Supervision of a Person-Centered Group Intervention: Perspectives from Supervised Facilitators and Their Supervisor - A Qualitative Exploratory Study

Supervision is one strategy to support mental health professionals in adopting interventions and avoiding their underutilization in clinical practice. However, most existing literature on supervision focuses broadly on clinical nursing practice, and not on specific interventions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the content and influence of supervision on mental health nurses facilitating a person-centered group intervention for patients with mental illness in outpatient services, from the perspectives of the supervised facilitators and the supervisor. Qualitative data was collected from four supervised facilitators and their supervisor alongside the facilitation of seven groups. Additionally, the supervisor made registrations during and after each supervision session. Data was analyzed inductively using reflexive thematic analysis leading to three themes: 1) Supervised Facilitators' Perspectives on Supervision: Balancing need for Support, Professional Growth, and Daily Workload, 2) Supervisor Establishing a Safe Space for Supervised Facilitators through Competent Dialogue - despite the distance, and 3) The Role of Supervision - Enhancing Confidence and Competency in the Facilitator role. While supervision was beneficial, prioritising it was challenging. The supervisor's structured approach provided a safe space for facilitators. Ultimately, supervision enhanced facilitators' confidence and competencies, enabling them to navigate their roles more effectively.