University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Public Access Theses, Dissertations, and Student Research from the College of Education and Human Sciences, College of Education and Human Sciences (CEHS) 5-2021 Exploring Supervisor Experiences of Hope in Clinical Supervision: A Phenomenological Approach Robert Byrom Jr. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss Part of the Counseling Psychology Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, and the Other Education Commons Byrom, Robert Jr., "Exploring Supervisor Experiences of Hope in Clinical Supervision: A Phenomenological Approach" (2021). Public Access Theses, Dissertations, and Student Research from the College of Education and Human Sciences. 389. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/389 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Education and Human Sciences, College of (CEHS) at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Public Access Theses, Dissertations, and Student Research from the College of Education and Human Sciences by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. EXPLORING SUPERVISOR EXPERIENCES OF HOPE IN CLINICAL SUPERVISION: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL APPROACH by Robert A. Byrom Jr. A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Major: Psychological Studies in Education (Counseling Psychology) Under the Supervision of Professor Michael J. Scheel Lincoln, Nebraska May, 2021 EXPLORING SUPERVISOR EXPERIENCES OF HOPE IN CLINICAL SUPERVISION: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL APPROACH Robert A. Byrom Jr., Ph.D. University of Nebraska, 2021 Advisor: Michael J. Scheel Supervisory experiences have been identified as one of the primary resources for the clinical training of psychotherapists with respect to both the development of necessary skills and the ability to cope with encountered difficulties. This phenomenological study explored the experiences of clinical supervisors in a current supervisory relationship with one or more supervisees. Specifically, this study explored how supervisors experience their supervisory relationships, how supervisors conceptualize hope as it relates to supervision, how supervisors express hope for their supervisees, and how supervisors promote hope within supervision. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with between 3 to 15 individuals recruited from counseling psychology graduate programs across the United States. The experiences offered by the supervisors may act as a roadmap to better understand the phenomenon of hope in supervision, what supervisors believe regarding hope within the process of supervision, how supervisors attempt to impart this hope within their supervisory relationships and may also offer insight into how supervision may serve to better prepare supervisees both within their present therapeutic work with clients and for their future careers. Keywords: hope, supervision, graduate training, positive psychotherapy, counseling psychology iii Dedication I dedicate this first and foremost to Grace, constant creator of rainbows in my mind/heart/soul. Your friendship, support, and love are the seeds out of which have grown the most spectacular forest imaginable. I dedicate it specifically to Steven, Rogelio, and Casey, the brothers I chose in the absence of any biological siblings, and more generally to our group of Mage-friends, without whom my life would have likely taken a dramatically different path. I dedicate it to Alyssa Bischmann, the sister I would not and could not have expected but am forever grateful toward. I dedicate it to Justine, my friend and steadfast companion during our shared trials of completing our respective dissertations. I dedicate it to Abeygael Wachira, my friend and former Building Bridges cofacilitator, you are a constant source of inspiration as I walk the path of a psychologist- in-training. I dedicate it to Carmen Lee, though my days studying quantitative methodologies with you have passed, my love and respect for you as a human are eternal. I dedicate it to Mike, Neeta, and Meghan, each of whom offered me a space and nurturance to grow into the therapist I am perpetually becoming. I would not be the person I am today without your guidance, friendship, and mentorship. I dedicate it last, but not least, to every mental-health-practitioner-in-training who is struggling to find a light at the end of the tunnel. You are where you belong, you are setting alight within yourselves the fires that will become the stars of tomorrow’s night sky for those who come after you, keep your head high and fan the twin flames of hope and social justice so that they burn brightly together in your hearts. iv Author’s Acknowledgements The completion of a doctoral dissertation never occurs in a vacuum. It takes a village, and I am forever grateful to the residents of mine. It is with deep gratitude that I thank Dr. Michael J. Scheel for being my committee chair, constant advisor, mentor, guide, and friend. Without his guidance, consistent support, and reminders that hope is a reasonable aspect of supervision to explore, this dissertation would never have been possible. Mike, I eagerly anticipate the experience of reading the book you were volunteered to write all those years ago at APA, The Art of Celebration. Please let me know as soon as a copy is available. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Neeta Kantamneni, Dr. Wayne Babchuk, and Dr. Sarah Gervais. My experience of many of the identity- related limitations and perspectives offered by the participants were inspired by a social- justice perspective that Neeta helped foster in me. The pursuit of this study would be an unknown landscape without the several years of qualitative methodological courses that I shared with Wayne. Sarah, thank you for being willing to be part of my committee, your directness, critical eye, and overarching social-justice orientation have been an inspiring force as I worked my way through this process. Finally, this dissertation would be completely impossible without the contributions of the study participants. I feel a deep-seated gratitude toward all of the clinical supervisors who invested their time, energy, expertise, and insights into helping unearth what feels to me like a veritable treasure trove of information related to their experiences of hope in clinical supervision. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. v Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................1 Importance of Supervision for Psychological Training ...................................................2 Factors Affecting Clinical Supervision ............................................................................4 Supervisor Factors .................................................................................................................... 4 Supervision Processes .............................................................................................................. 6 Challenges and Value of Studying Hope within Clinical Supervision ............................7 Theoretical Frameworks ..................................................................................................8 Hope Theory ............................................................................................................................. 8 Broaden & Build ..................................................................................................................... 10 Current Study .................................................................................................................10 Guiding Research Questions ..........................................................................................11 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ...........................................................................13 Extant Models of Clinical Supervision ..........................................................................13 Developmental Models .......................................................................................................... 14 Process Models ...................................................................................................................... 15 Positive Psychology .......................................................................................................18 Positive Psychotherapy ..................................................................................................20 Hope: Rainbows in the Mind .........................................................................................25 Snyder’s Hope Theory ............................................................................................................ 25 Parallel Process ..............................................................................................................27 Positive Supervision.......................................................................................................28 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .....................................................................................35 Qualitative Phenomenological Approach ......................................................................35 Qualitative Methodology ......................................................................................................