Great Expectations: Mistaken Beliefs of Beginning Psychodynamic Psychotherapists

Beginning psychotherapists often have mistaken assumptions about what it is that constitutes good psychotherapy and a good psychotherapist. These mistaken beliefs are counterproductive and may inhibit the development of appropriate psychotherapeutic skills as well as delay, or even prevent, the acquisition of an appropriate identity as a psychotherapist. This paper explores six common mistaken beliefs on the part of neophyte psychotherapists, providing a basis for exploration and discussion of key developmental issues in the genesis of a competent psychotherapist.