Positive Regard in Clinical Supervision: Trainee Perspectives

Supervision operates within the tension of a working alliance in which supervisors must juggle multiple responsibilities, including imparting new skills and techniques to trainees, ensuring client welfare, and setting the bar for competence in the profession. Despite the professional nature to this relationship, this is also a relationship in which positive regard is appropriate and critical. The presence or absence of positive regard has the potential to alter the trajectory of a supervision alliance, the trainees’ professional development, and ultimately, the quality of the services delivered to the client. Illustrations from our clinical training demonstrate the practical, day-to-day impact of positive regard in supervision.