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Psychotherapy Trainee Humility and Its Impact: Conceptual and Practical Considerations

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Abstract

Humility has been increasingly recognized and elaborated upon as a critical variable for effective therapeutic practice and training. But all considerations thus far have focused virtually exclusively on supervisor or therapist humility, the psychotherapy trainee’s humility going unexamined. What role might humility play in the trainee’s own therapist development process and treatment functioning? Furthermore, what implications might trainee humility have for the supervisory relationship? Those questions are considered subsequently. We examine the role of trainee humility in both the treatment and supervisory situations and give focus to its intrapersonal and interpersonal properties, specifically considering the following: (a) three types of trainee humility; (b) trainee humility as contributing to four best practices; and (c) three ways by which trainee humility is placed under developmental threat. Case examples are provided for illustrative purposes, and some ways of cultivating trainee humility are proposed.

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  1. University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle #311280, Denton, TX, 76203, USA

    C. Edward Watkins Jr. & David K. Mosher

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  1. C. Edward Watkins Jr.
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Correspondence to C. Edward Watkins Jr..

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Watkins, C.E., Mosher, D.K. Psychotherapy Trainee Humility and Its Impact: Conceptual and Practical Considerations. J Contemp Psychother 50, 187–195 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-020-09454-8

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