When I was teaching the Diploma of Psychotherapy at the University of Brighton , we always tried to demonstrate everything we taught . We did this because we recognized that many people are visual learners , and gain at least as much from seeing something done as from reading about it . Especially if that reading material is dry and academic . Just as there ' s more to life than theory , there ' s more to therapy too .
On learning by osmosis
When I think back to when I was first learning therapy in the early 1990s , what really stands out in my mind now are the demonstrations of therapy and the descriptions of real therapy being done . Don ' t get me wrong – a working understanding of current psychological knowledge is vital , and there are some excellent books and tutorials which are really important – but the written word is still a far cry from the real-life application of therapeutic skills . Seeing knowledge applied is an irreplaceable part of training . From the moment we are born , we learn primarily through observation – " picking up " knowledge almost without knowing it . This is the traditional way of gaining knowledge for a reason – because it is the way we evolved to learn . And with the invasion of psychology by scientism , we are in danger of losing this ancient method of " learning by osmosis ." Here ' s what I mean :
The Sorcerer ' s Apprentice
For hundreds of years people worked with an apprentice system , in which a student would live with a master , constantly observing his or her approach , movement , language , and skill . The apprentice would pick up the skills of the practitioner through association and observation . The evidence that the student had picked the knowledge up was in his ability to perform the skill . Not a mark on a test ! This seems to me to be a much more rational way of learning and measuring performance in the field of therapy than book learning .
Our Western , " left-brain " attitude to learning requires us not just to learn , but to know what we have learned . By these standards , unless we demonstrate the ability to reproduce facts , we haven ' t learned anything .
In a world so focused on learning facts and figures , the ancient practice of learning simply by associating or watching someone can seem kind of strange . Indeed , when you only have one part of a puzzle , it can be hard to envisage the other – but the puzzle won ' t be complete until you have both parts . Book learning and observational learning are both vital to the acquisition of deep learning . Expertise , skills , and knowledge can be caught as much as taught .