A Social Influence Approach to Counselor Supervision

Abstract

Supervision has long been the subject of speculation and research in counseling psychology. Two contrasting models that have been dominant in much of this work are development and learning. According to the developmental conception of supervision, becoming a counselor involves passing through a sequence of stages, each characterized by particular trainee experiences and requiring particular learning (e.g., Loganbill, Hardy, & Delworth, 1982). Writers taking a developmental point of view have focused on identifying and ordering the stages of supervision, understanding the learning that takes place as trainees move through each stage, and deriving implications from this for how supervisors should intervene at each stage to enhance trainee development. The role of the supervisor, in this view, is that of facilitator, who adjusts his or her behavior in accordance with the developmental issues faced by the trainee at a particular stage. Empirical studies suggest that complex developmental changes occur across levels of trainee experience (Reising & Daniels, 1983), that trainees prefer different supervisory behaviors across levels of experience (Worthington, 1984), and that supervisors perceive themselves as varying their behaviors on the basis of experience levels of trainees (Miars et al., 1983).