Relational discussions in theoretically diverse models of psychotherapy supervision: How common are they?

Abstract

ABSTRACT To investigate how expert supervisors focus on various aspects of relationships and how commonly the relational discussions occur in theoretically diverse approaches to supervision, we operationalized five relational supervisory behaviors (Focus on the Therapeutic Relationship, Focus on the Supervisory Alliance, Exploration of Feelings, Focus on Countertransference, Attend to Parallel Process) from the Critical Events model of supervision. Our observational analysis showed a modest-to-strong use of these five key behaviors across the 11 demonstration sessions in the American Psychological Association’s Master Supervision Video Series. Discussion focuses on using the results alongside the videos to train novice supervisors and the contribution of relational processes to supervision outcomes in future research.