Abstract
The 6-month music therapy internship is the capstone experience of the music therapy degree in which a clinical music therapy supervisor works with an intern to build skills necessary for entry level into the music therapy field. During this time, the supervisor and intern build a relationship that solidifies university education with clinical experience in a professional setting. This final supervisor-intern relationship leaves a lasting impression on professional practice of the intern, which can impact the success of future practice. The purpose of this study was to examine the supervision attributes [i.e., safe base and commitment] of the relationship between music therapy supervisors and interns. Further, personality traits of supervisors and interns were identified and examined for their influence on the aforementioned attributes.
Previous personality research has examined the personality preferences of music therapists, indicating that the 16 Personality Factor and The Myer’s Briggs Type Indicator are commonly utilized personality assessments. Results from previous research indicate that music therapists are creative and desire to make a positive impact on humanity. There has not yet been a research study that has examined the personality preferences of music therapists using the NEO-FFI Factor Personality Assessment.
A sequential explanatory mixed method design was utilized in the study to examine the relationship between personality and supervision attributes of music therapy supervisors and interns. Data collection tools for quantitative portion of the study included the NEO-FFI Personality Assessment, a demographic survey, the Supervisory Relationship Measure (supervisors)/the Supervisory Relationship Questionnaire (interns). In addition, eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with supervisors and interns. A total of 69 (N = 69) participants completed the quantitative portion of the study and eight participants (n = 8) completed the qualitative interview portion of the study. The integration of the quantitative and qualitative data took place through the discussion, implication, and future research sections.
Personality results of the supervisor indicates that the majority of supervisors scored low to average in Neuroticism, high in Openness to Experience, and high in Conscientiousness. A majority of the interns scored average to high in Neuroticism, high in Openness to Experience, and average to high in Conscientiousness.
The correlational analysis indicated four significant results for supervisors, which included a significant inverse relationship between Neuroticism and safe base, a significant positive relationship between Conscientiousness and commitment, a significant positive relationship between Openness to Experience and commitment, and was a significant inverse relationship between Neuroticism and overall supervision score of the SRM. Two significant correlations were found for interns, a significant inverse relationship between Neuroticism and safe base and a significant inverse relationship between Neuroticism and total SRQ score. Both supervisors and interns with higher Neuroticism perceived the internship relationship as less safe and had less overall satisfaction in supervision. In addition, supervisors with high standards and organizational skills were perceived as having a high level of commitment to the intern and supervision experience. Also, supervisors that were more open to new ideas and experiences had higher levels of perceived commitment to the intern and were able to provide a constructive supervision experience.
Several clinical implications stem from the results of the study. Personality assessments can be a useful tool in internships in that supervisors and interns can learn more about their personality preferences. Supervisors can use the personality assessments of their intern to learn how to motive their intern during the internship. Supervisors and interns with high Neuroticism should consider practicing mindfulness to mitigate symptoms of irrational perfectionistic beliefs.