Supervisor training in psychosomatic approach to work--a successful pilot project. Communication increases trust in the professional

A question from the Director of Health and Social Security--"What happens when so many patients seek help, and apparently don't get any?"--resulted in an enquiry, which mapped how the medical staff thought about "psychosomatic" problems. One consequence was the pilot project discussed in this article: a training programme with two aims--to increase knowledge of psychosomatic illness, and to offer training in a method for supervision. The training included theory and practise. The course lasted for one and a half years, two days once a month. Participants (n = 18) included physicians, physiotherapists, nurses, medical social workers and occupational therapists. The course evaluation showed that working on different levels (theoretical, practical, personal) was appreciated, meeting the needs of working with complex health issues. The evaluation of the supervision given by the course participants that reached about 85 persons showed that the supervision brought increased trust to professional ability with the participants in the supervision groups.