What is the evidence for supervision best practices?

ABSTRACT

Clinical supervision is integral to clinical training, but it is unclear to what extent currently recommended supervision practices are supported by empirical evidence. We reviewed professional supervision guidelines for psychologists, counselors, and social workers and identified 17 common elements across these guidelines. We then reviewed published studies that examined the relationship between these supervision elements and relevant therapist-, supervisor-, and client-level outcomes. Twenty-six studies were identified, which reported relevant data from 28 unique samples. Findings from the review indicate a need for further study of the relationship between recommended best practices in supervision and meaningful therapist, supervisor, and client outcomes.

KEYWORDS:

• Clinical supervision
• supervision guidelines
• evidence-based supervision

Acknowledgments

There is currently no funding source for this project.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Siena K. Tugendrajch

As doctoral students (JA, EC, BM, KS, RR, & ST) and faculty (KH) in clinical and counseling psychology, the authors have specific interests and expertise in supervision and therapist training in the context of implementation science. The first author (ST) has presented locally and nationally on competency-based supervision and on gaps in the existing supervision literature. EC, KS, and ST have experience providing supervision under the supervision of a licensed clinical psychologist. Furthermore, KS and ST were trained in the evidence-based multisystemic therapy supervision model under the guidance of a treatment developer. The last/senior author (KH) is an established youth mental health services and implementation scientist who has been supervising graduate students and leading therapist training efforts for over two decades. Finally, all authors in clinical psychology are currently or have previously been involved in a tax-funded initiative to provide ongoing training, consultation, and support for therapists and graduate trainees serving youths 0–19 years.