Counseling Psychology Model Training Program

The counseling psychology Model Training Program (MTP) was written to reflect new developments in counseling psychology, the American Psychological Association, and the world. The updated MTP is aspirational, intended to guide the development and maintenance of counseling psychology programs. The MTP conforms to the American Psychological Association’s and the Society of Counseling Psychology’s standards and guidelines. A strategic task group appointed by 2015 Society president James W. Lichtenberg sought feedback from the field to assist in its formulation, and the executive boards of the Society and the Council of Counseling Psychology Training Programs approved the final version. The 2017 MTP consists of four core values (i.e., growth toward full potential, holistic and contextual, diversity and social justice, communitarian perspective) as well as 20 principles grouped into six clusters: counseling psychology identity; multiculturalism, diversity, and social justice; health service psychology; developmental, prevention, and strengths orientation; science–practice integration; and relationships within and between professional communities.

Supervision

The authors provide reaction to the Major Contribution (MC) “Multicultural Clinical Supervision and Benchmarks: Empirical Support Informing Supervision Practice and Supervisor Training.” The article begins with an overview reaction to the MC. Following this, each of the four articles that compose the MC are discussed. The reactions provide both a contextual response to the articles as well a response to the central theme of the MC—that is, the intersection of supervision, multiculturalism, and the competency benchmarks.

Supervision in psychiatry: terra incognita?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Supervision is accepted as a part of postgraduate psychiatric training programmes (at least in the western world). However, despite its ubiquity, it is little researched. The purpose of this review was to synthesize research on supervision in psychiatry in the last 3 years (2009-2011). Given the dearth of such research, the boundary was extended to include general medicine and other mental health professions.

RECENT FINDINGS

The lack of research into supervision in psychiatry was confirmed by a comprehensive search of literature. The few articles published specific to psychiatry did, however, reflect the position of psychiatry, bridging medicine and the psychotherapies. Thus, they span from the impact of workplace-based assessments and reframing the theories of learning applicable to psychiatric training, through to the learning of psychotherapy by psychiatric trainees.The literature on supervision in general medicine is dominated by the impact of competency-based training, with its associated methods of assessment, and issues around the decision to entrust trainees with various professional activities.The psychotherapy supervision literature has been notable for two disparate themes: the centenary of psychotherapeutic supervision in 2009 prompted a number of scholars to write reflective pieces capturing advances and areas for further research; whereas the development of evidence-based clinical supervision has given rise to a considerable body of work.

SUMMARY

Research into supervision in psychiatry remains largely a terra incognita. If supervision is to continue to occupy a role as a key component of psychiatric training, research to justify that is needed urgently.

Multicultural Clinical Supervision and Benchmarks

The purpose of this Major Contribution is to provide background knowledge and context for competency-based clinical supervision and to showcase a diversity of methodologically sound empirical approaches to study effective supervision, including multiculturally competent supervision, and comparative perspectives on supervision cross-culturally. The intent is to begin to provide the empirical data necessary to assist the supervisor in supporting supervisees’ development of the benchmark competencies and to provide direction for future training of supervisors. Specifically, the articles in this major contribution address competencies in clinical supervision and the Competency Benchmarks on three pivotal topics: empirical support defining effective supervision, innovative empirically based approaches to cross-cultural and international supervision, and an empirical analysis of feminist supervision in a multiculturally diverse group context. Each of the articles addresses particular Competency Benchmarks and provides prototypical models of rigorous research procedures to inform the practice of multicultural supervision and training of supervisors, and implications.

Promoting Multicultural Competencies in Early Career Rehabilitation Counsellor Supervisors

This article discusses multicultural competency education options for early career rehabilitation counsellor supervisors. It specifically addresses the importance of the cultural awareness and competencies in supervised supervision. Multicultural counsellor competencies in clinical supervision are considered in the context of rehabilitation counsellor professional preparation programs in the United States. Diversity considerations are important to operationalising the construct of the working alliance in the context of clinical supervision training for early career rehabilitation counsellor supervisors. Acquiring, retaining and cultivating multicultural clinical supervision competencies in self and others is a lifelong process.

Ethical Issues in Rehabilitation Counselor Supervision and the New 2010 Code of Ethics

The 2010 revision of the Code of Professional Ethics for Rehabilitation Counselors addresses changes in ethical standards related to rehabilitation counselor supervision. In an effort to promote awareness of these changes, this article offers a brief overview of the revisions and implications for practice including the responsibility of supervisors to actively engage in and support professional development activities.

Helpful and Hindering Multicultural Events in Group Supervision

This study examines the relationship between multicultural events in group supervision, group climate, and supervisee multicultural competence using a mixed qualitative/quantitative design. The discovery-oriented approach yielded 196 helpful and hindering multicultural events among 136 participants. The most common events included multicultural learning and peer vicarious learning. Supervisees suggested improving their group supervision through better integration of multicultural issues and more supervisor involvement. Regarding group climate, supervisees reporting peer vicarious learning or multicultural learning experienced higher group engagement, whereas misapplications of multicultural theory related to higher reports of group conflict. Increased multicultural learning and extra-group multicultural events positively related to supervisees' multicultural competence whereas multicultural conflicts with supervisors, misapplication of multicultural theory, and the absence of multicultural events negatively related to supervisee multicultural competence. The findings of this study generated several suggestions for managing multicultural events as well as improving theory, research, and practice for group supervision.