Patient Attachment to Therapist Rating Scale: development and psychometric properties.

OBJECTIVE: To report on the development and initial psychometric properties of a new rating scale for patent-therapist attachment. METHOD: Seventy interviews from the Young Adult Psychotherapy Project (YAPP) were rated. RESULTS: Excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α > .90) was observed for all four subscales (Security, Deactivation, Hyperactivation, and Disorganization). Three subscales showed good inter-rater reliability (ICC > .60), while one (Hyperactivation) had poor (ICC < .40). Correlations with measures of alliance, mental representations, and symptom distress support the construct validity of the reliable subscales. Exploratory factor analysis indicated three underlying factors explaining 82% of the variance. CONCLUSIONS: The Patient Attachment to Therapist Rating Scale is a promising approach for assessing the quality of attachment to therapist from patient narratives. Future development should focus on improving the discrimination of the insecure subscales.

Supervisor trainees' and their supervisors' perceptions of attainment of knowledge and skills: an empirical evaluation of a psychotherapy supervisor training programme.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the success of a 2-year, part-time training programme for psychotherapy supervisors. A second aim was to examine factors that might contribute to perceived knowledge and skills attainment during the training course. DESIGN: This is a naturalistic, longitudinal study where several measures are used to examine group process and outcome. METHODS: Supervisor trainees' (N=21) and their facilitators' (N=6) ratings of learning (knowledge and skills), relations to the supervisor and supervision group, usage of the group, and supervisor style were completed at three time points. RESULTS: The findings suggested that both trainees and their supervisors perceived that the trainees attained a substantial amount of knowledge and skills during the course. In accordance with the literature and expectations, the regression analysis suggested a strong negative association between a strong focus on group processes in the initial and middle phases of the training and perceived knowledge and skills attainment in the final phase of the training. The expected, positive role of relations among trainees in the supervision group in the first half of the training and perceived knowledge and skills attainment in the final part of the training was obtained, whilst the hypothesized significance of the relationship between trainee and supervisor did not receive support. CONCLUSIONS: The supervisory course seemed to provide a training that allowed trainees to attain knowledge and skills that are necessary for psychotherapy supervisors. The results of this pilot study also emphasize the need of more research on learning in the context of group supervision in psychotherapy.

Group supervision in psychotherapy: the relationship between focus, group climate, and perceived attained skill.

This study examined supervisees and supervisors' view on focus and group climate in group supervision and their relationship with supervisees' attained skill. After supervision, supervisees completed a revised version of Buckley's measure of psychotherapeutic skill. Supervisees and supervisors' experience of focus and climate in the supervision was measured with a questionnaire, Topics and Climate (TAC). The results showed that supervisors' ratings of the extent to which different foci were used in the supervision were significantly higher compared to supervisees' ratings. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that differences in supervisor style were related to supervisees' experience of attained skill. Supervisees' experience of the degree to which focus in supervision was on psychodynamic processes was positively related to perceived attained skill, whereas focus on Theoretical aspects was negatively related. These findings underline the importance of research work with topics and group processes in group supervision.