TY - JOUR TI - Conceptualizing cognitive-behavioral supervision DO - https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T37H1GJS PY - 2013 AB - Although supervision plays a key role in the training of psychologists and in improving adherence to Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), there is a scarcity of systematic knowledge on the supervision of CBT therapists. In response, Judith Beck’s supervision model has been a valuable development. However, there remains a dearth of research on the supervision practices of doctoral-level CBT supervisors in the field, and whether they adhere to Beck’s model. The current exploratory study investigated the practices of doctoral-level CBT supervisors along the following five dimensions: (a) the structure of CBT supervision, (b) attending to supervisees’ emotions, thoughts and behaviors, (c) relationship factors, (d) evaluation of supervisees, and (e) self-evaluation. In addition, this study assessed the extent to which supervisors followed Beck’s supervision model. A semi-structured interview was conducted with 10 experienced doctoral-level CBT supervisors. The participants had a median of 10 years of experience as CBT supervisors and 70% attained Diplomate or Fellow Certification with the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. The interviews were analyzed using a content analysis approach based on the five major topic domains outlined above. Case examples were also provided to further illustrate the supervision practices of three individual supervisors. Findings indicated that the supervision practices of supervisors in this sample were very similar along the five dimensions, and were also mostly consistent with Beck’s supervision model. More specifically, supervisors described their supervision structure as mirroring CBT therapy sessions (e.g., check-in, agenda setting, and problem solving); emphasized attending to supervisee’s thoughts if they interfere with the patient’s treatment; and stressed the importance of creating a collaborative and collegial relationship with supervisees. On the other hand, supervisors did not generally listen to entire therapy tapes and use rating scales to assess therapy sessions due to time constraints. Moreover, supervisors emphasized the importance of attending to supervisees’ emotions in supervision as well as the importance of increasing autonomy in CBT supervision, neither of which are explicitly discussed in Beck’s supervision model. Implications for future research are discussed, along with recommendations for CBT supervisors and training programs. KW - Clinical Psychology KW - Cognitive therapy KW - Psychologists--Supervision of--New Jersey LA - eng ER -