‘These are the things I may never learn from books’. Clinical psychology students’ experiences of their development of practical wisdom

Abstract

Clinical psychologists in their clinical work rely on both theoretical knowledge and practical wisdom. However, during education theoretical knowledge receives more attention. Since practical wisdom is fundamental in clinical work, it has been argued that it should be emphasized in education. In order to further understand how practical wisdom might be supported, this work investigates how clinical psychology students, who within a year were about to graduate, perceived that education had supported the development of clinical wisdom. Seven students were interviewed about their experiences of how education had supported their clinical wisdom. The interviews were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The participants sensed that practical wisdom was connected to personal experiences and reflection, and thus was hard to distinguish from personal development. Moreover, they sensed that education concerning practical wisdom should be specifically mentioned in the curriculum, and that theory and practice should be more integrated. The findings are discussed with respect to learning experiences and future educational possibilities.

Keywords:

• clinical psychology training
• practical wisdom
• reflection
• dialogue
• clinical psychology
• personal development

Acknowledgement

The author would like to thank Peter Erlandson, Department of Pedagogical, Curricular and Professional Studies, Gothenburg University, Sweden, for his invaluable support, assistance and feedback in the preparation of this manuscript.