Competency‐based Models of Supervision: Principles and Applications, Promises and Challenges

Abstract

Major changes initiated by the Psychology Board of Australia (the Board) and by professional bodies both nationally and internationally have placed professional supervision in the spotlight for the practising psychologist and supervisor. Further, within the context of a growing impetus towards competency-based pedagogies for professional training across disciplines, a recent Board document has indicated that supervisor training must adhere to a competency-based model within a best-practice supervision framework (Psychology Board of Australia). For the practising psychologist, the recent recommendation closely follows other initiatives including the introduction of mandatory peer consultation and supervisor accreditation. The current article seeks to clarify for the Australian psychologist the characteristics of competency-based supervision models for training and supervision, and to unpack the many implications for professional practice. The article outlines the features that distinguish competency models from other supervision models, explains the rationale for and the merits that competency-driven pedagogies promise, and discusses the challenges these changes will bring to supervision theory and practice. What is already know on this topic1 A recent shift towards competency-based approaches have changed the way psychology training and supervision are conceptualised, and how practice standards are evaluated. 2 Recent guidelines for supervisor training by the Psychology Board of Australia emphasise that supervisor training must adhere to a competency-based model. 3 Most Australian psychologists have not had the opportunity to become optimally informed about these new models of supervision and their implications. What this paper adds1 The current article explains the theoretical underpinning and key features of competency-based models. 2 The principles and implications of competency models for supervision are explained. 3 The potential merits of the model and its limitations and challenges are discussed.The notion of "competence" is not new. Educators, supervisors, and practitioners have been appropriately concerned about the development and maintenance of good standards of psychology practice from early in the history of psychology. Nevertheless, there has been a recent and dramatic surge in interest on everything related to competence and competencies. Historically, "competency" has been used rather loosely in the training literature, sometimes as a synonym for skills, often leading practitioners to wonder what is new about competency models. One may question whether these are merely old ideas dressed up in new-fangled wrapping. These questions are pertinent and understandable in the context that practitioners have been subjected to a host of changes (e.g., mandatory professional development, peer consultation requirements, and supervisor accreditation), enforced top-down from regulatory authorities. The answer to the questions voiced above, of course, is an emphatic "No." Indeed, there are several compelling re...

Goal‐setting, Feedback, and Assessment Practices Reported by Australian Clinical Supervisors

“…Clinical supervision is considered the cornerstone of psychology training (Falender & Shafranske, ) by both directors of clinical programmes and postgraduate students (Scott, Pachana, & Sofronoff, ). Recently, emphasis on competency‐based models for practitioner training in psychology and other health disciplines has greatly increased the demands on the clinical supervisor to demonstrate, in an objective and transparent manner, that all supervisor responsibilities are discharged in accordance with evidence‐based practice, pedagogic principles, and/or best‐practice guidelines (Falender & Shafranske, ; Gonsalvez & Calvert, ; Kaslow et al, ; Milne, ).…”

A Competency Model of Psychology Practice: Articulating Complex Skills and Practices

“…Indeed Rodolfa et al (2014) later identified a number of deficiencies in the much cited cube model, including the general complexity of the model. In Australia, a pragmatic and simplified version of the "competency cube" has been offered (Gonsalev and Calvert, 2014). Other models (e.g., the interlocking rings model and the Pyramid Model) have achieved this (see, Nash and Larkin, 2012), but have failed to focus on competencies.…”

“…If evident, higher order competencies (Baczyriska et al, 2016), or meta-competencies [e.g., Roth and Pilling (2008), National Prescribing Service (2012), and Gonsalev and Calvert (2014)] are sometimes incorporated in a competency model. The selection of an appropriate methodology is an important consideration in establishing a competency model.…”

The Ruptured Supervisory Alliance and Its Repair: On Supervisor Apology as a Reparative Intervention

“…As Watkins (2014a) has indicated, "of the various elements that compose the supervision relationship, none seems to exert more power and influence on supervisor and supervisee than their jointly-forged supervisory alliance" (p. 20; italics in original). The alliance's preeminent value for supervision has strong clinical support (i.e., being internationally affirmed and practically embraced across supervisors, supervisees, and settings; Gonsalvez & Calvert, 2014); it also has a growing base of research support (e.g., Inman & Ladany, 2008;Watkins, 2014a). Thus, the alliance is recognized increasingly as being a crucial mediator, if not the crucial mediator, in the making or breaking of the entirety of the supervision experience itself (cf.…”