Investigating professional identity formation of postgraduate clinical psychology students

ABSTRACT

Objective

Little research has investigated professional identity in Australian clinical psychology postgraduate students. The current study examined potential predictors of professional identity for these students.

Method

Anonymous, self-report cross-sectional surveys for Australian postgraduate clinical psychology students were distributed via online survey links sent by their institution’s Program Director. Respondents reported professional identity, motivation, engagement, satisfaction with program, resilience, burnout, demographics, and enrolment type.

Results

Data from 77 respondents were analysed. Students reported an average 4.25/5 for sense of professional identity as a psychologist. Age, work experience, and stage of program were not associated with professional identity. In multivariate analyses, higher student satisfaction, lower burnout, and lower engagement with “student” aspects of postgraduate study were associated with stronger professional identity.

Conclusions

Levels of professional identity were relatively high and showed little influence of demographic variables. However, there is likely to be a reciprocal relationship between satisfaction with postgraduate study and professional identity for students, which would need to be evaluated in a different design to understand directions of association. Results also suggest that supporting postgraduate students in self-care and helping students to balance professional responsibilities and academic aspects of study are likely to assist in fostering postgraduates’ professional identity.

KEY POINTS

What is already known about this topic:

1. Professional identity provides a sense of self in relation to membership of a specific profession.

2. Students in health and social services professions, including psychology, have demonstrated emerging professional identities in their areas of study.

3. In working professionals, professional identity has been found to be important for wellbeing and for relationships with colleagues and clients.

What this paper adds:

1. Professional identity amongst a sample of Australian postgraduate students in clinical psychology was independent of demographic variables such as age, gender, and previous work experience.

2. Stronger professional identity in the current sample correlated with higher satisfaction with the program of study and lower level of burnout.

3. In multivariate analysis, higher satisfaction with the program of study, lower burnout, and lower engagement with “academic” aspects of the program each independently predicted higher level of professional identity. From these cross-sectional findings, potential causal associations between predictors and professional identity remain to be clarified.

KEYWORDS:

• Professional identity
• higher education
• clinical psychology
• burnout
• student satisfaction

Acknowledgements

An earlier version of this manuscript was submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of a Master of Clinical Psychology at Griffith University.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, HG, upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.