Being Given the Fish or Being Taught to Fish: The Conundrum of The Beginning Clinician

I have fond memories of an ex-lecturer (and program chair of the clinical program) who had once taught me during my postgraduate training. For many clinical psychology students at that time (there were only 2 universities then offering this program), she was a guiding figure in our formative years as mental health professionals. To speak of her influence, most of her students are now industry pioneers of this time.

The memories I had were not fond in a way where it was all fun and laughter. On the contrary, looking back, those were stressful times.

One of the reasons why it was stressful was because she was a person known to teach not by providing answers, but rather questions.

If one were to submit coursework, one should also expect a variety of questions (which requires answers) as a form of feedback. If I were to write that “… XYZ scored within the low average range” just as how I should and was taught to, I would be asked to justify why is it low average and not average/ high average, would it be fair to the client that the statement is worded that way, were there cultural factors that might have affected the score, have I considered that…. and the list goes on.

Evidently, this method of learning took a long time and a lot of effort. Our days were long and stressful. Our discussions and studying go well beyond class time. On occasion, I admit that I just felt like I’d just want to pass something up and be done with it without having to think too much of it. Considering all angles for every decision I made and every sentence that I put in writing was undoubtedly tiring.

In this situation, the student just wanted to be given the fish, but the teacher wanted the student to learn how to fish.

The practice of clinical psychology goes beyond what needs to appear on paper or steps to follow when interacting with a client. Maintaining ethical conduct and making the “right” decision for the work done with our clients is a core skill and is one that requires time and intentional effort to apply. Most of the work with clients do not happen during the session, but in-between sessions as we deliberate, learn, research, evaluate, and arrive at a decision that is ethically sound and is best for the client, given the circumstances.

While it may appear highly effortful to do this during my time as a student, just like a muscle, it gets stronger with repeated action, and working ethically with clients eventually becomes second nature and an unquestionable part of clinical practice.

This ex-lecturer of mine had left the university halfway through my postgraduate studies to pursue other interests. Years later, I had learned that she had engaged in part-time teaching with students once more. But, when I asked for feedback from students on how it went (and expecting great reviews), I was instead told that there were complaints of her being too strict.

Hearing of that was a cognitive dissonance for me. Though, as I thought about it a little longer, there could be truth in it. Essentially, the student expected to be given a fish, but the teacher wanted the student to learn how to fish.

There were countless times in supervision where I would bite my tongue from just telling the trainee what needs to be done or to answer to the difficulty that they are facing. They are instead redirected to refer to source material and for us to discuss on the topic once more the following supervision.

Evidently, I am not as “questioning” as my ex-lecturer was. I do share much more than question (relative to my ex-lecturer). But this oftentimes happen when the trainee also puts their fair share of the effort in providing input about the matter. Would-be psychologists would eventually need to be independent thinkers and doers. In fact, being independent and self-learning makes up a significant portion of their practicum evaluation.

There are going to be trainees who would prefer to be given fishes all day. And there are some who can appreciate learning how to fish. This is a fact that just needs to be accepted should I continue to provide clinical supervision.

Regardless of the trainee’s preference, the objective fact is that once they pass practicum and begin to practice on their own, independence is expected of them. When that happens, nobody would be giving them the fish. It is then that the newly minted psychologist realizes that learning how to fish was the whole point after all. And in that sobering moment, having learnt how to fish or being given fishes all along would make all the difference.

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