Thematic analysis of the negative emotions and experiences related to professionel self-efficacy in clinical psychologists with professional anxiety

Professional self-efficacy is very important for clinical psychologists to manage the therapy process efficently. It is seen that mental health workers have just started profession may experience occupational anxiety and low professional self-efficacy (Al-Darmaki, 2004; Çınar & Yenipınar, 2019; Durdukoca & Atalay, 2019). In literature there are few studies about this topic, and this study aimed at examining the negative emotions and experiences of clinical psychologists who experience professional anxiety and low professional self-efficacy. Qualitative research method was used since the main purpose of this study is to explore negative emotions and experiences of the participants. Thematic analysis as a qualitative research method was preferred to make sense of the experiences of the clinical psychologists. Homogeneous sampling was formed and eight clinical psychologist who are between 26-28 years old, having 1-2 years of professional experience, experiencing professional anxiety and low professional self-efficacy were recruited as participants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight participants and their experiences were analyzed according to guidelines of thematic analysis. As a result of the analysis five main themes emerged: 'The therapist's self-perception of being flawed and self-blame', 'Does my supervisor think I am competent? The effects of the supervisor on the therapist', 'The reflections of personal experiences on the therapy process', 'Being a good therapist: The impact of the idealized therapist identity', 'Managing the therapy process: The feelings of fear, anxiety, and inadequacy'. The results of the study were discussed in the context of the relevant literature and the clinical implications of the findings are presented.