Supervisors of Psychotherapy: Mapping Experience Level and Supervisory Confidence

Levels of supervisory activity and confidence were investigated in relation to a number of therapist characteristics. Analyses of data from more than 1600 therapists of various professions, orientations, and career levels in several countries, two-thirds of whom were resident in Europe, showed that: (1) supervising the work of other therapists becomes a normal part of the professional development of psychotherapists as therapist experience levels increase; (2) supervisory confidence increases noticeably with the initial supervisory experiences, and thereafter increases progressively and slowly; (3) some therapists with little supervisory experience claim high levels of supervisory confidence; and (4) supervisors' confidence about guiding the development of others can not be predicted by the amount of supervision received, or by duration or type of therapist experience, but can be predicted on the basis of self-assessed therapeutic skill and, to some extent, by amount of experience as a supervisor. The results are discussed in the light of existing models of supervisor development.