Novice supervisors' tasks and training - a descriptive study

TY - CONF

T1 - Novice supervisors' tasks and training - a descriptive study

AU - Nielsen, Jan

AU - Jacobsen, Claus H.

AU - Mathiesen, Birgit Bork

N1 - Conference code: 44

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - There is a lack of data on the influence of the debut as a supervisor on the later career. However, extrapolating data from therapist development, we assume that the first years as novice supervisor are important for the following career as supervisor in particular. The first job as novice supervisor are likely to be formative for the way supervisors perceive themselves, just as the first years as a psychotherapist can be formative, especially if these are associated with negative experiences. Thus, the debut as supervisor may be of fundamental interest when studying supervisors' development. The aim of this study was to explore what kind of tasks novice supervisors undertake and how they are prepared for these. During 2009--2010, 350 Danish clinical psychologists have responded to the Development of Psychotherapists Common Core Questionnaire covering a wide range of items on professional development, experience, and practice. In this presentation we focus on the tasks and training of the respondents as novice supervisors. The results show, that a majority of novice supervisors were confronted with complicated jobs, e.g., group, internal and interdisciplinary supervision, but were not prepared, i.e. trained, prior to these tasks. These findings imply that more training is needed for novice supervisors. Preferably, this training should be introduced before, or at least parallel to, the first supervisor tasks, preparing the novice supervisors for the often complicated tasks they are meeting.

AB - There is a lack of data on the influence of the debut as a supervisor on the later career. However, extrapolating data from therapist development, we assume that the first years as novice supervisor are important for the following career as supervisor in particular. The first job as novice supervisor are likely to be formative for the way supervisors perceive themselves, just as the first years as a psychotherapist can be formative, especially if these are associated with negative experiences. Thus, the debut as supervisor may be of fundamental interest when studying supervisors' development. The aim of this study was to explore what kind of tasks novice supervisors undertake and how they are prepared for these. During 2009--2010, 350 Danish clinical psychologists have responded to the Development of Psychotherapists Common Core Questionnaire covering a wide range of items on professional development, experience, and practice. In this presentation we focus on the tasks and training of the respondents as novice supervisors. The results show, that a majority of novice supervisors were confronted with complicated jobs, e.g., group, internal and interdisciplinary supervision, but were not prepared, i.e. trained, prior to these tasks. These findings imply that more training is needed for novice supervisors. Preferably, this training should be introduced before, or at least parallel to, the first supervisor tasks, preparing the novice supervisors for the often complicated tasks they are meeting.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - supervision

KW - novice supervisors

KW - tasks

KW - training

KW - development

M3 - Paper

T2 - Society for Psychotherapy Research

Y2 - 10 July 2013 through 13 July 2013

ER -