The supervisory relationship and culturally responsive supervision
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A study exploring the supervisory relationship in the context of culturally responsive supervision: a supervisee’s perspective
IRAS ID
284122
Contact name
Bianca Vekaria
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Southampton
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 4 days
Research summary
Clinical supervision (within mental health professional practice) has a crucial role in ensuring ethical clinical practice, supporting supervisee’s professional development and providing a space to reflect on the personal impact of the work. The development and maintenance of the supervisory relationship is central to the delivery of effective supervision and client care.
Issues of difference, particularly in relation to race and ethnicity, are important to all aspects of psychological supervision and therapy in the United Kingdom today, where social inequalities are often complex and multi-layered. This highlights the need for culturally responsive supervision, which incorporates a competent understanding and discussion of cultural issues related to existing differences between the supervisee, supervisor and clients. Much of the cross-cultural supervision literature has originated from North America, making it difficult to generalise findings to the differing demographics and contexts within the UK.
A mixed-methods cross-sectional design will be used in this study to explore supervisee perspectives of culturally responsive supervision and the supervisory relationship in culturally similar and cross-cultural supervisory dyads (where the supervisor and supervisee are racially/ethnically different). The research will involve Trainee or Qualified Clinical Psychologists, Counselling Psychologists and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Therapists. All are widely employed by the National Health Service (NHS) to work with complex psychological presentations and share similar supervision styles.
Data will be gathered using an online survey advertised on social media sites, NHS sites and by NHS funded training programmes (i.e. Clinical Psychology doctorate programmes and High intensity CBT training) across the UK.Quantitative data will be gathered via questionnaires (Part A) and qualitative data will be gathered via free-text questions to consider the recommendations provided by supervisees on how culturally responsive supervisory practices in the UK could be improved (Part B). The questionnaire is estimated to take 15-20 minutes to complete.
REC name
East Midlands - Leicester South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/EM/0221
Date of REC Opinion
21 Sep 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion