IJSP Number 5, 2023

77 I mentioned that a professional psychotherapy training provider is concerned with the initial and continuous training of trainers and supervisors, and the accreditation of a psychotherapy training program requires from the outset that there be a minimum number of trainers and supervisors. However, the number of trainers is greater than the number of supervisors within a program, because only some trainers also have the supervisory competence. Thus, even if there are many trainees enrolled, drop out is very much present due to various reasons (illness, lack of financial possibilities, family constraints, expensive travel, time constraints). In a study carried out years ago [1] within the training provider I was working for, I analysed the dropout rate in different geographical locations in Romania and one of the conclusions was that the highest dropout rate was observed during the first year of training, and the number of those who drop out from each training group is identical or almost identical to the number of those who graduate training. For example, out of a group of 12-15 enrolled trainees, 4-5 trainees drop out, and at the end of training and supervision approximately 4-5 therapists are actually working and consider psychotherapy as the source of income for their own and their family support. It seems that the Gaussian Curve is also present in psychotherapy! After 2 or 3 years of training in psychotherapy, with the fulfilment of the training school requirements, the supervision internship begins with entering the profession, opening one’s private practice or carrying out the psychotherapist profession within organizations, institutions where the intervention of a psychotherapist is required. The supervision internship in psychotherapy in Romania lasts for two years. Psychotherapy training schools are concerned with the graduates of the training program to continue supervision within the same school, but in practice one can easily observe that graduates from some schools “migrate” to other associations or institutions in search of supervisors. We have to add that this issue has been observed within the therapeutic orientation of integrative psychotherapy, in Romania and the desire is not to generalize this study, on the contrary, we want to identify what causes the graduates to orient themselves towards other supervisors than those from the initial training school. Writings in this domain state that it is ideal for trainers not to be the same as the supervisors, and the trainers not to be the same as the personal therapists of the future psychotherapist. But practice shows us that it takes a long time for a training association to prepare its supervisors, to select, accept and recognize the competence of future supervisors within the association. Each association knows its interests, needs and is concerned with this “acceptance” and “training” of future supervisors. The supervisors are in a significantly smaller number than the trainers and even if the requirements requested by the umbrella professional associations in the respective country are met, the last word is with the association that decides or not to accept the trained supervisor either within its framework or in other associations. Also, the acceptance of a supervisor in an association is a delicate issue precisely because of the role this supervisor will have in the supervisee’s professional accompaniment. The supervisor is more than a trainer who is required to be an experienced psychotherapist; the supervisor’s competencies standard derives from the psychotherapist’s competencies standard [2]. This professional also needs training