Supervisee perspectives on improving cultural responsivity in clinical supervision

Abstract

Culturally responsive supervision has been shown to improve the supervisory relationship and supervision outcomes. This article considers the perspectives of 131 supervisees (trainee/qualified Clinical Psychologists, Counselling Psychologists and CBT Therapists) to better understand what may be required to improve culturally responsive supervisory practices. Supervisees completed an online survey and opted into responding to five free text questions. A qualitative approach was used to further explore their answers using thematic analysis. Five major themes were found from the data: integrating race/ethnicity into the profession, attending to the supervisory relationship, increasing cultural competence, addressing the power dynamic, and promoting cultural humility. It was proposed that the supervisor needs to initiate and lead cultural conversations safely and sensitively, particularly as supervisees may be at varying stages of their own cultural development. Supervisees also felt that supervisors should take responsibility to develop their personal and professional cultural identity due to the existing power dynamics inherent within the supervisory relationship. The responsibility of training programmes and professional bodies was also highlighted in integrating cultural responsivity into clinical training on a wider level.