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Exploring psychoanalytic psychotherapists’ experience of supervision: an interpretative phenomenological analysis study

Khoshfetrat, Ali orcid logoORCID: 0000-0001-8632-5137 (2021) Exploring psychoanalytic psychotherapists’ experience of supervision: an interpretative phenomenological analysis study. PhD thesis, Dublin City University.

Abstract
Studies aimed at exploring psychoanalytic psychotherapy supervisees’ experience of supervision, have often been focused on novice and trainee therapists whose supervisory needs, tasks and consequently their supervisory experiences differ from those of accredited experienced practitioners. Experienced therapists have accumulated supervision experiences that put them in a position to identify long-lasting and sustainable effects of supervision. Hence, experienced therapists can contribute to our understanding about how psychoanalytic supervision is experienced in the fullness of time. This study aimed to explore a group of accredited psychoanalytic psychotherapist supervisees’ experiences of supervision. Using purposeful and snow-ball sampling, fourteen psychoanalysts (seven female and seven male) accredited by the Irish Council for Psychotherapy were recruited. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was employed for data analysis. The four superordinate themes that emerged from the analysis were “providing illumination”, “harmonizing emotional experience”, “noticing unmet needs” and “grappling with relational experiences”. Good and effective psychoanalytic supervision appeared to be both insightful and emotionally supportive, while problematic psychoanalytic supervision neglected the participants’ needs and was characterised by an uncomfortable relationship. The findings from the study point to several considerations for practice and future research. Of particular note is that the supervisors are recommended to democratize the supervision relationship so that supervision can be conducted in a way that is meaningful for the supervisee. Given that supervision is a triadic practice, future research is required to study the supervisors and the clients, which will extend the findings from the current study. This study is unique as it is the first study to provide a nuanced understanding of the experienced psychoanalytic psychotherapy supervisees’ supervision experiences in an Irish context.
Metadata
Item Type:Thesis (PhD)
Date of Award:November 2021
Refereed:No
Supervisor(s):Moore, Gerard and Kiernan, Gemma
Uncontrolled Keywords:Psychoanalysis; Clinical Supervision
Subjects:Medical Sciences > Mental health
Medical Sciences > Psychology
Social Sciences > Social psychology
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science and Health > School of Nursing, Psychotherapy & Community Health
Use License:This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. View License
ID Code:26224
Deposited On:29 Oct 2021 10:30 by Gerard Moore . Last Modified 29 Oct 2021 10:30
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