Establishing supervision goals and formalizing a supervision agreement : a competency-based approach

Over the last decade, competency-based models have breathed new life into the education and training of professional psychologists, including their clinical supervision. The work of Falender and colleagues (Falender & Shafranske, 2004; Falender et al, 2004) and the objectives-based approach to supervision (Gonsalvez, Oades, & Freestone, 2002) are examples of such competency-based -approaches. 'While the enhancement of competence •has always been an important consideration within clinical supervision, "since the dawn of the new millennium, focus on supervision competence and [therapy] competencies has ratcheted up to a level of emphasis and scrutiny that lacks parallel across the entire 100 year plus history of supervision" (Watkins & Wang, 2014, p. 15). For the field-based clinical supervisor, the implications of these changes are not always apparent. In this context, the present chapter the following functions: an information-disseminating function, by unpacking for supervisors how a competency-based paradigm might influence key aspects of supervision (namely, establishing supervision goals and formalizing a supervision contract); a reflective function, by inviting and challenging supervisors to carefully consider the merits and demerits of the paradigm (and its alignment to their own supervisory practices); and finally a supportive function, by providing guidelines, templates, and resources that may help supervisors adopt the paradigm.