Becoming a Competent and Ethical Clinical Supervisor

Abstract

Whether you realize it or not, if you are in a professional psychology training program, it is likely that you will be asked to be a clinical supervisor at some point in your career. In fact, based on an extensive survey of the members of the American Psychological Association (APA) division that represents clinical psychologists (Division 12; Society of Clinical Psychology), it was determined that clinical supervision is provided by 55 % of University Professors, 71 % of Hospital Psychologists, and 36 % of Independent Practitioners (Norcross et al., 2005). For many of you, this is an eagerly anticipated activity, and for others, it may be a source of some uncertainty or even anxiety. The purpose of this chapter is to demystify the idea of becoming a supervisorby providing broad theoretical models for conceptualizing the practice of supervision and practical suggestions to guide you through the process of learning to be a supervisor. We will also discuss current competency-based supervision practice and provide suggestions for how to incorporate ethical and multicultural considerations into supervision. Throughout the chapter, we will include the perspectives of an experienced clinical supervisor (EHW) and an advanced graduate student (EFC) who is starting her journey towards becoming a competent supervisor in an effort to provide you with different perspectives on this learning process.