Characterizing supervision-as-usual: Findings from two provider surveys

Area of Science:

• Mental Health Services
• Clinical Psychology
• Professional Development

Background:

• Clinical supervision is essential for training and client well-being in mental health.
• It remains understudied, especially within publicly funded services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the time mental health providers spend in supervision.
• To investigate how supervision time correlates with caseloads and work settings.
• To assess provider perceptions of supervision adequacy and support.

Main Methods:

• Survey of two large samples of youth mental health service providers (N=1,057 state, N=1,720 national).
• Analysis of reported weekly supervision hours and covariation with client demographics and work environments.
• Assessment of provider comfort and perceived support in supervision.

Main Results:

• Providers reported an average of 2-3 hours of supervision weekly.
• Higher percentages of low-income clients correlated with more supervision time.
• Private practice was associated with less supervision; community and residential facilities with more.
• While generally comfortable, providers serving more low-income clients reported a greater need for oversight and less comfort with supervision duration.

Conclusions:

• Providers serving low-income populations may require additional or more tailored supervision.
• Further research into the processes and content of clinical supervision is necessary.
• Findings highlight the need to optimize supervision models in publicly funded mental health settings.