Efficacy of live-supervision regarding skills, anxiety and self-efficacy: a randomized controlled trial

ABSTRACT

Sixty-nine psychology students (M = 24.93 years, 82.6% female, 81% B.Sc. level) were randomly assigned to live supervision or a control group in an experiment with two simulated therapy sessions. In Session 1, their task was to conduct the beginning of a cognitive-behavioral therapy session with a standardized patient. In Session 2, all students repeated the task, but only one group received live supervision from a licensed psychotherapist. Live supervision improved students’ (observer-based) skills (ds ≥0.91), and students were satisfied with the feedback. In terms of self-efficacy and self-assessed skills, live supervision had no significant advantage over merely practicing.

KEYWORDS:

• Training
• psychotherapy
• bug-in-the-eye
• cognitive behavior therapy
• role-play
• live supervision

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Brian Bloch for editing the English version, our student assistants Judith Tremöhlen and Anna Lorenz, and all other students supporting the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/07325223.2023.2267528

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ulrike Maaß

Ulrike Maaß, PhD, is a licensed psychotherapist, researcher, lecturer, and CBT supervisor at the Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the University of Potsdam. She treats patients at the Psychologisch-Psychotherapeutische Ambulanz (PPA, University of Potsdam) and works as a teacher for psychotherapy trainees and supervisors at several training institutes in Germany and Switzerland. Her current research interests include psychotherapy training and supervision, psychotherapeutic competencies, and psychotherapy research.

Franziska Kühne

Franziska Kühne is a licensed psychotherapist, researcher, lecturer, and a CBT supervisor at Psychologisch-Psychotherapeutisches Institute (PPI, University of Potsdam). She habilitated on psychotherapy competences and is head of the obsessive-compulsive disorder treatment program at the Psychologisch-Psychotherapeutische Ambulanz (PPA, University of Potsdam). Her current research interests include evidence-based psychotherapy, competency and training research, psychooncology, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Destina Sevde Ay-Bryson

Destina Sevde Ay-Bryson, PhD, is a researcher and lecturer at the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. She is currently doing her psychotherapy training at Psychologisch-Psychotherapeutisches Institute (PPI, University of Potsdam).. Her research interests include evidence-based training, psychotherapy competence, and the standardized patient methodology.

Peter Eric Heinze

Peter Eric Heinze, PhD, is currently completing his psychotherapy training at Psychologisch-Psychotherapeutisches Institute (PPI, University of Potsdam). His research interests include psychotherapy preferences, psychotherapy and training research, and diagnostic procedures.

Florian Weck

Florian Weck, PhD, is professor and chair of the Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, director of the Psychological Psychotherapeutic Outpatient Clinic at the University of Potsdam, research director of the Psychologisch-Psychotherapeutisches Institute (PPI) at the University of Potsdam), and a licensed CBT psychotherapist and supervisor. His current research interests include psychotherapy training, psychotherapy research, psychotherapeutic competencies, clinical supervision, and pathological health anxiety.