The relationship between lifelong learning and professional development activities in a Portuguese sample

Objective

A dispositional commitment to lifelong learning (LL) is an important aspect of continuing professional development for practicing psychotherapists. Equally important is the dedication of psychotherapists to engaging in professional development activities to foster growth and maintain competence. However, there are limited available data on the range of practices and factors influencing psychotherapists' commitment to these activities. The primary objective of this study was to examine whether a higher commitment to LL would significantly predict greater participation in a range of different professional development activities.

Method

A sample of 166 Portuguese psychotherapists completed an online survey on professional development. The survey included two key measures: the Jefferson Scale of Psychotherapist Lifelong Learning and a list of professional development activities based on the Retrospective Analysis of Psychotherapists' Involvement in Deliberate Practice. Exploratory factorial analysis was conducted to determine an alternative and suitable grouping for the list of activities, and structural equation modelling was utilised to assess the relationship between the commitment to LL and engagement in these activities.

Findings

Results provided valuable insight into the diverse levels of participation among therapists across five categories of activities: (1) supervision and case discussion; (2) recording-related activities; (3) reading and focussed learning; (4) reflecting; and (5) workshops supporting ongoing professional competence. Findings indicated that a stronger commitment to LL significantly predicted increased dedication to reading, focussed learning activities and attendance to training workshops. The implications and limitations of the study are discussed concerning their practical application for professional psychologists, counsellors and psychotherapists.