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Textbook (Hardcover - New Edition)
Textbook Information
"Supervision plays a central role in the clinical training of mental health professionals. In Clinical Supervision: A Competency-Based Approach (American Psychological Association, 2004), Falender and Shafranske created a comprehensive resource for the supervision of mental health practitioners. In this companion casebook, the editors have enlisted an elite group of contributors to help make the leap from theory and research to the real-life, hands-on implementation of the elements of successful supervision." The authors describe supervision as process - the process of becoming competent, the process of psychotherapy, and the process of developing as a supervisor. The supervision relationship is examined in detail, and supervision tools are included to help supervisors implement best practices within a competency-based framework.
Reviewer:Christopher J. Graver, PhD (Madigan Army Medical Center)
Description: Clinical Supervision: A Competency-Based Approach, Falender and Shafranske (American Psychological Association, 2004) was a comprehensive resource on the supervision of mental health trainees. This is a companion casebook to that seminal resource.
Purpose:The purpose is to provide instruction in clinical supervision by translating research and theory into clinical practice through the use of case studies.
Audience:The casebook is targeted mainly at psychologists involved in training students of all levels, but would also be appropriate for other mental health professionals working with trainees. The editors and contributing authors are experienced in this area.
Features:The book begins with an overview of the editors' competency-based supervisory framework with a table that summarizes key competencies. The second chapter covers the initial contracting with a supervisee and methods to structure supervision to extract maximum benefit from the beginning. A rather lengthy chapter addresses different psychotherapy-based approaches to supervision. The role of personal and cultural factors is explored along with ways to handle these factors in an effective and empathetic manner. Other topics include the use of video and audio taping of sessions, group supervision, and role-playing. Readers will also be interested to find a chapter on ethical issues, clinical competence, multiple roles, and resolving conflicts. The chapter offers useful suggestions for reconciling the power differential, and points out the common pitfalls made bysupervisors and trainees alike. All of these chapters include sample dialogues to demonstrate each approach. Methods for evaluating the supervision process are included, as well as a trainee competency checklist. The index is reasonably helpful and the references, although disappointingly sparse in some chapters, are current.
Assessment:This is an important casebook on clinical supervision, especially given the lack of instruction in many graduate programs on becoming an effective supervisor. By providing an empirically-based framework and presenting it in a concrete manner, this book is a wonderful asset in an area that is often neglected. This book will greatly benefit even experienced supervisors and in turn prove to be an advantage to the students they train.