Supervision of psychology trainees in field placements.

Describes some supervision and systems factors that may produce stress for the professional psychology trainee in a part-time field placement outside the training institution. Stress in the supervisor–supervisee relationship can arise from differences between the supervisor and supervisee in theoretical orientation, style of supervision and learning, and perception of the basis of their relationship, as well as from personality differences. Training institutions and service agencies have different goals and roles that can place the supervisor and the supervisee in conflict. The stress can be reduced as the supervisor, who is a field placement agency employee, acts in accordance with training institution goals and as the trainee can act as a junior staff member of the field placement agency. It is suggested that the student who is aware of some of the difficulties that can arise in a supervisor–supervisee relationship and who understands the stresses inherent in the different goals and roles of a field-placement agency and a training institution will be able to avoid some trouble. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Describing and facilitating effective supervision behavior in counseling trainees.

Counseling trainees often do not receive formal assistance in assuming the role of supervisee. What constitutes effective trainee behavior within the context of supervision, as opposed to the clinical context, also has received little empirical attention. A national sample of 176 participants (145 supervisees, 31 supervisors) affiliated with counseling psychology or counseling center internship programs rated the importance of 52 behaviors/characteristics (Supervision Utilization Rating Form; SURF) to the effective use of supervision at specific developmental training levels. Supervisors and supervisees applied ratings from important to extremely important to all items. Statistically significant differences between supervisor and supervisee ratings were noted on 6 items. The development of the SURF and its potential uses in supervisee role induction are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical supervision practices of licensed psychologists.

Surveyed 232 licensed psychologists from 1 midwestern state to assess the nature of clinical supervision for experienced practitioners. Data were collected concerning type, frequency, and content of supervision; supervisor goals, techniques, assessment methods, and roles; and most and least helpful aspects of supervision. There were few significant differences in supervision as a function of supervisee experience, gender, or degree (MA vs PhD), or supervisor gender. The supervisees generally appeared to have autonomous relationships with supervisors who were clinically skilled and highly supportive. Ethical concerns regarding supervisee informed consent, supervisor accountability, and gender-role stereotyping are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethical issues in supervision.

Suggests the need for a review of current ethical standards regarding supervision of psychotherapists and presents alternative approaches to the supervisor–supervisee relationship. Group or vertical supervision (with peers and senior personnel) may reduce supervisee anxiety and provide more opportunities for objective support. Sharing supervisees may encourage supervisors to compare supervisory problems. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Supervision of psychological assessment: A developmental model.

The supervision of assessment has been greatly neglected in the literature. A model of supervisee development, from novice to master assessor, is presented. The model focuses on the development of the ability to integrate data into a coherent formulation of the person being tested. Appropriate supervision depends on a matching of the supervisor's behavior to the supervisee's needs, as specified by the supervisee's current level of development. This development is dramatized by improvements in interpreting specific data points and in the recognition of larger patterns in the data. This skill acquisition occurs within the affective context of the supervisor–supervisee relationship as the interaction elicits both inter- and intrapersonal issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

White Racial Identity Dyadic Interactions in Supervision: Implications for Supervisees' Multicultural Counseling Competence.

Examining supervisory dyads consisting of a White supervisor and a White supervisee, the authors sought to determine the effects of similarities and differences in levels of supervisor and supervisee racial identity schemas or attitudes on White supervisees' self-reported multicultural counseling competence and multicultural case conceptualization ability. White supervisees in supervision dyads characterized by more advanced White racial identity schemas reported higher self-perceived multicultural counseling competence and obtained higher multicultural case conceptualization ratings than did their counterparts in supervision dyads characterized by lower White racial identity schemas. Implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Addressing Religion in Clinical Supervision: A Model.

Despite the increased interest in and acceptance of religion by many psychologists and the American Psychological Association, it still appears that very few supervisees receive the proper training and supervision necessary to competently address religion in therapy. The authors identify supervisor actions that promote supervisee competence in this area by using 8 domains from C. D. Stoltenberg and U. Delworth's (1987) integrative developmental model as a template. A set of conceptual guidelines for developing supervisee competence in regard to working with religious clients and issues is presented along with examples of supervisor or therapist actions for each domain (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in supervision as counselors and supervisors gain experience: A review.

Reviews research bearing on whether and how counselors and supervisors receive or give different types of supervision of psychotherapy as they each gain experience. Most theories describing changes in supervision of counselors as they gain experience are similar. They posit changes in the supervisee, with supervision environments being matched to the changing needs of the supervisee. There are 3 theories concerning how the supervisor changes as he/she gains experience. Empirical findings are consistent with theories of counselor development but only weakly supportive of the theory that actual supervision environments are matched to supervisee needs. Empirical findings on changes in supervisors as they gain experience reveal few differences in supervisors at any level beyond the master's degree. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Narrative approaches to supervision and case formulation.

Reviews the literature on the use of narrative in personality theory and its application in the clinical practice literature. A constructionist approach to supervision is proposed that integrates narrative approaches with the supervisory process. Clinical supervision and case formulation are discussed as the result of a dialog between the supervisor and supervisee about the client's story, the supervisee's story about the client, and the professional story offered by the supervisor, resulting in a new case formulation and treatment plan. The new narrative allows a collaborative, empathic approach to both the supervisee and client. Case examples of a single male in his early 20s with complaints of feeling overwhelmed, nervous, and experiencing sleep and appetite disturbances, and of a single mother in her early 30s presenting with concerns about raising her 4-yr-old son illustrate the narrative approach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Supervisor cultural responsiveness and unresponsiveness in cross-cultural supervision.

Thirteen supervisees' of color and 13 European American supervisees' experiences of culturally responsive and unresponsive cross-cultural supervision were studied using consensual qualitative research. In culturally responsive supervision, all supervisees felt supported for exploring cultural issues, which positively affected the supervisee, the supervision relationship, and client outcomes. In culturally unresponsive supervision, cultural issues were ignored, actively discounted, or dismissed by supervisors, which negatively affected the supervisee, the relationship, and/or client outcomes. European American supervisees' and supervisees' of color experiences diverged significantly, with supervisees of color experiencing unresponsiveness more frequently and with more negative effects than European American supervisees. Implications for research and supervision practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Learning process in psychoanalytic supervision: Complexities and challenges.

Reviews the book, Learning process in psychoanalytic supervision: Complexities and challenges by Paul A. DeWald (see record 1987-97784-000). This book is a wonderful contribution to the field of supervision. It is the only book available that presents the actual supervision sessions of one ongoing supervisee with one long-term psychoanalytic patient as they were transcribed. DeWald also offers a review of the supervisory literature, his view of the supervisory process, his supervisory reports, and a chapter from the supervisee discussing her experience. The book is refreshing in that the supervisor does not present himself as perfect, and he does acknowledge mistakes he made in the comments after each set of process notes. There are some criticisms of the book to be made. First, the reviewer was not able to determine the frequency of the patient's sessions or the supervisory sessions. Second, the author's framework is classically Freudian. While this is not a problem, it is important that the reader be aware of the point of view. Third, the author seems ambivalent about the role of the patient's ethnicity and culture in her neurotic stance. These comments aside, Learning process in psychoanalytic supervision is an excellent book, and certainly one any supervisor would want to read. (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)     

Differences among supervisees at different levels of training: Implications for a developmental model of supervision.

Three studies examined differences across 3 counselor trainee levels (beginning practicum, advanced practicum, and doctoral interns) with regard to (a) the interpersonal influence process between the supervisor and supervisee (Study 1), (b) trainees' perceptions of specific supervisor behaviors contributing to supervisory effectiveness (Study 2), and (c) trainees' perceptions of the most important or critical incidents that occur within supervision during a semester (Study 3). Ss were 58 beginning practicum students, 51 advanced practicum students, and 36 doctoral interns. Overall results are congruent with a developmental model of supervision and suggest that across trainee levels, variables related to the interpersonal influence process differ; different types of supervisor behaviors appear to be effective at different levels of supervision; and different types of critical incidents are reported within the supervision process. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The separation-individuation process in psychotherapy supervision.

Conceptualizes the separation–individuation process in psychotherapy supervision, using the separation–individuation phase of development described by M. Mahler as a metaphor. Symbiosis, differentiation, practicing, rapprochement, and object constancy are each discussed with respect to the supervisor and the supervisee. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An exploration of experiences and preferences in clinical supervision with play therapists.

Clinical supervision plays a significant role in the counseling profession. Understanding and refining the supervisory process can foster development in the training of therapists in general and play therapists in particular, ultimately resulting in better mental health services for children. This study was designed to explore the experiences and preferences of play therapists in clinical supervision. Participants (N = 559) completed a Web-hosted survey that included items related to their current and preferred supervision experiences as well as a demographic questionnaire. A subset of the respondents (N = 238) completed questions related to their current supervision experiences. Findings suggest that: (a) a substantial number of participants were not receiving supervision for their work in play therapy, (b) supervisees prefer a combination of group and individual supervision, (c) supervisor professional identity as a play therapist and credential are salient supervisee preferences, and (d) compared to current supervision experiences, supervisee preferences had a noteworthy impact on practical significance demonstrated through large, moderate, and small effect sizes. Results from the study offer an opportunity for professionals to consider changes in how supervision is provided to therapists who work with children in play settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical supervision: An intensive case study.

Used a rigorous case study methodology to examine one supervisory dyad's work together during one semester. The supervisee was a 33-yr-old female doctoral student with about 7 yrs counseling experience; the supervisor was a 41-yr-old male counseling psychologist with 12 yrs supervision experience. The "best–worst" strategy of several recent researchers, multiple sources of qualitative and quantitative process data, and the perspectives both of the Ss and of observers were used. Findings provide hypotheses to guide future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of supervisor and supervisee theoretical orientation and supervisor-supervisee matching on interns' perceptions of supervision.

Effects of supervisor and supervisee theoretical orientation on supervisees' perceptions of supervisors' models, roles, and foci were studied, as were variables influencing quality of supervision and supervisee autonomy. 84 interns from 32 nationwide training sites were surveyed. Cognitive-behavioral supervisors were perceived to be in a consultant role and to focus on skills and strategies more than were humanistic, psychodynamic, and existential supervisors, who were perceived more as using the relationship model, playing the therapist role, and focusing on conceptualization. Supervisors were not perceived to differ in their use of growth and skill development models, teacher role, and focus on the supervisee. Women were perceived as more effective supervisors than were men. Perceived effectiveness was predicted by theoretical match and similarity. Supervisee autonomy was predicted by theoretical similarity, low supervisor adherence to theory, and unmatched gender. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conflict resolution within the supervisory relationship.

158 graduate students in clinical psychology were surveyed concerning the occurrence, handling, and outcome of conflicts in their supervisory experiences. 38% of the Ss with supervised experience reported a major conflict with a supervisor that made it difficult to learn from supervision. Ss described 3 areas of conflict—theoretical orientation or therapeutic approach, style of supervision, or personality issues. The degree to which conflicts were discussed and successfully resolved seemed to depend partly on the type of conflict; it was easier to resolve conflicts that centered on style of supervision than on personality issues. When conflicts were not resolved, Ss often sought support from others, altered their behavior to conceal difficulties, or appeared to comply with the supervisor. Implications for the learning process in supervision are discussed. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)