Competency-Based Supervision

Competency-based supervision is a metatheoretical approach that provides systematic attention to the component parts of the supervision process. This approach enhances accountability and is reflective of both evidence-based practice generally and APA's new guidelines for clinical supervision.

This approach systematically addresses the supervisory relationship, bidirectional feedback, infusion of multiculturalism and diversity, and ethical and legal standards. Competency-based supervision maintains a balance among the equally important priorities of protecting the client, gate-keeping for the profession, and enhancing the professional growth and development of the supervisee.

In this video, Dr. Edward Shafranske and a supervisee engage in a demonstration session, after which host Dr. Arpana G. Inman interviews him and his coauthor Dr. Carol Falender about their approach and its implementation.

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Competency-based clinical supervision is a metatheoretical approach that places emphasis on the identification of the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that are assembled to form specific clinical competencies and systematically describes supervision processes to facilitate the development of professional competence.

The articulation of competencies allows for greater clarity in formulating training objectives and leads to more precise observation and evaluation of supervisee performance. This in turn enables the supervisor to provide clear feedback and to formulate learning objectives and strategies to enhance supervisee competence.

Implementation of competency-based supervision requires the commitment of the training programs at all levels and involves the identification of the competencies that are the end-points of the training rotation. Particular emphasis is placed on the development of the supervisory alliance, the infusion of multiculturalism throughout supervision, precise feedback, ethical practice, gate-keeping, and self-care.

Carol Falender, PhD, is coauthor of Clinical Supervision: A Competency-Based Approach (APA, 2004) and Getting the Most Out of Clinical Supervision: A Guide for Interns and Trainees (APA, 2012) with Edward Shafranske, coeditor with Edward Shafranske of Casebook for Supervision: A Competency-Based Approach (APA, 2008), and coeditor with Edward Shafranske and Celia Falicov of Multiculturalism and Diversity in Clinical Supervision: A Competency-Based Approach (2014).

Dr. Falender has authored numerous articles on supervision and has conducted workshops across the United States, Canada, and internationally on the topics of clinical supervision, strength-based clinical supervision, ethics of supervision, and competency-based supervision. She directed APA-accredited internship programs at child and family guidance clinics for more than twenty years. She was a member of the Supervision Guidelines Group of the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards and Chair of the Supervision Guidelines Task Force of the Board of Educational Affairs of APA.

A Fellow of APA, Dr. Falender is chair of California Psychological Association Division II, Education and Training, co-chair of the Los Angeles County Psychological Association Ethics Committee, chair of the California Psychological Association Continuing Education Committee, and past co-chair of the Supervision and Training Section of APA Division 17 (Society of Counseling Psychology).

Edward Shafranske, PhD, ABPP, is professor of psychology and director of the doctoral program in clinical psychology at Pepperdine University and associate clinical professor (Voluntary) at UCI Medical School.

He is coauthor with Dr. Carol Falender of the best-selling Clinical Supervision: A Competency-Based Approach; Getting the Most Out of Clinical Supervision: A Guide for Interns and Trainees; and Competency-Based Clinical Supervision: A Practical Guide; and coeditor of Casebook for Supervision: A Competency-Based Approach, and Multiculturalism and Diversity in Clinical Supervision: A Competency-Based Approach.

In addition, Dr. Shafranske contributes scholarship to the applied psychology of religion and spirituality.

A fellow of APA, Dr. Shafranske has received recognition for his teaching and contributions to clinical psychology by the California State Psychological Association. Having supervised graduate students through postdoctoral clinicians and psychiatric residents, he strives to theory and research accessible to the everyday practice of clinical supervision.

• Falender, C. A., & Shafranske, E. P. (2004). Clinical supervision. A competency-based approach. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. [2nd edition forthcoming 2016]
• Falender, C. A., & Shafranske, E. P. (2014). Clinical supervision in the era of competence. In W. B. Johnson & N. J. Kaslow (Eds.), Oxford handbook of education & training in professional psychology (pp. 292–331). New York: Oxford University Press.
• Falender, C. A., & Shafranske, E. P. (2012). Getting the most out of clinical training and supervision: A guide for practicum students and interns. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Falender, C. A., & Shafranske, E. P. (2012). The importance of competency-based clinical supervision and training in the twenty-first century: Why bother? Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 42(3), 129–137. doi:10.1007/s10879-011-9198-9
• Falender, C. A., & Shafranske, E. P. (2014). Clinical supervision: The state of the art. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 70(11), 1030–1041. doi:10.1002/jclp.22124
• Falender, C. A., & Shafranske, E. P. (Eds.). (2008). Casebook in clinical supervision: A Competency-based approach. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Falender, C. A., Shafranske, E. P., & Falicov, C. J. (Eds.). (2014). Diversity and multiculturalism in clinical supervision: A competency-based approach. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Shafranske, E. P., & Falender, C. A., (in press). Clinical supervision. In J. C. Norcross, G. R. VandenBos & D. K. Freedheim (Editors-in-Chief), APA handbook of clinical psychology Volume V: Education and profession. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

APA Videos

• Feminist Therapy Supervision
  Laura S. Brown
• Relational Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Supervision
  Joan E. Sarnat
• Systems Approach to Psychotherapy Supervision
  Elizabeth L. Holloway
• The Integrative Developmental Model of Supervision
  Brian McNeill

APA Books

• Casebook for Clinical Supervision: A Competency-Based Approach
  Edited by Carol A. Falender, PhD, and Edward P. Shafranske, PhD
• Getting the Most Out of Clinical Training and Supervision: A Guide for Practicum Students and Interns
  Carol A. Falender, PhD, and Edward P. Shafranske, PhD, ABPP
• Multiculturalism and Diversity in Clinical Supervision: A Competency-Based Approach
  Edited by Carol A. Falender, PhD, Edward P. Shafranske, PhD, and Celia J. Falicov, PhD
• Supervision Essentials for Psychodynamic Psychotherapies
  Joan E. Sarnat
• Supervision Essentials for the Feminist Psychotherapy Model of Supervision
  Laura S. Brown
• Supervision Essentials for the Integrative Developmental Model
  Brian W. McNeill and Cal D. Stoltenberg

• Supervision Essentials for the Practice of Competency-Based Supervision
  

  From practicum to internship and general practice, the competency-based approach offers clear training goals that help organize and focus the supervisor’s attention where it’s needed most.