Key competencies of the psychodynamic psychotherapist and how to teach them in supervision.

Four of Rodolfa et al.’s (2005) competencies in professional psychology—relationship, self-reflection, assessment-case conceptualization, and intervention—are key for the psychodynamic psychotherapist. Relationship lies at the heart of what is understood to be curative about psychodynamic psychotherapy. Self-reflection implies a complex and highly developed process that includes but goes beyond Rodolfa et al.’s and Kaslow, Dunn, and Smith’s (2008) definitions. Competent assessment, diagnosis, and case conceptualization entails making inferences about unconscious processes by observing the client and also one’s own experience, and integrating these inferences with theory. Effective psychodynamic intervention is derived from what the psychotherapist has experienced, processed, and conceptualized about the relationship with the client and about the client’s internal object world. An extended vignette shows these competencies emerging in a psychotherapist-in-training, facilitated by an intense interaction with a supervisor. Although the supervisory and clinical tasks are different, the supervisor provides a relationship experience that models these same competencies for the supervisee and catalyzes their development in the supervisee. (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)     

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)     

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)     

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)     

Supervision in relationship: Resolving the teach-treat controversy in psychoanalytic supervision.

Considers whether the effective supervisor must at times address supervisee conflicts and relationship problems that interfere with role functioning. Such a supervisory stance may move beyond teaching into "treating" the supervisee. Explicit acknowledgment that the supervisor is a participant-observer with anxieties and conflicts, rather than an objective expert, is argued to create a new context for supervision. Within this relational context, the teach–treat boundary becomes less problematic. An illustrative vignette is offered, and ideas toward a theory that legitimizes countertransference focus in supervision are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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)     

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)     

Supervisory theory into practice: Differential perception of supervision by Ekstein, Ellis, Polster, and Rogers.

58 experienced supervisors (median age 35.1 yrs) evaluated videotaped supervision sessions conducted by either Rudolph Ekstein, Albert Ellis, Erving Polster, or Carl Rogers, who had all supervised the same therapist, based on the same work sample. The 4 supervisors, originators or major interpreters of their theoretical models, were perceived as differing in attractiveness and in their use of the critic, model, and nurturing roles identified by B. Apfelbaum (1958); they also were perceived as differing in the extent to which they functioned as counselor and as teacher and in the extent to which their work focused on the supervisee's technical skills, on his/her use of his/her personal reactions and feelings, and on case conceptualization. These differences generally were consistent with theory. Raters did not perceive the supervisee or client differentially across supervision sessions, although the supervisee was perceived to be differentially satisfied with supervision. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Supervision can be playful, too: Play therapy techniques that enhance supervision.

The use of play therapy techniques within supervision can enhance the supervisory process and in turn therapy with the client. Just as children use toys rather than words to express themselves in play therapy, so too can supervisees use play therapy techniques when words fail to express their experience or understanding of their clients. In this article, the authors focus on L. D. Borders and G. Leddick's (1987) 6 categories for supervisor intervention: learning goals, learning style, experience, developmental level, supervisor theoretical orientation, and supervisor goals for supervisee and goals for within supervision. Practical play-based experiential techniques are applied to each category and discussed in detail to facilitate application. Use of these techniques can expand the didactic framework of supervision and thereby enhance the supervisory and therapeutic processes. In addition, some attention is given to the advantages of the registered play therapist- supervisor credential obtained through the Association for Play Therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A transtheoretical model of clinical supervision.

The purpose of this article is to introduce a transtheoretical model of clinical supervision for professional psychology. The various stages and processes of change inherent in the transtheoretical psychotherapy model (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1982, 1984, 1986; Prochaska & Norcross, 2007) are assessed and applied to clinical supervision. Specifically, relevant literature is examined; supervisee stages of change (SSC) and supervisor processes of change (SPC) are introduced and discussed; and existent models of supervision are contextually compared to the proposed transtheoretical model. Strategies and recommendations for implementing and researching a transtheoretical approach to clinical supervision are also provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dangerous liaisons: Sexual intimacies in supervision.

The existing literature concerning supervisor–supervisee sexual intimacies was reviewed before proposing a conceptualization of sexual contact in the supervisory relationship. Three definitions of sexual contact (sexual harassment, sexual involvement, and sexual discrimination) are presented. The nature of the supervisory relationship is defined by comparison with other professional relationships (instructor–student and therapist–client). The process of supervisor and speculation about vulnerabilities of trainees to sexual advances by supervisors are discussed in terms of the developmental model of therapist training. The damaging effects of sexual contact between supervisors and supervisees are discussed and suggestions for improved graduate education are noted. (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)     

Relations of complementarity and supervisory issues to supervisory working alliance: A comparative analysis of two cases.

This study examined the effects of complementary communications and supervisory issues on the formation of working alliance in 2 graduate student supervisor–supervisee dyads, 1 characterized by high alliance and 1 by low alliance, over the first 3 weeks of clinical supervision. A research-informed case study method was used to collect process and outcome data from the participant and rater perspectives. Results provided some support for (a) a sequential order of the themes or issues underlying the professional development of counselor trainees, (b) a higher degree of complementary interaction in the high-alliance dyad than in the low-alliance dyad, and (c) a relation between complementarity and supervision satisfaction level. Implications for future research and practice are discussed relative to the supervision literature. (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)     

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)     

Psychotherapy supervision: Stages, Buber, and a theory of relationship.

Reviews and synthesizes data on the major stage theories in psychotherapy supervision. Although attention has been directed to the supervisee and, to a lesser extent, the supervisor, the process of supervision has not been conceptualized per se. Typically, theories applied to supervision are overlays of theories of psychotherapy. Supervisory phenomena are distinguished from psychotherapy phenomena, and the nature of the relationship in psychotherapy supervision is described. A theory of psychotherapy supervision, based on M. Buber's (1955, 1970) work, is presented and applied to illustrative case materials. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)