ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to open up a dialogue surrounding the use of personal therapy. Within the chapter, two clinical psychologists were interviewed about their experiences of their own therapeutic journeys. We acknowledge that beginning a therapeutic journey can be a daunting task, particularly when considering which approach might be most useful to you. These ideas stemmed from both of our doctorial theses, which were broadly focused on understanding differing methods of personal development and how this might impact practice. One of the ideas that sparked our interest in this area was the debate around whether clinical psychologists should engage in mandatory personal therapy.
Within the chapter is an exploration of what is meant by personal therapy and how we might use it as part of becoming a clinical psychologist. We hope to have provided an account of our own experiences and reflections of therapy before, during and after our training journeys.
We have provided excerpts from an interview that took place with an assistant psychologist. The excerpts are grouped together into themes, together with references for further reading. Towards the end of the chapter is a reflective activity which we hope will encourage some further reflection and debate.
