Addressing counselors' personal issues in supervision : perceived impact of experience level on various aspects of the supervisory relationship

This study examined the impact that counselors' level of experience (i.e., entry-level and advanced) and discussion of counselors' personal issues had on four variables (i.e., supervisory relationship, supervisor's interactional style, supervision session quality, and postsession mood). The interaction between and main effects for level of experience and treatment were explored. Through an analogue study, participants viewed two treatment vignettes of segments of supervision sessions, one in which the supervisor focused on the counselor's personal issues and the other in which the supervisor focused on the counselor's behavior. Participants rated the four variables on previously established instruments. Entry-level (master's-level students or graduates who had completed one master's-level, supervised internship) and advanced (doctoral-level students or graduates who had completed one supervised internship at the doctoral level) counselors were from one CACREP-approved counselor education program in North Carolina. Responses were received from 20 master's-level and 20 doctoral-level counselors. Correlations on the scales of the three instruments were compared. Relationships were examined between the scores on each of the instruments and on experience level and treatment. Comparisons of responses given by entry-level and advanced counselors were investigated for interaction effects with the two treatments