I was reading an interview with psychologist Victor Yalom (son of Irvin Yalom) and I liked his thoughts on ways a person can prepare themselves for a career as a psychotherapist:

Expose yourself to as many teachers and supervisors and personal therapists as possible. One of the most powerful ways I think we learn is to be in personal therapy, to be able to have the experience of how therapy works from the client’s perspective, to be able to observe first-hand how another therapist operates, and how it can really make a change in one’s life. I think there is no better teacher than a good personal therapist.
http://contemporarypsychotherapy.org...nterview-with/

I do think the experience of being in therapy oneself can teach a lot about the therapeutic relationship and the different types of therapy. This information may be harder to garner or internalize if obtained only through lectures and books.