Psychotherapy trainees' experience of counterproductive events in supervision.

The authors conducted interviews with 13 psychotherapy trainees about a counterproductive event that occurred in individual supervision, which was defined as any experience that was hindering, unhelpful, or harmful in relation to the trainee's growth as a therapist. A qualitative analysis revealed that trainees typically attributed their experiences of counterproductive events to their supervisors dismissing their thoughts and feelings. All trainees experienced a negative interaction with their supervisors following the counteractive event, yet most did not believe their supervisors were aware of the event's counterproductive nature. All trainees believed the counterproductive event weakened the supervisory relationship and led to a change in the way they approached their supervisors. Although trainees typically thought the counterproductive events negatively affected their work with clients, most did not disclose their counterproductive experience with their supervisors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A close look at conflictual supervisory relationships: The trainee's perspective.

In a qualitative study of negative supervision, 13 master's and doctoral trainees were interviewed about a supervision experience that had a detrimental effect on their training. Many supervisors were described as not being invested in the relationship and as being unwilling to own their role in conflicts. Many trainees described being overworked without proper supervision, some felt expected to support their supervisors, and many underwent extreme stress and self-doubt. Most participants reported ongoing power struggles with angry supervisors, and most relied on peers, other professionals, and therapists for support. Qualitative themes were consistent with trainees' high scores on the Role Conflict and Role Ambiguity Inventory (M.E. Olk & M.L. Friedlander, 1992) and with their low ratings of their supervisors' attractiveness and interpersonal sensitivity on the Supervisory Styles Inventory (M.L. Friedlander & L.G. Ward, 1984). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship between supervisors' and trainees' cognitive styles and the supervision process.

33 beginning counseling practicum students and their supervisors rated their supervisory relationship and satisfaction with supervision; supervisors also evaluated their trainees. Ss' cognitive styles were determined through the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory, Counselor Evaluation and Rating Scale, and individual Likert scales were used as measures of the independent variables. Trainees' scores on certain indices (most notably the Sensing–Intuition index) were related to supervisors' perceptions of the interpersonal nature of their relationship, supervisors' satisfaction with trainees' performances, and supervisors' evaluations of trainees. On the other hand, supervisors' cognitive styles were not related to the independent variables. Cognitive style similarity between supervisor and trainees on specific MBTI scales was related to mutual perceptions of their interpersonal relationships. (44 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Style differences of beginning supervisors: An interactional analysis.

An interactional analysis system, A. Blumberg's (1970) system for analyzing supervisor–teacher interaction (BIA), adopted from research in teacher education, was used to characterize beginning supervisory style. Two dimensions were considered: (a) the amount of variance in supervisory interaction behaviors in a group of beginning supervisors and (b) the stability of interactional behavior of individuals across 2 interviews, each with 2 trainees. 24 supervision interviews, each with 2 trainees from each of 12 beginning doctoral students, were videotaped and later analyzed with the BIA. A repeated measures 2-way ANOVA was used to analyze the BIA scores. Results indicate that the interview content differed significantly between supervisors on 7 of the 11 BIA variables and that individuals differed significantly across 2 interviews on 3 of the variables. It is concluded that beginning supervisors have individual predilections for supervisory behaviors that are stable across interviews with different trainees. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Varicella susceptibility and vaccination strategies in young adults

BACKGROUND: Varicella infection causes substantial morbidity in young adults. Most military basic trainees are 18 to 21 years old, yet the Army has no varicella vaccination policy. We therefore determined varicella susceptibility in a population of Army basic trainees, examined variables that might predict antibody status, and developed a vaccination strategies model. METHODS: Fifteen-hundred ninety-five trainees completed a demographic and historical questionnaire. Varicella antibody status was determined on 1201 volunteers. These data plus information from the literature were used to construct a decision tree of vaccination strategies that was applied to the total population of Army basic trainees in 1995 (n = 65,298). RESULTS: Fifty (4.2 percent) of 1201 soldiers were antibody negative. Trainees who lived with no or 1 sibling while growing up were most likely to be seronegative (P < 0.01). The positive predictive value of a history of varicella was 98.5 percent, whereas the negative predictive value of a negative history of varicella was 23 percent. In the vaccination strategies model, serologically testing soldiers with a negative history of varicella and vaccinating those without protective antibodies was the most cost-effective approach. CONCLUSIONS: In young adults a positive varicella history accurately predicts immunity, but verification of a negative history with antibody testing is recommended before vaccination.     

Trainees' experiences of role conflict and role ambiguity in supervisory relationships.

The nature and extent of counselor trainees' experiences with role difficulties were examined in the context of supervision. Role ambiguity arises when trainees are unsure of supervisory expectations for their performance or evaluation; role conflict arises when trainees encounter opposing expectations for their behavior. The Role Conflict and Role Ambiguity Inventory was developed and validated with trainees and supervisors in practicum, internship, and postinternship settings. Results indicate that the inventory is both reliable and valid. As hypothesized, role difficulties were predictive of more work-related anxiety, general work dissatisfaction, and dissatisfaction with supervision. Beginning trainees reported higher levels of role ambiguity than did more experienced trainees. Role conflict seems to be problematic only for advanced trainees, for whom ambiguity is minimal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of perceived competence in professional psychology.

Appraised levels of general professional competence for 126 trainees in professional psychology by supervisors who had worked closely with the students. After rating the students, supervisors were asked to describe the dominant characteristics of "outstanding" and "incompetent" trainees. The most commonly mentioned quality of outstanding practitioner-trainees was high intelligence. The most commonly mentioned characteristic of incompetent trainees was lack of knowledge. A rating schedule composed of the 28 most commonly used terms was then employed by supervisors in rating students the following year. Four factors—Professional Responsibility, Interpersonal Warmth, Intelligence, and Experience—emerged from analysis of intercorrelations among variables. Intercorrelations of factor scores with ratings of overall competence showed that behaviorally oriented supervisors gave less weight to warmth in evaluating general competence than did supervisors with psychodynamic or eclectic viewpoints. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment processes in the supervisory relationship: An exploratory investigation.

How do relational characteristics of clinical trainees and supervisors influence the supervisory relationship? Following suggestions that attachment theory might shed light on this question, the authors asked doctoral-level psychology interns (N = 87) to complete an online survey about attachment processes and supervision experiences. Findings indicated that perceived supervisor attachment style was significantly associated with supervision task and bond. Regardless of their own attachment style, participants reporting secure supervisors rated the supervisory bond higher than participants reporting insecure supervisors. Results of path analyses suggested that parental indifference, compulsive self-reliance, and perceived supervisor attachment style may be particularly important in shaping the supervisory alliance. Implications for training and supervision are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do supervisors modify psychotherapy supervision according to supervisees' levels of experience?

Administered a questionnaire concerning goals, expectations, and procedures of supervision to 10 supervisors who had 1st-yr practicum students, 13 supervisors with 2nd-yr externship students, and 8 supervisors with interns who had at least 2 yrs prior clinical experience as psychotherapists. All Ss had an average of 10 yrs clinical experience and 5 yrs experience as supervisors. Results show no significant differences among the 3 groups of Ss who were supervising trainees with different levels of clinical development and skill, suggesting that supervisors may not modify their manner of providing supervision in accordance with supervisees' levels of experience. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Doctoral students' comparative evaluations of best and worst psychotherapy supervision.

68 male and 74 female advanced clinical and counseling psychology graduate students from 37 programs completed questionnaires comparing their best and worst supervisory experiences in terms of context, personal attributes of the supervisor, and specific interactional aspects. Results indicate that quality of supervision was not related to self-reported intellectual or emotional resources of trainees; training site; population serviced; or the gender, experience, sociability, or primary career activity of the supervisor. The best discriminators of quality were perceived expertise and trustworthiness of the supervisor, duration of training, and an emphasis on personal growth issues over the teaching of technical skills. Highly regarded supervisors were psychodynamic as opposed to behavioral, established supportive relationships, and communicated expectations and feedback clearly. Sexist behavior and authoritarian treatment were particularly detrimental to quality of supervision. These differences were not mediated by prior experience, gender, or theoretical orientation of the respondents. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Focus supervision: Management format for supervision practices.

Although supervision practices have received some attention from clinicians and researchers, they have also created new challenges for clinical practicum supervisors and coordinators. Because graduate-level trainees have learned more about supervision, they expect more from their supervisors; conversely, supervisors have sought limits on their comprehensive roles. This article outlines a supervision model consisting of 2 tiers: general and focus supervision. General supervision covers the global range of clinical cases, whereas in focus supervision, trainees address specific clinical skills and topics. The process of designing and implementing this model is described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

“From the margins to the center”: Moving towards a resilience-based model of supervision for queer people of color supervisors.

Informed by the authors’ experiences as queer people of color, this article proposes a model of supervision that encourages queer people of color supervisors to draw upon their own histories of oppression and resilience in providing culturally competent and affirmative supervision to trainees. The Queer People of Color Resilience-Based Model of Supervision references models of supervision that typically focus on supervisee development to explore ways in which supervisor development may also benefit the supervision process. This model integrates the multicultural supervision domains (Ancis & Ladany, 2001) with queer models of supervision (Halpert, Reinhardt, & Toohey, 2007) in order to address how racism and heterosexism both may influence the supervision process. The authors share critical incidents from their own development as supervisors, a case study, and specific suggestions for supervision to bring attention to the unique concerns of queer people of color who provide supervision. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation of gender to power and involvement in supervision.

Audiotaped supervision sessions from 40 master's level counselor trainees and 40 field placement supervisors were used in a content analytic study of the relation of supervisor and trainee gender to supervisory discourse. The Penman Classification Scheme was used to rate the middle 15 min of supervision on power and involvement dimensions. Classification cells were aggregated to yield high-power, low-power, and high-involvement categories. Transformed proportional data and kappa scores from sequential analysis were used in 2 2?×?2 (Gender?×?Role) multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs) to compare dyad types on speaker's use of message categories and patterns of discourse between speakers. Findings indicated that male and female supervisors reinforced female trainees' high-power messages with low-power, encouraging messages significantly less often than for male trainees. Female trainees responded to supervisor low-power, encouraging messages with high-power messages significantly less often than male trainees. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward relationship-centered supervision: Reply to Veach (2001) and Ellis (2001).

The authors respond to comments made by P. A Veach (2001) and A Ellis (2001) regarding their research articles on supervision conflict and counterproductivity. Their findings are unique in that they provide qualitative perspectives on trainee experiences of negativity in supervision. Some of the criticism directed toward their study seemed grounded in positivistic epistemology, and they address the differences between that perspective and a more meaning-making approach to data analysis. The authors' studies point out that the supervision relationship has the potential to harm trainees. Counseling psychology and related fields need to define skill-based competencies in supervision that can be observed and measured, including relationship-management competencies. Training of supervisors should emphasize the development of clinical skills that permit them to build strong supervisory alliances and manage conflicts in supervision. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual attraction toward clients, use of supervision, and prior training: A qualitative study of predoctoral psychology interns.

Interviews were conducted with 13 predoctoral psychology interns about an experience of sexual attraction toward a client, use of supervision to address the sexual attraction, and prior training regarding sexual attraction. Results indicated that sexual attraction to clients consisted of physical and interpersonal aspects. Therapists believed they were more invested and attentive than usual to clients to whom they were sexually attracted, and they indicated that sexual attraction created distance, distraction, and loss of objectivity. In terms of supervision, only half of the participants disclosed their sexual attraction to supervisors, and supervisors seldom initiated the discussion. Furthermore, trainees found it helpful when supervisors normalized the sexual attraction and provided the opportunity to explore feelings in supervision. Finally, trainees believed their training programs did not adequately address therapist sexual attraction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Success, failure, and self-assessment ratings.

Investigated the effects of success and failure experiences on subsequent self-ratings of positive and negative social-psychological characteristics. 60 teacher trainees were assigned to success, failure, or control experiences on 3 achievement tasks ostensibly testing intellectual ability. Posttest minus pretest gains were assessed on variables of self-reported self-confidence, self-worth, opportunity, efficacy, and true unto self, which were categorized as positive dimensions. Similar gains were assessed on variables of self-reported need for isolation, worried and afraid, need for help, troubles and obstacles, and cynicism, categorized as negative dimensions. As hypothesized, Ss who experienced success made significantly greater gains in positive self-assessments, and failure Ss made significantly greater gains in negative self-assessments. No significant Success-Failure * Sex interaction was found. Implications for clinicians, psychotherapists, and procedures employed in self-rating scales are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patterns of verbal behavior and judgments of satisfaction in the supervision interview.

Nine staff supervisors were asked to audiotape Sessions 3, 6, and 9 of their regular weekly 1-hr supervision sessions with each of their counselor trainees (n?=?30). At the conclusion of each interview, supervisors and trainees completed instruments assessing their judgment of satisfaction with the supervisory session. Interactional analysis was used to code the interviews, and sequential analysis was employed to characterize interactional patterns. Three areas of satisfaction were assessed: supervisor's (or trainee's) evaluation of the (a) other, (b) self, and (c) level of comfort in the interview. Multiple regression was used to identify patterns of verbal behavior that predicted satisfaction in the 3 instances. Results support the claim that certain verbal behaviors are related to particular judgments made by participants in the interview; further, they indicate that some types of judgments are better predicted by interview variables than others. Findings reflect some generally held beliefs about dyadic communication and challenge some basic assumptions concerning the use of supportive communication in the supervision interview. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development and validation of the Supervisory Styles Inventory.

Conducted a series of studies to develop and validate the Supervisory Styles Inventory (SSI) with parallel versions for supervisors and trainees. The instrument and validation procedures were based on a conceptual model of interrelated sources of variability among supervisors. Four separate analyses consistently revealed 3 factors among the perceptions of heterogeneous samples of trainees and experienced supervisors, which suggests that supervisory style is multidimensional. Scales constructed from these factors—Attractive, Interpersonally Sensitive, Task Oriented—demonstrated robust reliabilities and construct validity. In one study, SSI scales discriminated within and between expert supervisors with different theoretical orientations working with the same supervisee. These results were consistent with other evidence that a highly task-oriented style is endorsed by cognitive-behavioral supervisors, a highly interpersonal style by psychodynamic and humanistic supervisors. Furthermore, these supervisory styles seem to be differentially related to trainees' level of experience—supervisors are more task oriented with beginners, more attractive and interpersonally sensitive with interns. All 3 styles were strongly associated with trainees' reported willingness to work with different model supervisors and satisfaction with supervision. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using client feedback in psychotherapy training: An analysis of its influence on supervision and counselor self-efficacy.

Tracking client outcome and the therapeutic relationship across treatment (i.e., client feedback) has become a recommended practice for clinicians. This study investigated whether the utility of this practice would extend to trainees if the data gained from clients was provided to their supervisor for use within supervision. Trainees (N = 28) were assigned to a continuous feedback condition or no-feedback condition for 1 academic year. Results indicated that trainees in both conditions demonstrated better client outcomes at the end of their practicum training than at the beginning, but those in the feedback condition improved more. However, those in the feedback condition did not rate the supervisory alliance or satisfaction with the supervision process differently. The relationship between counselor self-efficacy and outcome was stronger for trainees in the feedback condition than for those in the no-feedback condition, perhaps indicating that feedback may facilitate a more accurate assessment of one’s skills. Implications of how counseling self-efficacy, the supervisory alliance, and satisfaction with supervision are related to effective supervision are addressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)