The supervisory working alliance: A comparison of dyadic and triadic supervision model

Through inclusion in the 2001 standards of The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), triadic supervision is recognized as equivalent to individual supervision. This study used the Supervisory Working Alliance Inventory (SWAI) to measure differences in the working alliance between 76 supervisors receiving individual or triadic supervision and 47 supervisors who conducted supervision using individual or triadic supervision models. Results revealed that supervisors receiving triadic supervision perceived the working alliance slightly higher than those receiving dyadic supervision on the SWAI Client Focus Subscale. Supervisors using dyadic supervision scored significantly higher on the SWAI Identification Subscale. Implications for the field of supervision and recommendations for counselor educators are discussed.