The ‘four selves’ framework for facilitating personal and professional development (PPD) in qualifying-level systemic psychotherapy training

Abstract

Personal and Professional Development (PPD) has been long considered a central component of counselling and psychotherapy training. Key literature in respect of PPD approaches for psychotherapy training is reviewed, and the scant literature specifically relating to systemic psychotherapy noted. The ‘Four Selves’ PPD Framework, developed in Northern Ireland by the lead author as part of qualifying-level Systemic Psychotherapy training, is presented, including its diagrammatic representation, constituent elements and an illustrative example. This is followed by guidance from the PPD tutor (lead author) based on her experience of utilising the Framework to facilitate tailored PPD sessions across the two-year clinical Masters programme aimed at enhancing trainee self-reflexivity, supplemented by feedback on the ‘model-in-practice’ from a recent cohort of students. The article concludes by encouraging readers to consider the applicability of The ‘Four Selves’ PPD Framework to their own psychotherapy training contexts.