A Practical Model for Teaching Supervision Through Vertically Integrated Teams

Teaching supervision is a relatively new practice and training area (Schindler and Talen, 1996). This paper describes a method of teaching clinical supervision to graduate students in clinical psychology. The method involves an intensive seminar, assigned readings, and a year long supervised practicum in providing supervision. Students in the first through fourth years of a doctoral program are assigned to a team with a faculty leader. The faculty member oversees the professional development of all students on the team. Additionally, the fourth year students oversee the first and second year students under the supervision of the faculty member. This method facilitates the initial development of supervisory skills in students prior to their internship. Training in supervision is thought to be important because many psychologists function as supervisors and the demand for supervision by clinical psychologists may be rising with current changes in the health care delivery system