The Applicability of a Seminal Professional Development Theory to Creative Arts Therapies Students

Abstract

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to test the extent to which a seminal theory of the professional development of counsellors and therapists is applicable to the particular experiences of creative arts therapies graduate students who learn how to use the arts in psychotherapy. Nevertheless, readers may consider the results of the present study transferable to other healthcare disciplines. Questionnaires for each developmental phase were used for data collection, and analysis included data quantification, assessment of inter-rater agreement and theory derivation procedure. Results indicate that creative arts therapies students were concerned about translating theory into practice, learning how experienced therapists concretely function in practice, and reducing cognitive dissonance upon realization that their pre-training lay conceptions of helping were no longer valid. Stress and anxiety drove students to adopt easily mastered techniques that were implemented creatively in practicum. The results confirm that students who were older and had undergraduate human-service education and/or considerable life experience were less concerned about their suitability to the profession, were more acquainted with a professional working style and searched for their individual way of becoming therapists. Finally, recommendations for future research are suggested, and implications for practice are offered.

Helpful and Hindering Factors in Psychodrama Field Training: A Longitudinal Mixed Methods Study of Student Development

“…The findings are indicative of the helping and hindering factors that should be maximized and minimized to cultivate students’ successful field training. As in Orkibi (2014) , the qualitative findings here suggest that students need a stable setting and clear group rules and that they rely on their CI (who led the group) as a viable professional role model. The findings also highlight the importance of gradually enabling students to take on a leading role in the group, under the close supervision of the CI.…”

“…Similarly, CAT students enter training with their own personal lay conceptions of helping, as they often see themselves as helpers to friends and family members where helping is typically guided by common sense and personal life experience ( Orkibi, 2014 ). Students may consciously or unconsciously overestimate their helping abilities as a form of self-protection; in other words, they may strive to protect and enhance their feelings of self-worth ( Shepperd et al, 2008 ).…”

“…As training progresses, some students start to engage in upward social comparison, when comparing themselves to the CIs or to a more experienced peer. Consequently they may feel more insecure about the fit between their abilities and the demands of the therapist role ( Orkibi, 2014 , p. 515). Thus, the subsequent quantitative decline in students’ sense of ability and the qualitative findings that reflect an increase in self-doubts and confusion regarding suitability are consistent with Orkibi’s (2014) study where first-year students experienced increased stress and anxiety upon the realization that their personal self-endorsed pre-training lay conceptions of helping others were no longer valid.…”

“… Orkibi’s (2014) two-year longitudinal study found that the Rønnestad and Skovholt (2003) seminal theory of counselors’ and therapists’ professional development was largely applicable to that of CAT graduate students in Israel. According to Orkibi, students in the Beginning Student phase (first year of a 2-year Master’s degree program) were mainly concerned with translating theory into practice, learning in a prescriptive and concrete way how experienced therapists practice, and reducing cognitive dissonance upon realization that their pre-training lay conceptions of helping were no longer valid.…”

Becoming a Reflexive Practitioner: Exploring Music Therapy Students’ Learning Experiences with Participatory Role-Play in a Norwegian Context

“…Educational research in music therapy is still a relatively small area of research. In general, there are few empirical attempts to understand the professional development of students trained in art therapy, music therapy or dance movement therapy (Orkibi, 2013). Educational research in the field of music therapy has specifically included focus on the use of musical instruments and musical skills (Kennedy, 2001;Silverman, 2011), supervision (Forinash, 2001;Tanguay, 2008), clinical practice development (Madsen & Kaiser, 1999;Wheeler, 2002), models for self-experiential learning and psychotherapy in education (Gardstrom & Jackson, 2011;Murphy, 2007;Scheiby & Pedersen, 1999), reflexive journaling (Barry & O'Callaghan, 2008) and research on feminist pedagogy in music therapy (Hahna & Schwantes, 2011).…”