Students' thoughts and feelings about music therapy practicum supervision

Abstract

This phenomenological research study investigated how students feel about the process of being supervised. Five music therapy students kept logs of their thoughts and feelings for a four-week period of their practicum experience, including the period of time in which they were supervised by a music therapist from the university. They were asked to include responses to the clinical experience itself, to their supervision by both the on-site supervisor and the university supervisor, and to the practicum class itself, but the request of what they should include in the logs was kept fairly general so as not to restrict what they wrote about. Phenomenological methods were used to analyze the responses. Students' responses were categorized into the following themes: What is Helpful, What is Not Helpful, Written Feedback, Feelings About and During the Observation, Personal Insights, and Logistical Issues. The themes are presented with examples from the students' logs to illustrate them. They are discussed and implications for teaching and supervising suggested. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.