A Bad and a Better Supervision Process; Actualized Relational Scenarios in Trainees: A Longitudinal Study of Nondisclosure in Psychodynamic Supervision

Abstract

This is a qualitative study of the supervision processes of two trainee clinical psychologists who conduct their first intensive psychodynamic therapy. The study questions whether the trainees’ degree of disclosure of feelings toward their supervisors to the supervisor was influenced by the evoked relational scenarios in them. The trainees had one patient each, two sessions a week for ten months, with supervision weekly. The study includes three process interviews with the trainees during the supervision, and a fourth, follow-up interview one year later. Additionally, an independent evaluation of their therapist competence is included, based on the fifth last therapy session. The two supervision processes are first presented separately. Hypotheses of relational scenarios evoked in the trainees toward their supervisors are inferred. It is concluded that these relational scenarios may have influenced the degree of these trainees’ disclosure of negative feelings toward their supervisors. Supervisors are recommended to be particularly sensitive to which relational scenarios may be evoked in novice trainees in the supervision relationship.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to thank, in particular, the two participants of this study, Elisabeth and Sara, who offered their intense personal feelings to research scrutiny. Warm thanks also to Siri Erika Gullestad and Bjørn Killingmo for their support for the whole research study and inspiring comments on this article, to Bjørn Killingmo and Sverre Varvin for their evaluations of the therapeutic competence of Elisabeth and Sara, and to Imre Szecsödy for his valuable comments on the text.

Notes

¹ In Norway, the professional-oriented study in psychology is particularly long, six years, and also includes research competence in all disciplines within psychology. Consequently, psychology student is not comparable to the term used in most other countries. In this study, the term trainee clinical psychologist is used.

² The students acquire competence in both research within all disciplines within psychology and in professional clinical work.

³ Bjørn Killingmo and Siri Erika Gullestad.

⁴ To ensure anonymity, it is, unfortunately, not possible to specify the theoretical positions of Elisabeth and her supervisor, as well as those of Sara and her supervisor, the supervision relationship that is presented in the following.

⁵ This was the first time Elisabeth revealed the identity of the therapist to the interviewer, which she was also aware of by commenting on it.

⁶ Unfortunately, the interviewer introduced the term in the second interview and through this question the interviewer probably influenced Sara’s understanding of the processes. Sara did not know the term beforehand but immediately she recognized the meaning. In the fourth interview, Sara introduced the term herself.

⁷ In seven groups, both the fellow trainees participated in the project.

⁸ Of the 21 trainees in the study, 17 had negative feelings toward their supervisor during the supervision process—from minor to severe (like Sara). Eleven of these students did not disclose any negative feelings to their supervisor. In eight of these cases, the supervisor did not express any awareness in the research interviews of these negative feelings in their supervisee. In the remaining three cases, the supervisor recognized that the supervisee had negative feelings, but in two of the cases not to the degree expressed by the supervisee.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hanne Strømme

Hanne Strømme is Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, at the University of Oslo.