OBJECTIVE

To develop a valid and reliable measure of the supervisory relationship (SR) from the perspective of the supervisor.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional self-report questionnaire design was used with a repeated component for a subsample.

METHOD

Qualitative data from a previous study of the SR (collected by interviews with supervisors) were used to construct an 89-item self-report questionnaire measure (Supervisory Relationship Measure [SRM]). This was administered to 267 clinical psychology supervisors involved in supervising UK trainee clinical psychologists. One hundred and thirty-four participants completed the measure a second time to establish its test-retest reliability.

RESULTS

Principal components analysis was used. Five factors were identified and labelled 'safe base', 'supervisor commitment', 'trainee contribution', 'external influences', and 'supervisor investment'. Fifty-one items (comprising five subscales based on the factors identified) were selected for the final measure. Analyses revealed the SRM to have good internal consistency, good test-retest reliability, and good construct (convergent and divergent) validity. A preliminary test of predictive (statistical) validity (supervisor satisfaction with the relationship and trainee competence as perceived by the supervisor) yielded promising results.

CONCLUSION

The SRM is a valid and reliable measure of the SR from the supervisor perspective. It predicts supervisor satisfaction and preliminary evidence suggests that it may also predict trainee competence (as perceived by the supervisor). The findings are consistent with current theory on the SR. The SRM is, therefore, a promising tool for use in research, clinical, and training settings.

PRACTITIONER POINTS

The supervisory relationship measure (SRM) is a new psychometrically sound measure of the supervisory relationship (SR) with clinical and research uses. Clinically, it is a useful and structured way for supervisors to provide constructive feedback to their trainees. It can be used in conjunction with the Supervisory Relationship Questionnaire (SRQ) (completed by the supervisee) to support a dyadic discussion about clinical supervision. Currently the measure is only validated on Clinical Psychology trainees and should be used with caution with qualified staff and other professional groups. Participants were predominantly white British supervisors who chose to take part in an internet-based study and thus the sample may not be fully representative of the population.