Abstract
Supervision is an essential part of the training and work environment of health professionals, especially of psychotherapists and clinical/health psychologists. However, while the supervisory process is always a relational one and may therefore be influenced by attachment dynamics, the importance of the supervisory relationship for the professional’s performance and the well‐being of the supervisee has yet to be fully examined.
In this cross‐sectional observational study, the Experiences in Close Relationships – Revised (avoidant and anxious attachment; ECR‐RD), the Supervisory Relationship Questionnaire (SRQ), the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC‐13) were analyzed for 346 (81.8% female) health professionals.
Considering professional experience and number of supervision sessions as control variables, a better supervisory relationship negatively predicted burnout symptoms (β = ‐.31) but positively predicted sense of coherence (β = .31, both p < .01). The final model, including avoidant and anxious attachment as additional predictors, explained 30% of the variance in burnout symptoms and 41% of the variance in sense of coherence.
The results underline the importance of the supervisory relationship for the well‐being and the professional performance of health professionals. Interactions between the supervisory relationship and underlying attachment parameters should be further explored in future studies.