Godt begyndt - en minimalistisk supervisionsmodel for noviceterapeuter

Abstract

A good beginning – a minimalistic supervision model for novice psychotherapists

Jan Nielsen

 MSc & PhD in psychology, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Copenhagen University.

The article focuses on the supervision of novice therapists, since the foundation for future training and supervision is established in the early phases of professional development. Only a few guidelines exist on how to organize supervision with novice therapists and this issue is the point of departure of the article. The lack of guidelines is caused result of several unclarified issues, e.g. how supervision is related to the outcome of psychotherapy, insufficient knowledge about adequate skills to help clients most efficiently, and how expertise is defined in relation to psychotherapeutic work. The article offers three answers to these challenges. Selection of themes and arguments are primarily based on newer research literature. Firstly, the need for a competence development system is addressed, providing direction to the supervision of novice therapists. Secondly, therapist factors (specific alliance and relational skills) are proposed as the primary content in the supervision of novices, and related to treatment efficacy. Thirdly, group supervision is introduced as a training method with several relational potentials for the benefit of both novice therapists and their clients. Finally, these ideas are discussed, and perspectives are suggested.

 Keywords: training, novice, competence, therapist factors, group supervision.