THE IMPACT OF SUPERVISOR CHARACTERISTICS ON TRAINEE OUTCOME IN CLINICAL SUPERVISION: A BRIEF REPORT

Although the study of psychotherapies has been favored over the study of psychotherapists, research investigating psychotherapists' characteristics is nearly as old as psychotherapy research. Still, the literature is rather scarce when it comes to investigating psychotherapists' attributes that may be predict patients' outcome in therapy. The paucity of research in this area is even more marked as far as the supervisor-trainee relation is concerned. The main objective of our study was to investigate supervisor characteristics (i.e. experience, unconditional self-acceptance, self-efficacy, allegiance) hypothesized to predict trainee outcome. A total of 33 trainees and 4 supervisors in Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) entered the study. Results showed that experienced supervisors have better outcomes in conducting trainee personal development groups; also, the more allegiant they are, the better the results of their trainees. Unconditional self-acceptance and self-efficacy also seem to play an important role: the more supervisors accept themselves unconditionally and the more they believe in their ability to be efficient therapists, the better their trainees' outcomes. Implications for psychotherapy research, practice and training are discussed.