Deepening the group training experience: Group cohesion and supervision impact in alliance-focused training.

Abstract

The aim of the current study is to explore experiences of trainees engaged in alliance-focused training (AFT), a group supervision modality with an explicit focus on awareness of ruptures and implementation of repair strategies. Using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) group supervision as a point of comparison, the study examines supervisory alliance, ruptures, group cohesion and safety, and supervision impact. Method: Eighty-three trainees (clinical psychology interns, advanced-level psychology externs and psychiatry residents) at a metropolitan medical center in New York City who received supervision in CBT (N ϭ 38) or AFT (N ϭ 45) reported on their group supervision experience. Participants had a mean age of 29.5 (SD ϭ 4.9); 77% were women; 84% of participants identified as White, 7% as Multiethnic, 6% as Hispanic/Latinx, 1% as Black, and 1% as Asian. Participants reported on occurrence of ruptures with their supervisor, supervisory alliance (Working Alliance Inventory-Short), group safety, supervision depth and smoothness (Session Evaluation Questionnaire), and group cohesion (Group Climate Questionnaire). Mixed and general linear models, and correlation analyses were used for analysis. Results: All trainees reported equally low incidence of ruptures with their supervisor alongside high ratings of supervisory alliance. Trainees in AFT reported experiencing less safety, smoothness, and greater intergroup conflict than trainees in CBT supervision; however, they also reported stronger group engagement and a deeper supervision experience. Conclusions: Results suggest that AFT may provide a rich environment to foster a certain level of discomfort and risk-taking that may facilitate an engaging and meaningful learning experience.

Ruptures and repairs in group psychotherapy: Introduction to the special issue.

“…It is also important to research the impact of the type of group treatment being provided. One would imagine that there might be more ruptures in interpersonal process groups compared to more structured cognitive-behavioral groups, as suggested by the findings of Urmanche et al (2021).…”

“…Most of the ruptures were between supervisees and were similar to the ones experienced by clients in psychotherapy. Urmanche et al (2021) explored the experiences of trainees who were in AFT group supervision and compared them to students in a cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) group supervision. Using 83 trainees, they found that trainees in AFT experienced less safety, smoothness, and greater intergroup conflict compared to trainees in the CBT supervision.…”

“…Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice This special issue of rupture and repair in Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice begins where the special edition of the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy left off. It focuses on empirical research, including a metaanalysis of the alliance-outcome association in group treatment (Alldredge et al, 2021), studies on the measurement of ruptures and repairs in group therapy (Garceau et al, 2021;Gullo et al, 2021;Svien et al, 2021), an investigation of the effectiveness of rupture repair group supervision (Urmanche et al, 2021), and a practice review of the impact of microaggressions, a specific type of rupture in group therapy (Miles et al, 2021).…”

Supervisión en psicología clínica: Una revisión sobre estudios empíricos 2012-2021

“…Otra modalidad de supervisión grupal es entre pares, sin supervisor, y ha permitido la comprensión de aspectos multiculturales de los casos clínicos (Somerville et al, 2019). Por su parte, Urmanche et al (2021) establecieron comparaciones entre la supervisión grupal centrada en las terapias cognoscitivo-conductuales y las centradas en el apego.…”

“…Otro concepto en esta categoría es el estilo de apego en la relación entre la persona supervisora y supervisada, estudiando cómo el apego del supervisado predice la relación de supervisión después de la retroalimentación crítica de un supervisor (McKibben & Webber, 2017). Así mismo, se han estudiado las rupturas en la alianza entre supervisor y supervisado, encontrando que puede afectar la seguridad, la tranquilidad y el conflicto intergrupal (Urmanche et al, 2021).…”