Reflective Supervision for Emotion Regulation

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Bradley Hospital

Disqualifiers: Not a supervisor in pre-kindergarten

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 10

32 Participants Needed

Trial Summary

What is the purpose of this trial?

The goal of this clinical trial is to test an enhancement to early care and education, which is a professional development series that includes a foundational training and skill development workshops focused on training and supporting early learning supervisors in Reflective Practice and Supervision. Directors and education coordinators within state pre-kindergarten programs, and the teachers they supervise, will be the focus of this research. Hypothesized outcomes include promotion of reflective capacity and supervisory skill in supervisors, more effective supervisor-supervisee interactions, increases in reflective functioning and well-being in supervisees, increases in positive teaching practices and observed classroom quality, and increases in adaptive social-emotional development among children alongside prevention of emotion regulation difficulties. Researchers will compare whether these outcomes differ between participants who are currently receiving the Reflective Supervision enhancement and participants who are in the waitlist control condition.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial information does not specify whether participants need to stop taking their current medications.

What data supports the effectiveness of the treatment Reflective Supervision Enhancement for emotion regulation?

Research on similar treatments, like Compassion-Focused Therapy, shows that reflective practices can help people better manage their emotions by increasing compassion and understanding personal challenges. This suggests that Reflective Supervision Enhancement might also be effective in improving emotion regulation. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Is Reflective Supervision for Emotion Regulation safe for humans?

The available research does not provide specific safety data for Reflective Supervision for Emotion Regulation, but it is generally considered an emotionally safe space for critical reflection, suggesting it is safe for participants. ^{1 6 7 8 9}

How does Reflective Supervision Enhancement differ from other treatments for emotion regulation?

Reflective Supervision Enhancement is unique because it focuses on the interaction between therapists and clients to improve emotion regulation, emphasizing the role of therapists in helping clients manage their emotions through a process called emotion coregulation. This approach is distinct from other treatments that may focus solely on individual strategies or skills training without the interactive, relational component. ^{10 11 12 13 14}

Research Team

Lindsay P Huffhines, PhD

Principal Investigator

Bradley Hospital

Eligibility Criteria

This trial is for supervisors within Rhode Island state pre-kindergarten programs. It aims to enhance early care and education by focusing on professional development, particularly in Reflective Practice and Supervision.

Inclusion Criteria

Supervisor in Rhode Island state pre-kindergarten program

Exclusion Criteria

Does not meet inclusion criteria above

Timeline

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Foundational Training

Supervisors receive 8 hours of foundational training in Reflective Practice and Supervision prior to the start of the academic year

1 day

1 visit (in-person)

Skill Development Workshops

Nine 2-hour monthly small group workshops focused on skill development in Reflective Supervision

9 months

9 visits (in-person)

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for changes in social-emotional functioning, classroom quality, and other outcomes

3 months

Treatment Details

Interventions

• Reflective Supervision Enhancement

Trial Overview The intervention being tested is a Reflective Supervision Enhancement program. The study will compare outcomes between those receiving this enhancement and those on a waitlist, looking at improvements in supervisory skills, teaching practices, classroom quality, and children's social-emotional development.

Participant Groups

Group I: Reflective Supervision Enhancement Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

The Reflective Supervision enhancement is a professional development series for supervisors of state pre-kindergarten programs that is designed to build skills in using Reflective Supervision with teachers. The goal of the Reflective Supervision enhancement is to provide supervisors with foundational knowledge in Reflective Practice and Supervision and increase their use of Reflective Supervision principles and practices within their work. The series consists of a day-long foundational training and nine skills-focused workshops. Supervisors are expected to receive 8 hours of foundational training prior to the start of the academic year, and nine 2-hour monthly small groups over the course of the academic year.

Group II: Business-As-Usual Waitlist Control Active Control 1 Intervention

Supervisors in the business-as-usual waitlist control condition will supervise teachers as-per-usual (i.e., using standard administrative supervision), and will be eligible for the typical array of professional development opportunities that may be offered to them. These supervisors will receive the Reflective Supervision enhancement the following academic year.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Bradley Hospital

Lead Sponsor

Trials

22

Recruited

1,900+

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Collaborator

Trials

2,103

Recruited

2,760,000+

Findings from Research

A systematic review of 10 studies and a meta-analysis of 26 studies involving 84 clients showed that therapist methods for emotion regulation (ER) significantly improve patients' ability to manage their emotions, with a large effect size of 0.82 from pre- to post-treatment.

Both affect-focused methods and structured skills training are effective in enhancing emotion regulation, highlighting the importance of considering cultural backgrounds in therapy to tailor approaches for individual patients.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Enhancing emotion regulation. Iwakabe, S., Nakamura, K., Thoma, NC.[2023]

References

1. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Developing a Compassionate Internal Supervisor: Compassion-Focused Therapy for Trainee Therapists. [2022]

2. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Using client outcome monitoring as a tool for supervision. [2015]

3. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Objective measures of subjective experience: the use of therapist notes in process-outcome research. [2019]

4. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Empathic relational bonds and personal agency in psychotherapy: Implications for psychotherapy supervision, practice, and research. [2011]

5. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effects of training in time-limited dynamic psychotherapy: mediators of therapists' responses to training. [2019]

6. Canada pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Utilizing reflected countertransference Applying the reflection process as a teaching tool in supervision. [2019]

7. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Supervisory reactions: an important aspect of supervision. [2011]

8. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Mental health nurses' experiences of managing work-related emotions through supervision. [2018]

9. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

A randomized controlled trial of a feedback method for improving empathic accuracy in psychotherapy. [2012]

10. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Coregulation of therapist and client emotion during psychotherapy. [2021]

11. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Momentary emotion regulation strategy use and success: Testing the influences of emotion intensity and habitual strategy use. [2023]

12. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Enhancing emotion regulation. [2023]

13. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Mnemonic emotion regulation: a three-process model. [2020]

14. Switzerland pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Using the Ball-in-Bowl Metaphor to Outline an Integrative Framework for Understanding Dysregulated Emotion. [2023]