| Effective clinical supervision requires the supervisee to share both the content and the{09}process of the client counseling session with the supervisor. This study attempted to define the factors that affect supervisee self-disclosure, specifically disclosure by pastoral counseling students. The project then addressed self-disclosure in the context of a perceived clinical mistake. It was hypothesized that high levels of self-disclosure would be positively related to concepts of mutuality, as defined by theorists at the Stone Center at Wellesley College. Respondents (N = 75) were drawn from master's level counseling programs at two institutions, one that is diverse in its student body and ecumenical in approach, and one with a more homogeneous student body and a conservative-Christian orientation. Respondents provided demographic information and completed four instruments: (a) Factors Affecting Supervisee Disclosure to Supervisors, (b) Self-disclosure of Clinical Mistakes Form, (c) Mutual Psychological Development Questionnaire, and (d) Relational Health Indices. The purpose of the study was descriptive, and comparisons were made between programs, age levels, and gender. Independent sample t-tests and chi square analyses were conducted. Qualities related to the supervisory relationship were found to be most important to self-disclosure in all categories. Respondents identified high levels of self-disclosure in their supervisory relationships, a finding that contrasts with previous research on other populations. Respondents also reported high levels of perceived mutuality in these relationships, validating relational theory as developed at the Stone Center. There were significant differences between students in the two programs, but results related to mutuality and the supervisory relationship did not vary significantly. |
