A note on social self-treatment and professional narcicism

Area of Science:

• Psychology Education
• Professional Training Standards

Background:

• A significant number of students (370) participated in courses with content and methods resembling psychotherapy.
• Instructors delivering this training were not mental health professionals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the implications of psychotherapy-reminiscent training for the psychology profession.
• To discuss the impact of such training when offered outside a formal mental health context.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of course content and teaching methods.
• Consideration of the professional background of instructors.

Main Results:

• Training activities were highly similar to psychotherapy.
• Instructors lacked formal mental health professional qualifications.

Conclusions:

• The integration of psychotherapy-like activities in psychology courses requires careful consideration.
• Training delivered by non-mental health professionals may have unintended consequences for the psychology profession.