The dissertation is devoted to the study of personal therapy as a factor of professional growth of future psychologists in contemporary sociocultural conditions. The relevance of the topic is determined by the increasing psychological burden on professionals in helping occupations, the transformation of social demands placed on psychological practice, and the need to ensure not only knowledge-based, but also personal readiness of future psychologists for professional activity. In the context of heightened social instability, growing anxiety, and increased psychological vulnerability of the population, particular importance is attached to the problem of inner stability, reflexivity, and the formation of professional identity in psychologists—qualities that cannot be developed exclusively through academic training.
The aim of the dissertation research is the theoretical and empirical substantiation of the role of personal therapy as a factor of professional growth of future psychologists in the process of their professional training.
The object of the research is the professional growth of the future psychologist. The subject of the research is personal therapy within the structure of professional growth of future psychologists.
To achieve the stated aim, the study addressed a set of objectives focused on the analysis of theoretical and methodological approaches to the problem of professional growth; the empirical investigation of psychological factors of professional development in future psychologists with different levels of involvement
in personal therapy; as well as the development and testing of a formative intervention program oriented toward the integration of personal and professional experience.
In the dissertation, the professional growth of future psychologists is conceptualized as a multidimensional and dynamic process encompassing motivational-value, cognitive-reflective, emotional-regulatory, and activity-related and social-role components. It is substantiated that the effectiveness of psychologists’ professional training largely depends on the degree of integration of personal experience, the capacity to tolerate affective load, the awareness of personal boundaries, and the development of mature professional subjectivity. Within this context, personal therapy is viewed not as an optional element of professional education, but as a system-forming factor in the professional development of future specialists.
The theoretical foundation of the study is based on the principles of psychodynamic and psychoanalytic approaches, within which personal therapy is conceptualized as a space for working through internal conflicts, processes of transference and countertransference, the symbolization of affect, and the integration of identity. It is demonstrated that therapeutic experience contributes to the development of reflexivity, fosters the capacity to maintain a professional position in complex interpersonal interactions, and prevents the reproduction of unconscious relational patterns in psychologists’ professional practice. The synthesis of national and international scholarly approaches made it possible to substantiate personal therapy as a necessary condition for professional maturity, ethical responsibility, and the psychological safety of the client.
The methodological and procedural foundation of the empirical study consisted of a set of complementary methods that ensured a comprehensive analysis of the professional growth of future psychologists. The research was organized according to a design combining an ascertaining (diagnostic) stage and a formative stage, which made it possible not only to identify the initial characteristics of the psychological
factors of professional growth, but also to trace the dynamics of their changes under conditions of targeted formative intervention.
The empirical component of the study was aimed at a comprehensive examination of the psychological factors of professional growth of future psychologists in the process of their professional training. The choice of the research design was determined by the need to combine diagnostic analysis of the initial level of development of professionally significant characteristics with a subsequent assessment of the possibilities for their purposeful development within a formative intervention framework.
Within the empirical study, experimental and control groups were formed, which allowed for a comparison of the characteristics of professional growth of future psychologists depending on the presence and nature of personal therapy experience. The organization of the research ensured adherence to the principles of voluntary participation, informed consent, and the psychological safety of respondents.
