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Attachment theory has been used to explain supervisee/supervisor bonding in clinical supervision, but research on these constructs has been mixed. To test the extent to which supervisee attachment strategies relate to the supervisory relationship, the authors conducted a meta‐analysis of 19 published research studies on supervisee attachment from 1998 to 2022. Supervisee attachment strategies produced a small but statistically significant effect on the supervisory relationship (R2 = 0.052). We discuss this finding in the light of previous mixed results, including that the supervisory relationship may not be characterized by a full‐blown attachment bond. We recommend additional areas of research on attachment in supervision and highlight additional supervisory models to conceptualize and study the supervisory relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors investigated supervisees' (N = 93) memories of critical feedback and validity ratings of that feedback. Supervisees most often recalled critical feedback about their counseling performance skills. Attachment avoidance, the supervisory relationship, and critical feedback of counseling skills and professional behaviors were significantly related to perceived feedback validity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a quasi-experimental design, the authors explored how supervisee attachment to supervisor predicted the supervisory relationship after recalling critical feedback from a supervisor. To examine effects of supervisee attachment system activation, participants were randomly assigned either to recall critical feedback from a supervisor (experimental condition) or to list objects in the room (control condition). Anxious and avoidant attachment to supervisor significantly predicted the supervisory relationship, but there were no significant differences among participants in either condition in predicting the supervisory relationship. Results are discussed in light of attachment theory, and implications for further investigating attachment dynamics in supervision are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]