The essence of readiness to practice

The concept of ‘readiness’ is widely used in Psychotherapy training. Although individual lived experience of readiness is subjective, objective criteria are deployed to assess student readiness for progression within Psychotherapy training, relying on a framework of competencies and skills. These are derived from examination of the qualities and behaviors of experienced professionals in the field. Little is known of the subjective experience so this study used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to investigate. Three major themes emerged 1) experience of a sense of readiness to engage in the therapy session with the client as a type of preparedness to be in the moment with the client; 2) sense of readiness emerging from the experience of training to practice through personal development; and 3) subjective sense of the existentialist experience relating to an individual level of self awareness, influencing ability and capacity to engage in personal work. The essence was captured as subtle shifts in perception, supported by individual sense of knowing and conscious reflexivity, related through physiological, transpersonal and existential experiences.