Precursors to measuring outcomes in clinical supervision: a thematic analysis

Outcome studies in clinical supervision will be useful and meaningful if they are soundly based on such precursor fundamentals as an agreed definition of what supervision is, a shared understanding of how the concept of supervision is operationalized, and a consensus approach to identifying the important competencies in supervision. Similarly, the better quality outcome studies are those in which fidelity has been closely attended to. Significant progress has been made toward the goal of operationalizing clinical supervision competencies (Fouad et al., 2009; Rings, Genuchi, Hall, Angelo, & Cornish, 2009; Rodolfa et al., 2013; Roth & Pilling, 2009; Watkins, 2013), but the task is incomplete and the profession is still at a stage in which the specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes of clinical supervisors are yet to be well operationalized (Falender & Shafranske, 2012). By consolidating and aggregating existing competency frameworks, the best available evidence can be utilized to inform the development of a framework of competency that operationalizes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to provide clinical supervision. An inductive thematic analysis of international clinical supervision competency frameworks was used to examine the strength of evidence that exists for specific competencies and to identify competencies that require additional conceptualization and consensus. Nine broad themes emerged from the analysis