Teaching Trainees to Make Mistakes

Abstract

Mistakes are common in everyday life, and psychotherapy is no exception. This article offers a model that identifies two types of mistakes: strategic mistakes, which occur when a significant misunderstanding is made in a patient's diagnosis or treatment plan, and tactical mistakes, which occur when the therapist, within a strategically well-designed therapy, makes inappropriate moves that produce adverse effects. Strategic mistakes, if appropriately analyzed, are good learning opportunities for trainees. Tactical mistakes are something more, because besides offering a chance to learn, they can also be seen as therapeutic opportunities. This article presents five steps to promote an effective use of mistakes in therapy: legitimation of the mistakes, cooperation with patients, awareness of our most common mistake patterns, true apologies, and identification of the healing meaning of each mistake.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marco Mazzetti

Marco Mazzetti, M.D., is a psychiatrist, a Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst (psychotherapy), a member of EATA and the ITAA since 1988, a university lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Brescia, Italy, and an author of several books and scientific articles on transactional analysis. He is the head of the rehabilitation service for torture victims, “Invisible Wounds,” at the Caritas Health Service in Rome. Marco works in private practice in Milan, Italy, where he founded and runs the Milan Institute for Transactional Analysis. He can be reached at [e-mail]. The author wishes to express his gratitude to the reviewers and the guest editor for their observations, which significantly increased the quality of the article.