“Should I even be a therapist?”  A Qualitative Exploration of the Sources of Self-Doubt Experienced by Therapists-in-Training

One of the key elements of effective psychotherapy is the mental health of the practitioner. Research has shown that psychotherapy efficacy is diminished if therapists project anxiety in their role or lack confidence in their mastery of skills (Lambert, 1989; Royse-Roskowski, 2010; Tsai, 2015). Therapist factors contribute to approximately 9% of the outcome variance (cf. Wampold & Imel, 2015), which is higher than the variance attributed to the actual treatment used. Therapist feelings of incompetence (FOI) or self-doubt may potentially impact the therapeutic outcome (Theriault & Gazzola, 2009, 2010). However, the experience of self-doubtfrom the therapist-in-training perspective requires further investigation. This stage of development is characterized as one that presents many challenges through its exposure to novel experiences and changes in professional identity (Morrissette, 1996; Rønnestad & Skovholt, 2003). The research question that guided the current study was: “What are the sources of self-doubt in therapists-in-training?” Using inductive qualitative research methodology, 8 therapists-in-training in Ontario, Canada participated in semi-structured interviews to discuss their experiences of self-doubt. Data were analyzed using Braun and Clark’s (2012, 2014) six-step thematic analysis to uncover themes shared by participants. A total of 5 main themes and 16 sub-themes emerged from the data analysis, describing the sources of self-doubt for therapists-in-training. Findings are discussed in the context of psychotherapist training, supervision and practice.