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Chapter Seven – A Discussion – Page 222
the importance of some feedback from tutors to students on how well or otherwise those
students are doing in terms of their clinical performance.
This conflict about whether to speak up (assuming that one can find the required
thoughts, feelings or words) captures a challenge that is central to psychotherapy. I am
particularly aware in this example of having missed an opportunity to try and bring the
focus of discussion into the group, where it could have been addressed more directly.
INTERPRETATION
In the course of this process of interpretation, I will lay out a series of elements, and will
describe how these contribute to what I come to say.
Developmental Issues
A range of developmental issues for therapists in training challenge the participants in
this semester, and there is evidence of their presence in people’s minds in this session.
Awareness of this comes from practice experience, but is also supported by group-
analytic theory.
These include:
the tension between dependence and independence;
managing in the future without the support of the course;
the challenge of integrating theory and practice on one’s own;
translating one’s learning more in to practice;
the tasks of ending (leaving, separating and individuating from the course);