Clinical psychologists as persons and practitioners

: exploring personal therapy and the sharing of mental health difficulties in the workplace

Abstract

Section A
Personal therapy has been conceptualised as a means of enhancing reflective capacity, deepening empathic understanding, and supporting emotional resilience among clinical psychologists. However, its uptake, alongside the ethical and empirical implications of participation, remains debated. This Critical Interpretative Synthesis (CIS) explored how clinical psychologists experience and make sense of personal therapy. A systematic search of five databases (PsycINFO, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL) identified 10 relevant studies following screening for quality and relevance. Analysis generated three interconnected synthetic constructs: Breaking the "Superhuman” Barrier; Contextual Influences Shaping Access and Engagement with Personal Therapy; and Bridging the ‘Them’ in ‘Us’. Together, these constructs conceptualise personal therapy as a transformative, contextually mediated journey through which clinical psychologists negotiate vulnerability and professional identity. The synthesis highlights implications for training and organisational culture, particularly the normalisation of personal therapy and the recognition of vulnerability as a professional strength. Limitations include the influence of search terminology on study identification and the limited representation of those who did not engage with, or had negative experiences of, personal therapy. Future research should address underrepresented perspectives, explore measurable outcomes related to wellbeing and professional development, and examine the long-term effects of engagement with personal therapy.

Section B
Objectives. Workplace mental health has become an increasing organisational priority, yet tensions remain within professions responsible for providing mental health support. This study explored how clinical psychologists experience sharing their own mental health difficulties in the workplace.
Design. A qualitative study using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA).
Methods. Eight qualified clinical psychologists participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using IPA (Smith et al., 2022).
Results. Three group experiential themes were developed: Navigating the Tension Between Professional Identity and Personal Vulnerability; Sharing as a Relationally Contingent and Strategically Negotiated Process; and Reclaiming Agency and Integrating Lived Experience Over Time. Participants described striving to meet an internalised ideal of the ‘competent psychologist’, while negotiating stigma, shame, and anticipated judgement. Decisions about sharing were shaped by relational safety and organisational hierarchies. Over time, many described greater agency and integration of lived experience into their professional identities.
Conclusion. Implications highlight the importance of organisational and training contexts that actively address stigma, clarify fitness-to-practise processes, and equip supervisors to respond supportively when clinical psychologists share difficulties. Future research could extend these findings by exploring more diverse samples of clinical psychologists and employing anonymous data collection methods to capture a broader range of experiences.

Date of Award	2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Canterbury Christ Church University