Abstract
It can be argued that a full examination of the topic of training and supervision in psychotherapy necessarily begins with this question: Who are we training, or who should we be training, as future therapists? Some (unknown) percentage of the variance in producing effective psychotherapists is accounted for by selecting trainees. In fact, as suggested by an expert in the field, "the person of the trainee that we select is more important than the training itself, although the training is naturally also important". This chapter presents a study that investigated the personal/interpersonal characteristics (positive and negative) considered most important by those admitting students to graduate programs, specifically, directors of clinical training. The study addresses two complementary questions: What kinds of assessments are used routinely by their programs in selecting such students? And how satisfied are respondents with the current procedures for assessing personal characteristics of applicants to their programs?.