Therapeutic attitudes, emotional responses and the role of supervision in trainee psychotherapists Research presented at the Group Group Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Schools (GSPP) Comparison Day Becoming a psychotherapist between research and training (13 May 2017)

Although several international studies have demonstrated the importance of the training experience of psychotherapists, there is no research in the Italian panorama that investigates the representations of students regarding the relevance of technical, relational and emotional aspects in their therapeutic practice. In 2016 the Group of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Schools (GSPP) has promoted research aimed at investigating the therapeutic attitudes of students, their emotional reactions in session and opinions regarding supervision. The research project was conducted on a sample of 368 students, who completed an online format, consisting of a short biographical data sheet, the Psychotherapy Process Q-Set (PQS), the Therapist Response Questionnaire (TRQ), a questionnaire on central aspects of supervision and the Short Supervisory Relationship Questionnaire (S-SRQ). The results show that students are familiar with the cornerstones of psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy, at least theoretically, although it is not clear how these representations are translated into clinical practice. Among the emotional and countertransferential reactions, a sense of protection towards the patient and experiences of overload and anxiety with respect to one's role as a therapist are very frequent. With regard to supervision, pupils' responses are quite discrepant. These results were discussed by students and teachers during a day of comparison, held on May 13, 2017 at the Teatro Parenti in Milan.