Professional Vision in Psychotherapy: An Exploratory Study

The restructuring of the psychotherapist training in Germany has increased the demand for university-based teaching strategies that effectively support the development of practical psychotherapeutic competencies. This exploratory study applies the concept of professional vision, established in teacher training, to psychotherapy education. It investigates differences in perceptions of therapeutic processes in two therapy videos between students and psychotherapists in training, who were combined into one group ( n = 60) based on a manipulation check on self-rated experience in trauma treatment, and experienced supervisors ( n = 30). Using a mixed-methods design, we combined quantitative ratings of relevant therapeutic processes (therapeutic relationship, competence, and affect) with qualitative analyses of verbal data, focusing on the components of knowledge-based reasoning (description, explanation, and prediction) as part of professional vision. Qualitative results indicated that supervisors were more advanced in describing and explaining as well as in predicting therapeutic processes, although these differences were not consistent across all domains examined. Quantitative analyses revealed only limited differences in the ratings between the groups. Practical implications for the design of instructional formats are derived and considerations for future research in this area are discussed. This study provides initial evidence for applying the concept of professional vision to psychotherapeutic education.