MA/MS Harassment/Bullying Supervisor?

[Neuropsychometrist]

Hello I hope you are all well.

I was wondering if you would be willing to share your thoughts around harassment/bullying from a Supervising Psychologist/Doctoral Candidate toward a supervisee.

The APA guildlines state in 3.03 Other Harassment (paraphrasing) that psychologists do not knowingly harass or demean others based upon age, gender, sexual orientation etc.

In 3.04 Avoiding harm, it broadly mentions that Psychologists take reasonable steps to avoid harming supervisees in addition to clients/patients, students etc. with whom they work.

My question is related to harassment that is not covered by 3.03. Such as general bullying like forcing a supervisee to repeat phrases word for word, or making false accusations regarding character/interpersonal skills.

Is this just part of the initiation process, to endure and/or dole out abuse to others in your field? Would you work with a colleague who behaved this way? Or is this something that should be taken up with HR, etc.

It seems as though we are seeing the dawn of the age of accountability. With sexual harassment cases by celebrities making headline news, is work place bullying and emotional abuse soon to follow? Or am I just whining/crying about something insignificant?

To preface this statement, yes I'm currently in a situation similar to the above and I have spoken to my superiors/trainers (who are higher up the chain of command than my "supervisor" is). We are about to undergo mediation and I am thinking of going to HR with this as well (I am at a large, structured organization).

What are your thoughts?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[WisNeuro]

Honestly, this is so vague that it's almost impossible to give any constructive advice for this situation.

 

[Justanothergrad]

If you want an evaluation for ethics issues, you can't give vague descriptions of events.

 

[MCParent]

There are some supervisors who have serious problems of their own and take it out on students.

There are some students who think that anything that is not a constant stream of praise is a personal attack.

Without details, hard to tell.

 

[Neuropsychometrist]

My supervisor behaves differently behind closed doors: i was told that I was not saying hi to people in the office (which is not true, I say hi and greet everyone more often than others do) and when I asked who it was so I could do more on my part, I was told "why does that matter?!" And "are you saying that you don't believe the feedback?!" I tried to explain that I wanted to take steps to work on my behavior and was told by this person who was becoming increasingly agitated that my interpersonal skills were poor. I worked with a different supervisor in the same office for half a year prior to that and I had received no such feedback prior to this outburst. In addition to consulting with my previous supervisor and I asked another psychologist (higher up) and they both told me that I did nothing wrong. Now every time I meet with the "supervisor" I am accused of having poor interpersonal skills, being unreceptive to feedback, and am being accused of unethical behavior toward clients. As a student, all my sessions are taped (with client consent). I've asked my "supervisor" if they'd like to look at the tapes to give me detailed feedback regarding the unethical behavior and they refused. This same individual even complimented some of the tapes we have reviewed, but on my official evaluation cited ethical and interpersonal concerns. This person forces me to parrot them word for word things like "I'm sorry, (name) this will never happen again!" otherwise this person will lecture me for an hour straight about my interpersonal skills and ethics. Additionally they will send me articles to read for our next meeting, and the next day (one week after the email was sent) when I sit down to discuss it with them, they will accuse me of "not giving enough time to prepare in advance".

I've spoken with others in the office and have taken steps toward mediation, but i don't know if that will change anything.

I was afraid of being identified, so I apologize for being so vague.

 

[PsyDWannabe]

This person forces me to parrot them word for word things like "I'm sorry, (name) this will never happen again!"

What in the Manson family is going on with your super??

 

[psy2019]

My supervisor behaves differently behind closed doors: i was told that I was not saying hi to people in the office (which is not true, I say hi and greet everyone more often than others do) and when I asked who it was so I could do more on my part, I was told "why does that matter?!" And "are you saying that you don't believe the feedback?!" I tried to explain that I wanted to take steps to work on my behavior and was told by this person who was becoming increasingly agitated that my interpersonal skills were poor. I worked with a different supervisor in the same office for half a year prior to that and I had received no such feedback prior to this outburst. In addition to consulting with my previous supervisor and I asked another psychologist (higher up) and they both told me that I did nothing wrong. Now every time I meet with the "supervisor" I am accused of having poor interpersonal skills, being unreceptive to feedback, and am being accused of unethical behavior toward clients. As a student, all my sessions are taped (with client consent). I've asked my "supervisor" if they'd like to look at the tapes to give me detailed feedback regarding the unethical behavior and they refused. This same individual even complimented some of the tapes we have reviewed, but on my official evaluation cited ethical and interpersonal concerns. This person forces me to parrot them word for word things like "I'm sorry, (name) this will never happen again!" otherwise this person will lecture me for an hour straight about my interpersonal skills and ethics. Additionally they will send me articles to read for our next meeting, and the next day (one week after the email was sent) when I sit down to discuss it with them, they will accuse me of "not giving enough time to prepare in advance".

I've spoken with others in the office and have taken steps toward mediation, but i don't know if that will change anything.

I was afraid of being identified, so I apologize for being so vague.

First off, I want to say that I am SO SORRY you are in this situation. Ultimately, I just wanted to comment to let you know that you're not alone in what you've been experiencing. I had a very similar (almost eerily similar.....) situation with one of my practicum supervisors. My saving grace was the ability to seek outside supervision through my school. I had a professor I was close with, who I sought weekly supervision with about how to better navigate my supervision situation at my site. Thankfully, due to me seeking this outside supervision, the school had my back throughout the year. My school really wanted to sweep the problems under the rug- so in terms of reporting ethics violations, I'm not sure what can be done. I was advised against this, and told not to move forward.

Unfortunately, my site supervisor just made my life a living hell for the training year despite me doing everything in my power to follow their directions/supervision to the letter. Whatever I did, it was never good enough. My supervisor made it a priority to break me down to the point that I was in tears during every supervision session, because I "didn't show enough emotion." I really had challenges when I moved on to my next practicum site with supervision- I constantly was overly anxious in supervision, and really lacked confidence in myself and in my clinical skills. I hope for you that you don't experience this as you move on from your site, but if you do, you definitely are not alone. Feel free to reach out to me if you want to talk more. I'm more than happy to be a listening ear or a source of support as you navigate this situation.

 

[bcliff]

Is this part of a clinical practicum or post degree work; if part of a practicum, is it for a MA/MS or PhD program? I think talking about this with faculty at your institution would be beneficial -- Sorry to hear about your situation. I’ve heard of similar things happening to peers of mine, and I know that it’s an awful position to be in.

 

[PsyDr]

1) some people are jerks.

2) there are certain phrases in neuropsych which requires exact pronunciation.

3) the harassment clause doesn’t say you can’t harass. It says you can’t base your harassment on specific categories.

4) Harm is difficult to ascertain. Having someone do something painful for their own growth is not harming them.

 

[Neuropsychometrist]

Is this part of a clinical practicum or post degree work; if part of a practicum, is it for a MA/MS or PhD program? I think talking about this with faculty at your institution would be beneficial -- Sorry to hear about your situation. I’ve heard of similar things happening to peers of mine, and I know that it’s an awful position to be in.

It's part of my practicum training. I have spoke about this with my program and so far there haven't been any problems, but there is also a chance that this person could fail me. But this person is a doctoral candidate who is in turn supervised by a licensed individual, so I am hoping that this person will receive training on Supervision.

Thank you @psy2019, that does indeed sound similar.

@PSYDR thank you I appreciate hearing all your thoughts on this. This persons behavior and accusations go beyond what I have written here but I wanted to know if this is something that people do not report etc.

I wanted to know if this behavior is condoned or if I have a legitimate case.

 

[MCParent]

Being accused of being unethical is a different ballgame though, especially if that’s going on some record. I’d take that bit higher up if you have to. The rest is hard to handle if no one else is seeing the behavior. I don’t see a reason to not tape the supervison sessions as part of the mediation. Do you have a faculty member who can advocate for you esp given this accusation of being unethical?

 

[Neuropsychometrist]

Being accused of being unethical is a different ballgame though, especially if that’s going on some record. I’d take that bit higher up if you have to. The rest is hard to handle if no one else is seeing the behavior. I don’t see a reason to not tape the supervison sessions as part of the mediation. Do you have a faculty member who can advocate for you esp given this accusation of being unethical?

Thank you for your input! After the "hi" feedback our sessions have been taped, although I haven't seen them and I don't know how consistent it is, since my "supervisor" is the one doing the taping. I am also keeping a record of the things that are being said and on what days, etc.

I've also sought advice on the ethical component and have been told that I did not do anything earthshattering or harmful.i am definitely considering taking this higher up.