Becoming a Clinical Supervisor: Key Ethics Issues and Recommendations

Jeffrey E. Barnett, PsyD, ABPP

Citation

Barnett, J. E. (2017). Becoming a clinical supervisor: Key ethics issues and recommendations. Journal of Health Service Psychology, 43, 10–18.

Abstract

Clinical supervision is an essential aspect of every health service provider’s professional development and training. Serving as a supervisor of a graduate student or trainee can be a very rewarding professional activity. But, what should you be aware of and what are the factors you should consider if offered the opportunity to provide clinical supervision? A number of clinical, ethics, legal, and practical issues are addressed to assist health service providers to enter into this role in a competent and effective manner. Specific issues addressed include understanding supervisor roles and responsibilities, what specific competencies are needed to be an effective supervisor and how to develop them, the qualities and practices of effective and ineffective supervisors; the difference between supervision and mentoring, how to effectively infuse ethics, legal, and diversity issues into supervision; and how to effectively end the supervision relationship. Specific guidance is provided and key resources for those interested in learning more about being a supervisor are provided.

References

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Additional Resources Books and Videos

American Psychological Association Clinical Supervision Essentials Series. (2016 and 2017).

Eleven books that each address the fundamentals of supervision of psychotherapy provided under different theoretical orientations. Available at http://www.apa.org/pubs/books/browse.aspx?query=series%3aClinical+Supervision+Essentials+Series

American Psychological Association Psychotherapy Supervision Video Series. (2016 and 2017). Eleven videos demonstrating the fundamentals of supervision of psychotherapy provided under different theoretical orientations. Available at http://www.apa.org/pubs/videos/browse.aspx?query=subject%3aPsychotherapy+Supervision