Advanced Topics in Clinical Supervision
Fulfills requirement: Supervision
This intermediate-level supervision course covers the legal, ethical, and clinical aspects of supervision and is comprised of four audio recordings (transcripts provided) and two peer-reviewed articles. Supervision is presented as a dynamic process, which engages both supervisor and supervisee in interpersonal processes over a period of time and through certain developmental phases. Attention is paid to boundaries, multiple loyalties, and multiple relationships that are inherent in the supervisor-supervisee relationship. Clinicians will also become familiar with the benefits and challenges of conducting telesupervision and new trends in supervision models that can be adapted to different theoretical orientations and modalities.
The first half of the course consists of three interviews on topics of supervision. In the first interview, Dr. Ofer Zur describes the art of supervision – how supervision is distinct from consultation, mentoring, and psychotherapy; the phases of supervision; supervisor-supervisee matching; and the characteristics of effective versus ineffective supervisors. In the second interview, ethicist Dr. Michael Donner discusses different forms of supervision and what constitutes effective and ethical supervision practices. In the third interview, Dr. Zur addresses boundaries in supervision – issues of gifts, self-disclosure, and complex unavoidable multiple loyalties and multiple relationships that are part of supervisory relationships.
The second half of the course addresses two contemporary issues in supervision – integrating technology and developing new supervision models to optimize effectiveness. The section begins with an interview with Anne Stokes, BACP, and editor of a handbook on online supervision for mental health practitioners. Ms. Stokes gives an overview of how to create a productive supervisory relationship and addresses ways to mitigate the lack of technological expertise on the part of both the supervisor and supervisee. She also discusses ways to promote advanced clinical skills for supervisees who are engaging in both face-to-face and telemental health modalities. The course concludes with two peer-reviewed articles; the first outlines specific, practical recommendations for promoting ethical, legal, and effective clinical telesupervision, while the second describes the development of a supervisee-centered supervision model based on deliberate practice, feedback-informed treatment, and self-compassion.
Educational Objectives
This course will teach the participant to
- Describe key ethical issues in supervision, including informed consent, competence, confidentiality, recordkeeping, and boundaries.
- Identify the different stages of supervision.
- Discuss boundary crossings versus boundary violations in supervision.
- Explain the clinical issues involved in telesupervision, including discerning whether it is appropriate, obtaining necessary training, creating an effective relationship, and establishing boundaries.
Syllabus
Part One – Reflections on Supervision
- Art of Supervision with Dr. Ofer Zur
- How supervision is distinct from mentoring, consultation, and psychotherapy
- Qualities of effective supervision
- Key ethical issues in supervision
- Stages of supervision
- Reflections on Supervision with Dr. Michael Donner
- Supervisors’ ethical obligations to supervisees, supervisees’ clients, profession, and community
- Supervisors’ role in acculturation of supervisee to mental health profession
- Boundaries in Supervision with Dr. Ofer Zur
- Boundary crossings versus boundary violations
- Dual and multiple relationships
- Self-disclosure
- Gifts
- Touch
- Out-of-office experiences and accidental encounters
Part Two: Contemporary Issues in Supervision
- Clinical Considerations of Telesupervision with Anne Stokes
- Definition of telesupervision
- Why telesupervision may not be the most effective mode of delivery for every supervisor and every supervisee
- Why all teletherapists should have some telesupervision
- Why training in telesupervision is so important
- Creating a strong, reliable, and effective supervisory relationship
- How supervisors can help supervisees feel comfortable with the technology
- Practical advice about physical space and ethical questions of privacy and confidentiality
- Limit-setting around instant access to supervisors
- Telesupervision across borders
- Guidelines for Conducting Telesupervision
- Benefits of telesupervision
- Recommendations for conducting telesupervision
- Ensuring confidentiality
- Licensure concerns
- Liability insurance, informed consent, and risk management concerns
- Promoting cultural competencies
- Using psychotherapy supervision models in telesupervision
- Benefits and drawbacks of psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral supervision models
- Benefits and drawbacks of combining psychotherapy models for supervision of teletherapy
- Model of Supervisee-Centered Supervision
- Primary components
- Deliberate practice
- Feedback-informed treatment
- Self-compassion
- How the model influences supervisees’ therapeutic skills and personal development
- Primary components