How Supervisees on a Foundation Course in CBT Perceive a Supervision Session and what they Bring Forward to the Next Therapy Session.

BACKGROUND: There is limited research into the effect of supervision in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) from the supervisees' perspective.

AIMS: The aim of the study was to acquire knowledge from the supervisees' perspective as to what in particular in the supervision process contributes to the therapy process.

METHOD: Fourteen supervisees on a foundation course participated in the study. A qualitative approach was used with thematic analysis of the participants' written diaries after supervision and therapy sessions.

RESULTS: Analyses of supervisees' experiences suggested that a variety of therapeutic interventions were easier to implement if one had the supervisor's support and felt free to decide if and when the suggested interventions could best be implemented. Evaluation in the form of positive feedback from the supervisor indicating that the supervisee was 'doing the right thing' was perceived to be important. A unifying theme when supervisees felt they were not getting anything out of the supervision was that the supervisees did not have a supervision question.

CONCLUSIONS: The results of this research suggest that the supervisor's support during training is perceived to be important for the supervisee. Receiving positive feedback from one's supervisor in an evaluation is perceived to have a great impact on whether the therapist implements the suggested therapeutic interventions discussed in the previous supervision.