Experiential Group Processes in Graduate Training of Psychologists: the case of “Expressive Therapies” and “Group Psychotherapies” at the University of Évora

Abstract

The training of Psychologists tries to promote the psychological understanding of the human functioning, the development of evaluation, analysis and intervention competences and, at the same time, to provide for the development of personal and interpersonal competences, crucial for the professional praxis. Our question is how to promote in the academic context this personal and interpersonal development of the students in order to achieve the necessary competences they need to the work in this area. In this paper we will reflect on the authors’ experience of teaching two curricular units of the 2nd Cycle level of Psychology Course and on a qualitative study designed to deepen the understanding of how the experiential component of these courses is experienced by students. Our paper will report on the specificities of students versus teachers’ perceptions of the experiential activities and the development of personal and interpersonal competences. Furthermore links between the type of perceptions and the nature of the methods used in each curricular unit will be discussed. 1