The participation in process groups during psychology and psychotherapy training can provide trainees with experiences that contribute significantly to their personal and professional development. However, some of the negative experiences associated with participation found in the research undertaken can cause trainee distress and psychological harm which frequently pertains to potential ethical breaches.

This study’s aim was to explore these ‘difficult experiences’ that can sometimes occur in mandatory process groups to determine the impact of these experiences on trainee safety and learning. The qualitative approach employed in this study involved nine qualified counselling psychologists from 5 different universities in the UK, aged from 28 to 59, who took part in semi-structured interviews which were transcribed and analysed using Template Analysis. This produced two primary themes ‘Ethical dilemmas – ‘Thrown to the lions’’ and ‘Lack of safety – A barrier to learning’. Researcher reflexivity was used throughout this study to enhance the transparency and accuracy of the findings.

The findings indicated that taking part in process groups can, at times, be a source of intensely distressing and harmful experiences reported by the trainees in this research, and that these experiences can lead to trainee withdrawal and non-engagement, which negatively impacts learning. The descriptions of difficult experiences included malicious attacks from peers, breaches of confidentiality, unsupportive facilitators, destructive interpersonal dynamics, and an implicit pressure to contribute to the group. The study’s findings have contributed to new knowledge in how difficulties experienced negatively impact learning for trainee counselling psychologists in the UK. In addition, the findings have shown that difficulties in process groups pertaining to ethical breaches are consistent across the five training programs in this study. It was felt important to therefore make some considered recommendations for counselling psychology educators based on the findings of this study and make improvements in the field for candidates and institutions.