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Abstract

This study explored the stages of development that family therapists experienced in coming to a competent sense of professional identity as family therapists. The survey items focused on specific characteristics associated with Friedman and Kaslow’s model for family therapists’ development of professional identity. The 182 participants included 162 licensed family therapists and 20 recent graduates and students from an accredited family therapy master’s degree program in the Midwest. The results indicated that there were specific developmental stages experienced by participants in the process of coming to a competent sense of professional identity as family therapists. The findings also indicated that there was a predictable time frame during which these stages occur, and participants generally recognized themselves as competent professionals within a time frame of 5 to 6 years of experience.

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A Survey Study on Developmental Stages in Achieving a Competent Sense of Self as a Family Therapist

Abstract

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