Practicum-based Learning:
a first Experience

One of my early experiences of being in a GSW Advanced Training Group was overhearing some more experienced trainees talking about going to a practicum. I could only guess what a practicum was, but judging by the people who were talking about it and the way in which it was being talked about, I picked up the idea that practicums were rather advanced, scary things, which were way beyond me at the time.

So it was with some pride, as well as high anxiety, that I drove from Bournemouth to Exmouth last year to attend my first of six practicums led by Jenny Dawson! I still did not know in much detail what to expect, except that the day would involve a lot of live supervision. This seemed like a very good idea when I booked my place, bat really not quite so tempting 10 minutes before I was due at Jenny's house.

In reality, what actually happened on each of the days we met was a variation on the following. Between four and six of us met for a day a month. We spent some time at the beginning of each day 'checking in', talking a bit about the kind of support we might need to get the most out of the day, any particular themes that were around and anything in particular we wanted to focus on. Sometimes individual members of the group would have issues they wanted to work on to do with their own practice. At other times some sort of group interest or theme would emerge.

We would then share out the rest of the day so that each person had a substantial chunk of time in which to do a piece of observed practice with a volunteer client, and then receive detailed feedback from Jenny and the other group members. We would also try and find some time to do some reviewing at the end of each day.

I think we all felt some trepidation at having our practice observed so closely by four or five people, including a very experienced trainer, but there was sufficient support for us all to feel able to participate very actively in each day. The kinds of things that I found particularly supportive included:

• Being able to negotiate working as a therapist for anything between 10 minutes and 45 minutes depending on how I felt each day.
• A mind set which meant that clients were offering themselves for therapists to practice on rather than necessarily expecting great therapy. This meant we set up consultants or supporters for therapists. the chance for the therapist to put a pause button on the work and look for ideas, and so on.
• A sense that we were all in the some boat. By this I mean that although different participants in the practicums had different amounts and kinds of experience, we all wanted to increase our awareness about our practice and we all wanted to create as safe an environment to do this in as possible.
• Jenny was very skilled at minimising the amount of shame that such situations almost inevitably stir up in people. What I found particularly helpful was her disclosing about her own recent experiences of being observed working in front of groups.

I enjoyed the practicums and feel that I benefited in lots of ways:

• I had a chance to engage in some pretty lively theoretical discussions, particularly about the integration or not of Lynne Jacobs' work into British Gestalt.
• I felt safe enough to try different ways of being as a therapist (including some interesting experiences attempting to be more provocative and less evocative in my work!)
• I had experiences of some of these experiments not going particularly well and had a bit more practice at supporting myself so that I did not sink into a pit of shame!
• I received lots of feedback about the interventions and ways of being that worked well for me, so over a period of six months I built up a clearer picture of what I am like as a 'Gestaltist'.
• Being in a group and being able to observe other people's work repeatedly, I had my own ideas challenged, saw beautiful interventions made that would never had occurred to me, and frequently felt excited and moved by our abilities to both be very differentiated and at the same time able to find points of contact.

I will be starting a new set of practicums with Jenny in November and would recommend this way of learning whole heartedly.

This article first appeared in the GSW Newsletter 35, Winter 2000