The Experiences of Trainee Psychiatrists Learning a Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Model: A Grounded Theory Study

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the experience of trainee psychiatrists learning a psychodynamic psychotherapy model.

Method: An audio taped, semi-structured interview of 12 participants was conducted, and a grounded theory, qualitative methodology used to analyse the interviews.

Results: The central concept of ‘a daunting task’ was developed and linked to the major categories of ‘trainee: shock and awe’, ‘patient: protected and feared’, ‘supervisor: disappointing or admired/revered’ and the ‘wider context: doing and learning psychiatry in the 21st century’.

Conclusions: The study identified several factors in each of the major categories that contributed to the experience of the psychodynamic psychotherapy training case as daunting. Despite this, the participants in the study universally identified the importance of psychiatrists being psychodynamically informed, and the importance of the training case in facilitating this.