Two sides to the coin: An exploration of helpful and hindering supervision events contributing to psychologist competence

Abstract

Clinical supervision is one of the most important aspects of a trainee’s development as a professional psychologist, as it fosters the refinement of knowledge and skills necessary for competent and ethical practice (Falender & Shafranske, 2010). It combines teaching, consulting, and supporting (Bernard & Goodyear, 2009), and has recently been recognized as a core competency in the field of psychology (Falender & Shafranske, 2007). The Integrative Developmental Model (IDM; Stoltenberg & McNeill, 2010) offers an intuitive and comprehensive framework for understanding the growth process of psychologists-in-training, positing that effective supervision techniques must align with the trainee’s level of development. This study aimed to explore the critical incidents within the supervisory process that help or hinder supervisee’s sense of competence as psychologists-in-training. Masters- and doctoral-level trainees as well as clinical supervisors were interviewed using the Critical Incident Technique (CIT). The emerging incidents were grouped into categories that best reflected their shared commonalities. Helpful incidents were grouped as follows: (1) direct support, (2) feedback, (3) empowerment and encouragement, (4) process-based supervision, (5) supervisor as teacher and role model, and (6) supervisor vulnerability. Hindering incidents were grouped as follows: (1) feeling unsupported, (2) critical and attacking behaviours, and (3) conflicts with feedback and evaluation. Results from this study did not lend support for the IDM; rather, they were explained best by social role theories positing that supervisors take on specific roles during the supervisory process. Results from this study will contribute to the growing pool of information regarding effective and ineffective supervisory behaviours, techniques, and skills. Implications for training, research, and practice are discussed.