A window into supervision : an examination of the experience of clinical psychology trainees and their supervisors using interpersonal process recall and grounded theory analysis

All clinical psychology trainees engage in supervision with their placement supervisors throughout training. We know much about the function of supervision, the supervisory relationship and that a great deal of learning and development takes place within the four walls of supervision. But what is less clear is how this process of learning and development takes place. This study focuses on key moments of learning in supervision for the trainee (from both the trainee and supervisor perspective). A qualitative design using Grounded Theory (GT) was adopted to develop a theory as to how such a shift occurs. Participants recorded a supervision session and Interpersonal Process Recall (IPR) was then used as the method of data collection, to capture the participants’ experiences. Six core themes emerged from the analysis – anxiety context: drivers behind trainee perspective, developmental context: drivers behind supervisor perspective, competency capability, developmental enactments, supervisory enactments and shift in perspective. The findings suggest that the overtly evaluative nature of the supervisory relationship, the trainees’ anxiety and their reassurance/guidance seeking influences the learning and development that takes place. Supervisory enactments based on collaboration lead to a more profound shift in perspective. Enactments based on rupture still lead to a shift in perspective, but it takes longer to get there. The findings are discussed in relation to relevant theory and research. The implications for future research, theory and training are highlighted.