Relational skills and self-awareness outcomes in psychotherapy trainees

Relational skills and self-awareness are important aspects of psychotherapy training, shaping how trainees relate to clients, reflect on their experiences, and develop professionally. Despite their importance, little research has examined how these aspects are related during training. This cross-sectional study investigated the associations between relational skills and self-awareness outcomes in psychotherapy trainees and explored whether these variables differed according to stages of training, age, engagement in personal therapy, and self-reported mental health difficulties. The sample included 105 trainees (75.2% female, M age=29.71 years, SD=10.77), of whom 46% were in the beginning stage and 54% in the advanced stage of training. Relational styles were identified using exploratory factor analysis, and associations were examined using Pearson correlations and analyses of variance. Self-awareness outcomes were assessed with the Self-Awareness Outcomes Questionnaire (SAOQ). Exploratory factor analysis identified four relational styles: Warm, Guarded, Directive, and Intense. Warm, Directive, and Intense styles were positively associated with several self-awareness outcomes, whereas Guarded was associated with higher emotional costs of self-awareness. Older trainees (43+) reported greater emotional engagement, lower emotional strain, and higher scores on the Intense style than trainees aged 18-24. Trainees engaged in personal therapy tended to report lower emotional costs of self-awareness. Self-reported mental health difficulties were associated with higher emotional costs and more guarded, less warm relational styles. The results contribute to an understanding of how relational styles, self-awareness outcomes, and personal factors are interconnected in psychotherapy trainees and may help inform psychotherapy training by emphasizing individual differences in relational functioning.