Learning Psychology and becoming psychologists: developing professional identity through group experiential learning

Introduction In this paper we describe the effectiveness of an experiential training group, specifically conceived for psychology students, which try to activate a reflection on the internalized social representations of professional identity. Our study aims to demonstrate that group experiential learning is particularly useful to change the basis of social representations and may contribute to the construction of a realistic image of both the profession and the professional identity. Method Research has involved 88 students enrolled in the graduate program in Clinical Psychology. Before and after the experiential groups, students were asked to write a text starting from the hint ‘Becoming a Psychologist’. These 176 texts provided the data used for this study. We carried out a text analysis using automatized software that provide Hierarchical Classification and Factorial Analysis of Correspondences. Results The changes in the representations of the psychologist underline how participation to group experiential learning has allowed students to build a more realistic, less stereotypical and idealized vision of their future profession and a greater awareness of the limits of a training program based solely on the acquisition of theoretical notions. Discussion Data suggest the possibility of usefully practicing such learning activities, in order to help students to reflect about their professional representations.