This experience report aimed to examine the training process of the psychology student as an observer of the mother-baby-family relationship, following the Bick method. A phenomenological perspective was used as a theoretical framework for data analysis. We analyzed the notes of the field diary that contained the records of systematic observations by the trainee. The thematic analysis of written accounts focused on the vicissitudes of the activity of observation especially at two different moments of the training: the first and 20th observation. From this selection of moments, the movements of approximation, isolation, reconciliation and conclusion of the training were described, which enabled the emergence of questions about the professional work and about the establishment of ties with the family and its members, as well as the impact of these experiences for the student. The observation was highlighted in this experiment as a tool that expands the potential of future clinical professional, expanding the containment capacity of the trainee to face the adversities of life, including in situations of intense psychological impact.
mother-child relationships; Bick method; methods of observation; professional identity; traineeship