An investigation of the process of career counseling supervisio

The importance of career counseling within the discipline of counseling psychology is clearly recognized, yet virtually no attention has been directed toward explicating the career counseling supervision process (Hill & Corbett, 1993). The present study was designed to examine the process of career counseling supervision in five supervisory dyads working together throughout a semester-long supervision relationship, using descriptive case study methodology. Multiple supervision dyads and various process and outcome measures were used in an effort to triangulate the phenomena of interest.;Prior to the commencement of supervision, trainees' confidence in their own ability to provide career counseling was assessed via the Career Counseling Self-Efficacy Scale (O'Brien & Heppner, 1996). Following each supervision session, the Critical Incidents Questionnaire (Heppner & Roehlke, 1984) and Session Evaluation Questionnaire (Stiles, 1980) were administered to each trainee and supervisor to assess the nature of each session. Data concerning the supervisory relationship also were collected after several supervision sessions via the Working Alliance Inventory-Modified (Baker, 1990). Finally, outcome data were collected at the termination of supervision. Outcome data included supervisors' evaluations of their trainees' clinical skill and behavior in supervision, as well as trainees' ratings of their satisfaction with supervision and their supervisors' abilities.;Within descriptive case study research, visual inspection is the most commonly used method of evaluating the data (Barlow & Hersen, 1984). Visual inspection consists of examining a graphic display of the data. Inferences about the relationships between multiple variables can be readily drawn through visual inspection. Thus, visual inspection of the plotted data was applied in the present study to examine the interrelations among the following variables: trainees' self-efficacy, working alliance development, quality of individual supervision sessions, critical incidents in supervision, and supervisory outcome. Participants' reports of critical incidents in supervision also are presented. The results of the present study represent an in-depth examination that extend our understanding of complex supervision processes into the realm of career counseling supervision.