The State of Interprofessional Supervision in Practice: A Qualitative Analysis

Clinical supervision is a professional expectation across social work and other behavioral health disciplines, but the academic literature on supervision has historically been professionally insular, and little research has been conducted in the United States on interprofessional supervision (IPS), or supervision across disciplines. Therefore, authors sought to understand the lived experiences of supervision for behavioral health clinicians from various behavioral health professions in practice settings where multiple professions were present. This qualitative study analyzed data from 20 interviews of clinicians practicing in diverse mental health and/or substance disorder treatment settings. Four main themes emerged: (1) value of IPS, (2) clinical supervision in peer supervision spaces, (3) varied individual supervision experiences, and (4) role of organizational culture in supervision. Results suggest implications for the profession of social work, including the opportunity for the profession to better define its disciplinary competencies and indicate how those competencies are of value in supervision, as well as to prioritize training and research in uniprofessional and interprofessional supervision.