How do the Students Become the Supervisors? Student Training Experiences in Supervision and Supervisor Self-efficacy in Clinical Psychology

Author

Jennifer Ramasami, Southern Illinois University CarbondaleFollow

Date of Award

9-1-2021

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Fehr, Karla

Abstract

Supervision in clinical psychology is a vital component of graduate training, enhancing the professional and clinical skills of trainees. The current literature indicates that in order to be a competent supervisor, one must obtain training in supervision. One highly recommended method of supervision training is through graduate coursework. Available literature indicates that approximately 40% of licensed clinical psychologists have received formal training in supervision (e.g., formal course or practicum) in their graduate training program. However, these prevalence rates were obtained over a decade ago and may not be an accurate representation of current supervisory training practices in clinical graduate programs. Therefore, this study aimed to examine current supervision training experiences obtained by trainees in their graduate doctoral training programs for clinical psychology and how their training experiences relate to their own supervisory style or theoretical approach.Comprehensive training in providing supervision improves trainees’ beliefs in their ability to competently provide supervision, or rather, their self-efficacy in supervision. Self-efficacy is an integral part of supervision, as supervisors who have sufficient self-efficacy are likely to supervise more effectively compared to those who do not feel as efficacious. While supervisor self-efficacy has been researched in other areas of psychology, there is less research exploring supervisor self-efficacy within clinical psychology relative to other areas of ii professional psychology and counselor education. Thus, this study also endeavored to explore the relationship among supervision training, supervision knowledge and self-efficacy. For the current study 106 clinical psychology interns participated in completing questionnaires assessing supervisory training experiences, supervision knowledge, and supervisor self-efficacy. Results were that 81% of participants reported receiving formal training in supervision in graduate school, a significantly larger amount than prior reported rates. Additionally, amount of training and certain components of supervision training (i.e., organization and documentation of supervision training) significantly predicted supervision knowledge. Components of supervision knowledge (e.g., theories and models, ethical issues) and supervision self-efficacy (e.g., ethical and legal issues, theories and techniques) were highly correlated. Finally, supervision knowledge overall predicted supervision self-efficacy. This study provided an updated view into the type of training graduate students commonly receive in graduate programs in clinical psychology and supported the connection among supervision training, supervision knowledge, and supervisor self-efficacy. Clinical implications and future directions for training and related factors are discussed.