Self‐evaluation of psychotherapeutic competence

The authors investigated the process of change of self‐evaluation of therapeutic competence in psychotherapists enrolled in a postgraduate training programme of psychotherapy. An analysis of the relationships between self‐evaluated therapeutic skills and level or stage of formal training was performed. The results of this study suggest that a higher level of self‐evaluated therapeutic skill among applicants was followed by a decline in self‐evaluation as the training progressed, and a gradual increase in self‐evaluation towards the end of formal training. The findings reveal a curvilinear pattern of change which suggests specific internal cognitive/emotional processes leading to the formation of a professional self‐image as a psychotherapist. 1994 The British Psychological Society