Background:

The experiential and reflective nature of psychotherapeutic training is not always captured in undergraduate psychology teaching, therefore, there is a need for educational strategies that provide opportunities for deeper understanding of the therapeutic process.

Objective:

This article evaluates one such strategy—A Book Club, to support the understanding of psychotherapeutic practice and mental health in Psychology undergraduate students at a private university in Dubai, UAE.

Method:

Psychotherapy-related books were assigned as prior reading each month, which were then discussed in the group meetings facilitated by clinically experienced Psychology lecturers. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were carried out with students and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results:

Four primary themes were generated—(1) Diversity in perspectives, (2) Autonomous learning environment, (3) Reality orientation, and (4) Sparking self-insight. The results highlight that Book Clubs are useful in fostering deeper conceptualizations of the therapeutic relationship, visualizing future careers in psychotherapy, and promoting self-awareness among students.

Conclusion:

Discussions centred around books can provide students with discourse opportunities that enhance students’ interpersonal skills and improve student engagement.

Teaching Implication:

Book clubs can be a useful platform for teachers to help students connect the knowledge that they have previously acquired in the classroom with real-life experiences of psychotherapists described in books.

中文翻译：

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带回书本：通过读书俱乐部的参与，增强对心理学学生心理治疗的理解

背景：

心理治疗培训的体验性和反思性并不总是能在本科心理学教学中体现出来，因此，需要一种教育策略，为更深入地了解治疗过程提供机会。

客观的：

本文评估了一种这样的策略-一个读书俱乐部，以支持对阿联酋迪拜一所私立大学的心理学本科学生的心理治疗实践和心理健康的理解。

方法：

与心理治疗有关的书籍被指定为每月的优先阅读书籍，然后在具有临床经验的心理学讲师的协助下，在小组会议中进行讨论。对学生进行了15次半结构化访谈，并使用主题分析进行了分析。

结果：

产生了四个主要主题-（1）观点的多样性；（2）自主学习环境；（3）现实取向；以及（4）激发自我理解。结果表明，读书俱乐部可用于促进更深层的治疗关系概念化，可视化心理治疗的未来职业以及促进学生的自我意识。

结论：

以书籍为中心的讨论可以为学生提供演讲机会，从而增强他们的人际交往能力并提高他们的参与度。

教学意义：

读书俱乐部可以成为教师的有用平台，帮助学生将他们以前在课堂上获得的知识与书中描述的心理治疗师的真实经历联系起来。