Digital gruppeveiledning – en intervjuundersøkelse

Abstract

Restriction during the pandemic forced supervisors to apply digital guidance of psychologists and students of psychology. This study seeks to shed light on the supervisors’ experiences with and assessment of online supervision. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 supervisors. A qualitative consensus-based analysis of the interview material was then conducted to explore the supervisors’ experiences. The results revealed that supervisors had to pay particular attention to and make adjustments in order to compensate for challenges posed by the digital modality. The supervisors demonstrated a high degree of creativity. They made minor adjustments to their approach and to how they structured their supervisory sessions. The supervisors pointed out that the outcome of supervision does not rely solely on modality; a sense of security in the group setting, the context of the supervision and individual contributions from the supervisor and candidates also play a role. Several supervisors were positively surprised at the outcomes to the extent that they changed their attitudes to digital supervision. While many of them believed that the digital platform could provide a good supplement to physical sessions, they all preferred the physical modality. Keywords: clinical group supervision, online supervision, qualitative methodology