Designing and piloting a questionnaire to uncover conscious and unconscious motivations of psychotherapists

Abstract

Psychotherapists, psychologists and counsellors play a vital role in mental health care, offering treatment to individuals grappling with psychological difficulties. Research suggests that these professionals, who engage primarily in the work of psychotherapy, share a great deal in common and have been deemed by various researchers to constitute “the fifth profession”. The conscious motivations underlying choosing and sustaining a career in these professions have been widely studied. These often include a desire to help others, intellectual curiosity, or interest in psychological theories, while unconscious motivations may stem from unresolved personal conflicts or a need for validation. Understanding these factors is crucial, as they influence therapeutic relationships, the effectiveness of interventions, and therapists' own well-being. Existing questionnaires have so far been limited to other specific professions, or tend to focus on motivations driving career choice in general. A questionnaire for assessing motivations to become psychotherapists could therefore offer valuable insights into the personal, professional, and unconscious drivers influencing career choice. A previous study using the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT), which gives access to tacit knowledge and unconscious motivations, found that besides altruistic motives to pursue the profession psychotherapists may also be driven by “darker” motivators. These include a need for power, financial gain and self-affirmation. The results of this study also point to the existence of traits which could potentially interfere with the outcome of psychotherapy, such as unethical attitudes and behaviours, an inflated sense of self, and difficulties with empathy. The findings of this study were drawn on to compile a quantitative research tool in accordance with established scale development and questionnaire design techniques. In an initial phase this tool was piloted qualitatively and the results of this pilot study are presented in this paper. Future directions of this study include the administration of the scale to a representative sample of Maltese psychotherapists in order to confirm factor structure and to assess the reliability and validity of the final scale. This would constitute the second phase of the study. The results of this study have implications for the selection, training, supervision and continuing professional development of psychotherapists. The finalised instrument could be used as a screening tool when prospective psychotherapists are being selected for entry into professional programmes. It could also prove useful in informing the personal psychotherapy and supervision of existing psychotherapists. The questionnaire could also prompt reflection and self-awareness which remain fundamental as motivations evolve throughout a psychotherapist's career.