The Fellow’s Perspective of the Training Program
Solid graduate school and internship experiences were not adequate preparation to enter the field of professional psychology. I knew I needed more training and clinical experience and actively pursued a challenging post-doctorate fellowship. During the three years of training with IIGP, I was – for the first time in my clinical experience – able to work side by side with senior clinicians in the field. Seeing and hearing what they do, in vivo, and their seeing and hearing me, was sometimes painful, surprising and inspiring. Supervision and collegial availability were significant components of my learning experience. I was challenged to think more critically and express clinical rationale that passed examination beyond intuition, thus helping me to find words for things I knew yet hadn’t spoken. This was pressure to grow through time and experience, and not from a book, much like the process of psychotherapy itself. Change occurs through intense experience and immersion in a process. Personal growth and learning require similar effortful work. I do not believe there are many post-graduate opportunities out there which offer the willing apprentice this level of depth of involvement and potential for personal development.
— Dana Tautfest, Psy. D.