Cross Cultural Supervisory Research Paper

CROSS-CULTURAL SUPERVISION IN
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPY
Elizabeth Wieling
James P. Marshall

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the various cultural factors that influence the supervisor-trainee relationship when at least one of these individuals is a member of an ethnic minority group in the United States. Marriage and Family
Therapy supervisors and students were asked to compare and contrast their experiences working with ethnic minority and white persons. Findings indicate that both supervisors and students express great value in cross-cultural supervisory experiences, but report that these opportunities are very limited.
KEY WORDS: supervision; cross-cultural; multicultural; marriage and family therapy.
Leong and Wagner (1994) did an excellent job in reviewing and summarizing the clinical and theoretical literature as well as the empirical studies that have been done in the area of cross-cultural supervision. Although the three empirical studies that have been conducted on cross-cultural supervision serve as a base from which to begin, there is still much to be done in this area.
There is not only a need for additional empirical studies to be conducted, but descriptive studies as well. The empirical studies that have been done so far focus a great deal on race, to the exclusion of other cultural and ethnic factors that may influence the supervisory relationship. There is still much that needs to be learned about what these other factors are, and how they might influence the supervision process. Stone (1997) points out the unfortunate fact that culture has been viewed as an obstacle to be overcome in clinical practice rather than as a source of strength. The same feelings may very well hold true for the supervisor-supervisee relationship. Discussions of cultural and ethnic differences between supervisor and supervisee should be looked at as an invaluable part of the supervision experience,
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ELIZABETH WIELING AND JAMES P. MARSHALL

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