Interactional structure of the supervision interview.

Five supervisors audiotaped Sessions 3, 6, and 9 of their supervision interviews with each of their assigned trainees (N?=?19). A 20-min segment of each of the resulting interviews was coded by trained raters using an adapted version of A. Blumberg's (1970) system for analyzing supervisor–teacher interaction. A quadratic assignment paradigm was used to determine whether the probability that particular behaviors would be emitted by either the supervisor or the trainee, given the behavior emitted previously by the other member of the dyad, was greater or less than the unconditional probability of these particular behaviors being emitted. Results indicate that certain repetitive patterns of verbal behavior occurred in the supervisory interview and that a sequential analysis can effectively describe these interactions. The verbal coding scheme used appeared conceptually relevant to the supervision process. (22 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)     

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)     

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)     

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)     

Dimensionality of supervisor roles: Supervisors' perceptions of supervision.

Used a multidimensional scaling (MDS) research design (a) to assess the salient dimensions that supervisors rely on in their perceptions of supervisor roles and (b) to test empirically J. M. Bernard's (1979) 2-dimensional model and the unidimensional developmental model of supervision of J. M. Littrell et al (1979). 19 supervisors (mean age 31 yrs) of counselor trainees made the dissimilarity judgments of the 9 supervision role–functions (MDS stimuli) adapted from Bernard's model. Three dimensions with multiple interpretations emerged from the MDS solution. The dimensions could be interpreted based on supervisor roles, supervision environment, supervision function, and characteristics of supervisor roles. Results partially support Bernard's model and provide minimal support for the developmental model of Littrell et al. Both models were found to be rather simplistic because neither model accounts for the 3 dimensions. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of supervisor and trainee gender to in-session verbal behavior and ratings of trainee skills.

This study of 44 supervision dyads investigated the effects of supervisor and trainee gender on the verbal interactions of participants and on their perceptions of trainee skill levels. Supervisor and trainee utterances were coded as being relationship or task focused. Male supervisors paired with male trainees engaged in more task-oriented discourse than did other dyad configurations. In other analyses, gender did not affect which party exerted more effect on the structure of the interactions. Finally, no significant differences were found in how male and female trainees rated their own skill levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Metacognition in motor learning.

Research on judgments of verbal learning has demonstrated that participants' judgments are unreliable and often overconfident. The authors studied judgments of perceptual-motor learning. Participants learned 3 keystroke patterns on the number pad of a computer, each requiring that a different sequence of keys be struck in a different total movement time. Practice trials on each pattern were either blocked or randomly interleaved with trials on the other patterns, and each participant was asked, periodically, to predict his or her performance on a 24-hr test. Consistent with earlier findings, blocked practice enhanced acquisition but harmed retention. Participants, though, predicted better performance given blocked practice. These results augment research on judgments of verbal learning and suggest that humans, at their peril, interpret current ease of access to a perceptual-motor skill as a valid index of learning. (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)     

Clinical supervision in Canadian academic and service settings: The importance of education, training, and workplace support for supervisor development.

A national sample of Canadian psychologists who provide clinical supervision in academic or service settings (n?=?156) was surveyed regarding their background preparation for clinical supervision, satisfaction with current supervisory load, and workplace support for supervisory activities and development. With respect to supervisor training and development, the authors found that (1) almost two-thirds of the Ss received no formal training in supervision, (2) most initially felt inadequately prepared to supervise trainees, (3) subsequent self-study of supervision was perceived as helpful, and (4) self-study was associated with administrative encouragement for professional development. Exploration of supervisory load and workplace support showed that (1) a large majority of Ss were satisfied with their load, (2) satisfaction did not differ across academic and service settings, and (3) supervisors in service settings were more satisfied with opportunities for peer support around supervision. Ss called for more training in supervision and increased amounts of time on the job to devote to supervision. The need for increased training in supervision at all levels, continuing professional education, and workplace enhancements to facilitate supervision are discussed. (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)     

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)     

A cost/benefit analysis of the interpersonal process recall technique.

Examined interpersonal process recall (IPR), a supervisory technique, by a cost-benefit analysis. Cost was defined as the possible inhibitory effects on client self-exploration of the use of IPR; benefit was defined as client satisfaction, increased supervisor ratings, and increased counselor empathy levels. Counselors were 36 master's level trainees, clients were 36 undergraduate psychology students, and supervisors were 6 doctoral students in counseling. The IPR treatment consisted of 3 videotaped interviews followed by client, counselor, or mutual recall. The comparison treatment consisted of 3 audiotaped interviews followed by traditional supervision. Results indicate that IPR, when compared to traditional supervision, did not produce differential effects on counselors' empathy level, client satisfaction, supervisor ratings, or clients' self-reported inhibition. Method of supervision, however, did effect significant change in clients' level of self-exploration over time. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effective supervision as perceived by beginning counselors-in-training.

16 supervisors of beginning practicum counselors rated the importance to good supervision of 42 supervisor behaviors. At the end of their 1st semester of training, 31 beginning practicum counselors rated the frequency with which their supervisors actually performed each of the 42 supervisor behaviors. The counselors also rated the effectiveness of supervision on 3 dimensions: satisfaction with supervision, supervisor competence, and contribution of supervision to improved counselor ability. In general, supervisors perceived supervision as primarily providing feedback to supervisees. Beginning counselors rated their supervision as good, however, if (a) a personal and pleasant supervisor–supervisee relationship existed; (b) supervisors provided relatively structured supervision sessions, especially during early sessions; and (c) supervisors directly taught beginning counselors how to counsel (i.e., by using literature, and by didactic instruction) and then encouraged the new counselors to try out their new skills. (24 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)     

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)     

Relevance of the supervisory alliance to the counseling alliance and to treatment adherence in counselor training.

The quality of the supervisory working alliance should be related to the quality of the counseling working alliance and to trainee adherence to a treatment model. After each of 4 supervision sessions, 75 trainees completed the Supervisory Working Alliance Inventory, and, after each counseling session, their clients completed the Working Alliance Inventory. Judges rated portions of the videotaped counseling sessions with an adherence measure. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze these nested data (repeated measures of trainees nested within supervisors). As hypothesized, the trainee's perception of the supervisory alliance was significantly related to the client's perception of the counseling alliance and to aspects of treatment adherence. The significance of these findings is discussed in relation to the supervision literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nondisclosure and distortion in psychotherapy supervison.

Explored patterns of disclosure of 93 psychotherapy trainees to their supervisors by examining trainees' conscious concealment and distortion of events and feelings that occurred in therapy sessions. Ss completed a 66-item supervision questionnaire in reference to a supervisor with whom they were working at that time. Results indicated that most supervisees, while usually presenting an honest picture of the interaction with patients, also, at least some of the time, consciously distort and/or conceal some material; as many as 30–40% of supervisees withhold information (e.g., perceived clinical errors) at moderate to high levels of frequency. The findings suggest that nondisclosure, distortion, and concealment may be an inevitable aspect of supervision. (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)     

The supervision relationship: Variables contributing to positive versus negative experiences.

We present pilot data on variables that influence interaction between trainees and supervisors and contribute to positive versus negative experiences in psychotherapy supervision. Subjects were two groups of supervisor/trainee dyads in which trainees had reported very positive or very negative supervision experiences. We found agreement on the quality of supervision experience between pair members. Trainees had positive supervision experiences when they were seen as interested in the supervisor's feedback. Trainees preferred supportive, instructional, and interpretive supervisors. Similarity in theoretical orientation and interpretive style contributed to positive experiences. A model combining variables to predict the quality of supervision experiences is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)