Psychotherapy supervision conducted via videoconferencing: A qualitative study of users' experiences

The 70 h of mandatory psychotherapy supervision for psychiatry residents in Norway is designed to develop insight into the therapeutic relationship. E ssential in fulfilling the intentions of psychotherapy supervision is, for example, the ability to openly express and utilize personal experiences, em otions, and reactions. Six supervision pairs-six candidates and two supervi sors-participated in a study to evaluate the quality of the psychotherapy s upervision process when supervisors and candidates communicate by means of interactive audiovisual videoconferencing (VC). Each candidate and their re spective supervisors participated in 10 supervised sessions, with 5 VC-base d and 5 face-to-face sessions alternating every other session weekly. The p art of the study reported in this article is based on qualitative interview s conducted at the conclusion of the 60 sessions. The article concludes tha t the quality of psychotherapy supervision can be satisfactorily maintained by using VC (384 kbit/sec) for up to 50% of the 70 h of required psychothe rapy supervision. The prerequisite for this estimate is that the pair in qu estion has met face-to-face and established a relationship characterized by mutual trust and respect. The study further indicates that the limitations imposed by VC may, paradoxically enough, stimulate the development of insi ghts and communication abilities that contribute positively to the quality of psychotherapy supervision, also in a face-to-face setting. The most obvi ous implications of the study are the potentials provided by new technology for implementing decentralized models for recruiting and educating psychia trists.