Sick of Supervision (well, sort of)

[psychmama]

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This may sound crazy but lately I'm becoming weary of endless supervision. It's not that I don't feel I need the occasional help or reality check of a supervisor, but I think I'm a bit burnt out with being a supervisee,😕 I've been thinking this is because I'm now an intern and nearing the end of training. Maybe this is a normal development, no? I was wondering if others who are fairly advanced in their training have experienced this, and also curious about the perspective of those psychologists that have moved beyond the role of trainee. Do you ever miss supervision once it's gone?

 

[deleted176373]

Not as far along as you, but I have at times been sick of supervision. Many times its about the transference/counter-transference combined with the being a bit older and tired of the mother may I thing (or at least for me these factors are in play.)

I suppose that it gets more apparent as you get closer to the finish line, knowing that you have what it takes to be effective and when to seek consultation with your peers. I doubt I will miss it since you can always get peer supervision.

I don't know what else to tell you other than it will resolve itself soon.

Mark

 

[Illuminist]

I find clinical supervision to be an arbitrary exercise for the most part. It's actually the only thing that I find really wrong with my otherwise excellent program. Most of my experiences have been listening to a faculty member or advanced grad student sit and pontificate on all sorts of subjective b.s. from the armchair, made even more questionable by the fact that they never bother to sit in and watch my therapy sessions. One doesn't need a Ph.D. to do this in my opinion. 👎

 

[JockNerd]

Wow, you guys have annoying supervisors! I feel like most of the growth I made clinically was a direct result of the two awesome supervisors I had who continually pushed me to conceptualize and intervene in better and better ways.

My second supervisor called me racist, though, so I definitely hear being sick of supervision when the supervisor is crazy.

 

[docma]

It is pretty typical for both supervisees and supervisors to get tired of each other in February; I parallel it to the middle phase in therapy and there is indeed parallel process. Unless you are worried about some specific Axis II traits in your supervisor (remember we all have an Axis II, it just isn't always disordered..)--then I'd tell them you are feeling restless and explore it some. Just as doing this in therapy can be valuable, it often opens up a whole new dimension and deepens the relationship--if it is an otherwise healthy supervisory relationship. It is quite normal on the trajectory of clinical skills development to start wanting to get off the leash; I tell supervisors I train that the internship year has lots of parallels to adolescence--both positive and negative.

And you will, in fact, miss good and ample supervision once you are out on your own with a sticky, tricky case so it is good to start thinking as you look ahead to how will find (and afford) good consultation because we never outgrow the need for another perspective on the process. I know post-docs who feel shocked at how "unsupervised" it feels to suddenly have just one hour a week to consult on their post-doc caseload

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

My supervision on internship is closer to consultation than supervision. My therapy related supervision seems much more cut and dry, and we talk about related issues and much less about nuts and bolts things.

docma, I've heard the same thing about post-doc supervision. On the one hand I believe I am well trained and can handle more independence, but on the other it definitely feels like that safety net just disappeared.

 

[psich]

... (remember we all have an Axis II, it just isn't always disordered..)...

Hmm.

 

[psychmama]

It is pretty typical for both supervisees and supervisors to get tired of each other in February; I parallel it to the middle phase in therapy and there is indeed parallel process. Unless you are worried about some specific Axis II traits in your supervisor (remember we all have an Axis II, it just isn't always disordered..)--then I'd tell them you are feeling restless and explore it some. Just as doing this in therapy can be valuable, it often opens up a whole new dimension and deepens the relationship--if it is an otherwise healthy supervisory relationship. It is quite normal on the trajectory of clinical skills development to start wanting to get off the leash; I tell supervisors I train that the internship year has lots of parallels to adolescence--both positive and negative.

And you will, in fact, miss good and ample supervision once you are out on your own with a sticky, tricky case so it is good to start thinking as you look ahead to how will find (and afford) good consultation because we never outgrow the need for another perspective on the process. I know post-docs who feel shocked at how "unsupervised" it feels to suddenly have just one hour a week to consult on their post-doc caseload

Thanks Docma, your post was helpful to me. I do feel much of my restlessness is a normal developmental process -- the analogy to adolescence in many ways seems apt. Fortunately my supervisors are good people and psychologists, and I've actually mentioned my impatience with supervision with some of them. One supervisor laughed and said he thought it meant I "was ready". I hope that's what it means. I agree that there will probably always be times when I need someone to consult with and help me when I'm clinically "stuck." The biggest change for me, I think, is that I've started to reach the stage when I often know when I'm stuck and need help. Being able to recognize this seems like a positive step in my development.

Thanks again. 🙂

 

[cyclechic]

Ditto on docma's post.

Having been out in private practice for some time, I often miss the camaraderie and collective support of the grad school supervision process and cohort. It can be lonely work, private practice. While I still have a consultant and consultation group, it is not the same.

Psychmama, you may consider your approach to being in supervision and see if there are ways to make it more constructive for you. What themes of the feedback has been most helpful to you? When supervision has been valuable, what has been happening? Perhaps there are questions that you could bring to the meetings to help keep the experience more focused.

 

[docma]

Psychmama: Yes, some of those signs of "aging out" of supervision include:
A) knowing you are "stuck" and accepting that this 1) happens, and 2) is not the client's "fault" or something your supervisor "should fix"; B) surprising yourself by confidently knowing what to do when something unexpected happens; C) feeling like you are developing your own "voice" rather then talking like the "supervisor on your shoulder"