Group supervision in psychotherapy. Main findings from a Swedish research project on psychotherapy supervision in a group format

Abstract

ABSTRACT Psychotherapy supervision is considered crucial for psychotherapists in training. During the last decades, group supervision has been a frequently used format in many countries. Until recently, very few studies had evaluated the small-group format for training of beginner psychotherapists and psychotherapy supervisors. This article aims to summarise and discuss main findings from a research project which used questionnaires to collect supervisee and supervisor reports about psychotherapy supervision in group. One such finding is that the group format contribute to an in-depth clinical experience. Second, both supervisors and supervisees reported that the working climate in their groups improved over time: a more flexible and collaborative style of interaction was used; the communication became more flexible, and fewer dysfunctional subgroups were maintained. These results suggested that strong efforts to establish close relationships in the group can limit group member involvement and hinder group development. A third finding suggested that there was no difference between supervisees and supervisors who worked with different psychotherapy orientations (psychodynamic, CBT) in terms of how they perceived that the group actually had been used as a didactic tool. In contrast, only supervisees and supervisors with a psychodynamic approach reported that more focus ideally should be on group process issues. Another study finding suggested that the organisational framework for psychotherapy supervision is of considerable importance for the learning process. This finding opens up a new area of research which needs to be explored in future studies. A conclusive discussion relates these findings to the general aim of this research, which is to identify and systematically examine issues of considerable clinical interest, and thus build bridges between academia and clinical practice. Recommendations for future research endeavours are outlined.