Talking About Sexual Attraction in Supervision: Trainee Experience and Disclosure in Supervision

Download or read book Talking About Sexual Attraction in Supervision: Trainee Experience and Disclosure in Supervision written by Elizabeth DeBoer Kreider and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 135 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Graduate trainees (n = 156) enrolled in clinical psychology and counseling psychology programs in the United States were categorized based on responses to measures of personality (NEO-FFI-3; McCrae & Costa, 2010), social desirability (M-C SDS; Crowne & Marlowe, 1960), perceived threat of discussing sexual information (SSDS; Catania et al., 1986), development (SLQ-R; McNeill, et al., 1992), experience, and level of training in sexual issues in supervision. Subjects were clustered using Ward's hierarchical method. Data revealed the identification of three trainee clusters, described as: evolving intermediates (44%), advancing achievers (37%), and navigating novices (19%). Discriminant analysis supported the differentiation of clusters and suggested that stability and drive for success along with nervousness and inexperience accounted for a majority of the discrimination. Thirty percent of subjects reported the experience of sexual attraction for a clinical supervisor, which varied significantly across clusters. Forty-two percent of "evolving intermediates", 21% of "advancing achievers", and 17% of "navigating novices" experienced sexual attraction in supervision. Four percent of subjects who reported sexual attraction experience also reported disclosing the attraction in supervision. Self-disclosure and trainee perception of the supervisory working alliance were not related to cluster membership. Implications for practice, research, and training are discussed.