Perceived influence of life experiences on clinical psychologists' selection and development of theoretical orientations.

Investigated the types of life experiences perceived by 31 male and 9 female behavioral and psychodynamic (PD) psychologists as influential in the development of their theoretical orientation. Half of the Ss were experienced therapists (aged 31–59 yrs); the other half were clinical psychology graduate students. Ss completed a theoretical orientation survey and a checklist of variables influencing the selection of a theoretical orientation and were also interviewed individually. Results show that therapists in the PD group (1) reported significantly more mental illness in members of their families of origin, (2) offered significantly more personal as opposed to professional reasons for seeking therapy, (3) reported significantly more conflict within their families of origin when compared with therapists in the behavioral group, and (4) reported seeking personal therapy more often (95%) than therapists in the behavioral group (40%). Implications for training of therapists are discussed. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)