Date of Award

1986

Publication Type

Doctoral Thesis

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Department

Psychology

Keywords

Psychology, Clinical.

Rights

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Abstract

A review of the literature examined the prevailing approach to supervision research and provided a conceptual framework for an alternative approach. The present study used a hypothesis generating approach with a single case design and an emphasis on process rather than outcome. The patterns of change in the student therapists' perceptions of psychotherapy and supervision were systematically evaluated and described. The subjects were six clinical psychology graduate students with some prior psychotherapy experience. There were three females and three males ranging in age from mid-twenties to early thirties. The research was conducted in conjunction with a course on systemic approaches to psychotherapy. The supervisor had extensive supervisory experience. Supervision was conducted in a group format with three student therapists in each group. A single case design was employed which considered each subject as a separate unit for purposes of data gathering, analysis and interpretation. Student perceptions were assessed by a multidimensional procedure known as the Personal Questionnaire (PQ) technique (Shapiro, 1961a). Each subject rated the perceptions (PQ items) before and after every therapy and supervision session (occasions) for the duration of therapy. Four of the six subjects produced interpretable PQ ratings. Data from the two remaining subjects were either insufficient or unreliable. The PQ data for each subject were analysed in terms of both items and occasions by a principal component analysis (PCA). The PQ components generated by the PCA for each subject were appreciated as cognitive perspectives employed by the subjects in regard to their therapeutic performance. Although the pattern of the subjects' perspectives over time were unique for each subject, they appeared systematic and linked with ongoing events in psychotherapy and supervision. Additional components emerged which represented unique dimensions of meaning specific to each subject. A process summary (i.e., over time) for each subject represented an attempt to integrate the perspectives with specific events which occurred both in therapy and supervision. The results were discussed in terms of the practical utility of the PQ technique to define and evaluate goals in supervised psychotherapy. Theoretical implications for conceptualizing the process which student therapists undergo in learning to do psychotherapy were also discussed.Dept. of Psychology. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1986 .G734. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-05, Section: B, page: 2164. Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1986.

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