How did we learn best? A retrospective survey of clinical psychology training in the UK

Objectives: This U.K.-based study aimed to investigate qualified clinical psychologists’ perceptions of the value and usefulness of the learning activities experienced during their training in clinical psychology.
Design: Members (N = 357) of the Division of Clinical Psychology of the British Psychological Society (BPS) completed a self-report questionnaire about their training as clinical psychologists.
Results: The results indicate that most clinical psychologists believe that they learnt mainly through doing and by observing others’ clinical practice. They also highlight the importance of the learning relationship and the value of personal therapy for learning.
Conclusions: The findings point to the need for more training of trainers, especially clinical supervisors. They also draw attention to the need for more research to establish which learning activities contribute most / least to trainees’
developing competence.