Introduction: An increasing number of studies are exploring the professional development (PD) of therapists. In this study, we aim to integrate both therapists' characteristics and their development to better understand how therapists grow, what characteristics predict the significant events they identify in their lives, and how these factors influence their clinical practice and professional development. Method: 282 participants completed an online questionnaire evaluating: (1) therapists' sociodemographic and professional characteristics, such as their age, gender, frequency of supervisions and personal therapy sessions, and level of training; (2) their level of reflective practice; (3) their level of congruence. Therapists were also asked to report (4) significant events that influenced their professional development; (5) to rate the appraisals of the most significant event of their PD (primary and secondary), and the frequency of their coping activities to deal with it (e.g., self-care activities, training, reading, personal therapy, substance use). Results: Mixed-method results will be presented, exploring which types of therapists tend to report certain kinds of events, how they evaluate and cope with them. Discussion: The results will be discussed in relation to previous studies on professional development (stages of development), particularly in differentiating between trainees and experienced therapists. These findings could help improve our understanding of how the person of the therapist develops over time through significant events.
Condé et al. (Wed,) studied this question.