Training and Education in Professional Psychology

© 2019 American Psychological Association 2020, Vol. 14, No. 3, 235–241

1931-3918/20/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tep0000273

Clarifying Supervision Expectations: Construction of a Clinical Supervision

Contract as a Didactic Exercise for Advanced Graduate Students

Christina M. Amaro Tarrah B. Mitchell

University of Kansas University of Florida

Katrina M. Poppert Cordts Kelsey B. Borner

Oregon Health and Science University Children’s National Medical Center
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

Andrew L. Frazer, Andrea M. Garcia, and Michael C. Roberts

University of Kansas

The use of supervision contracts has been recognized as an important approach within clinical supervi-
sion. There are several potential benefits in using supervision contracts, such as establishing clear
expectations and goals at the outset of a supervisory relationship. Despite potential benefits of adopting
a supervision contract, many supervisors and supervisees do not report using this tool, possibly because
of lack of exposure to, and experience with, supervision contracts. As part of an advanced graduate-level
course on supervision, consultation, and administration, the students and professor engaged in a didactic
experience on supervision contracts, which promoted in-depth conversations about the literature on, and
development of, supervision contracts. The purpose of this brief article is to describe this didactic
exercise and to provide a summary of components to consider when developing a supervision contract.

This article was published Online First September 16, 2019.
CHRISTINA M. AMARO, MA, is a doctoral candidate in the Clinical Child
Psychology Program at the University of Kansas. She is currently completing
a clinical internship at Nemours/A. I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilming-
ton, Delaware. Her research interests include child, sibling, and parental
psychosocial adjustment to chronic illness; pediatric health promotion; and
professional psychology issues, such as training and mentoring.
TARRAH B. MITCHELL, PhD, is a postdoctoral associate in the Clinical
and Health Psychology Program at the University of Florida. She received
her doctorate from the Clinical Child Psychology Program at the Univer-
sity of Kansas and completed a clinical internship in pediatric psychology
at the University of Florida. Her research and clinical interests focus on
children with chronic medical conditions and their physical, psychological,
social, and academic functioning.
KATRINA M. POPPERT CORDTS, PhD, is a postdoctoral research fellow in
the Division of Psychology within the Institute on Development and
Disability at Oregon Health and Science University. She received her
doctorate from the Clinical Child Psychology Program at the University of
Kansas and completed her clinical internship in Developmental Disabilities
and Pediatric Psychology at Oregon Health and Science University. Her
research focuses on the intersection of key health behaviors and children’s
outcomes with specific emphasis on the mechanisms and risk factors that
contribute to the development of pediatric chronic pain.
KELSEY B. BORNER, PhD, is a pediatric psychologist in Pain Medicine at
Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC, where she pro-
vides clinical services for the behavioral pain medicine program and
supervision for psychology graduate students, interns, and postdoctoral
fellows. She received her doctorate from the University of Kansas Clinical
Child Psychology Program and completed a clinical internship in behav-
ioral medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center,
Cincinnati, Ohio. Her research include psychosocial predictors of out-
comes for youth receiving psychological interventions for chronic pain,
and outcomes of youth with comorbid chronic pain and obesity.
ANDREW L. FRAZER, MA, is a doctoral candidate in the Clinical Child
Psychology Program at the University of Kansas. He is currently complet-
ing a clinical internship at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences
Center. His research and professional interests include the influence of
parents on youth adjustment across development.
ANDREA M. GARCIA, MA, is a graduate student in the School Psychology
Program at the University of Kansas. Andrea’s graduate training has
focused on assessments and interventions for children with developmental
disabilities as well as health promotion and program evaluation. Her
research interests are focused on postnatal outcomes for infants born
premature and at low birth-weight/neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) as
well as family-centered care for mothers with opioid use disorder and their
infants born with NAS.
MICHAEL C. ROBERTS, PhD, ABPP, is Professor Emeritus at the Univer-
sity of Kansas in the Clinical Child Psychology Program. He previously
served as Professor and Director of the Clinical Child Psychology Program
and as KU’s Dean of Graduate Studies. He received his doctorate from
Purdue University and completed his clinical internship at Oklahoma
University Health Sciences Center (Children’s Memorial Hospital). During
his career, he edited six journals, including Training and Education in
Professional Psychology; authored and coedited over 20 books; and pub-
lished over 200 journal articles with work in children’s physical health and
mental health and professional issues. He served as Chair of the Council of
University Directors of Clinical Psychology and the APA Board of Edu-
cational Affairs.
WE THANK THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS for their contributions to the
class project and providing feedback on the current manuscript: Shaquanna
Brown, Bridget Cho, Lindsay Huffhines, and Casey Pederson. This project
took place at the University of Kansas Clinical Child Psychology Program.
CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THIS ARTICLE should be addressed to
Christina M. Amaro, Clinical Child Psychology Program, University of
Kansas, 1000 Sunnyside Drive, Room 2008, Lawrence, KS 66045. E-mail:
camaro1@ku.edu

235
 236 AMARO ET AL.

Other institutions providing training in health service psychology may consider using similar educational
opportunities to promote the use of supervision contracts, particularly as supervisees prepare to transition
to the role of supervisor.

Public Significance Statement

Supervision contracts can establish expectations and clarify goals at the outset of a supervisory
relationship. As part of an advance graduate course, the students and professor engaged in a didactic
experience to create a summary of components to consider when developing a supervision contract.
Training institutions may consider similar educational exercises to promote the use of supervision
contracts especially as trainees prepare to transition to the role of supervisor.

Keywords: supervision, supervision contracts, training

This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

The supervision of graduate students in health service psychol-
ogy is significant in its emphasis on the holistic development of
not only the supervisee’s skills but also the ongoing development
of professional identity. Clinical supervision is an important way
through which student therapists are socialized to the professional
standards of psychology. Within this relationship, the supervisor’s
primary ethical responsibility is to ensure optimal client care, such
that the supervisee is providing appropriate services in an ethical
and legal manner (Falender & Shafranske, 2004) therefore, the
supervisor maintains sole liability. Supervisors are expected to
balance a collaborative and hierarchal relationship with supervis-
ees, providing direct guidance while also addressing higher order
processes in supervisees’ professional decision making. In this
way, supervision is both process and outcome oriented. Given the
high level of importance to the individual and to the profession,
supervisees are necessarily dependent upon expectations of their
supervisors, particularly in attempting to understand and integrate
their supervisor’s unique approach to the provision of this service.
As such, it can be beneficial to discuss expectations through a
supervision contract or agreement at the outset of a supervisory
relationship. Taking a developmental orientation, a supervision
contract recognizes that the supervisee is building on their
strengths while addressing gaps and relative weaknesses that are
inherent in the progression from being a novice to becoming a
confident and competent professional. The supervisee is increasing
in autonomy and undertaking self-exploration in learning profes-
sional expressions of opinions, questions, and concerns while
emphasizing client welfare with a sense of shared responsibility
with the supervisor.
In an advanced graduate-level course on supervision, consulta-
tion, and administration, the students and professor created a
summary of components to consider when constructing a supervi-
sion contract with both short-term (e.g., making the course mate-
rial relevant to the day-to-day functioning of current students and
clinical supervisors through the development of a document to be
adapted and used within the program’s training clinic) and long-
term (e.g., to aid in students’ professional development by under-
standing the literature and engaging in conversations about how to
develop a supervision contract to be used within students’ own
practice as supervisors) goals. Written from the perspective of
some of the students and the professor of the supervision, consul-
tation, and administration course, the purpose of this brief article is
to review the literature on supervision contracts, describe student
supervision experiences, and elucidate the process of developing a
supervision contract within the context of a course project. It is the
authors’ hope that faculty who teach supervision courses at other
institutions preparing students in health service psychology also
engage in similar didactic experiences and promote the use of
supervision contracts.
Supervision Contracts
The use of contracts between supervisors and supervisees has
been recognized as an important approach within clinical supervi-
sion, and several examples of such contracts exist within the
literature (e.g., Bernard & Goodyear, 2009; Falender & Shafran-
ske, 2008; Osborn & Davis, 1996; Smith, Erickson Cornish, &
Riva, 2014; Sutter, McPherson, & Geeseman, 2002). The Associ-
ation of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB, 2015)
similarly recommended establishing a comprehensive supervision
contract at the outset of supervision in the effort to develop
effective communication and collaboration. There are several ben-
efits for the use of supervision contracts. Similar to providing
syllabi for courses, supervision contracts can clearly delineate
expectations for the supervisory relationship, including require-
ments, plan for evaluation of clinical skills, and goals for the
clinical experience (Bernard & Goodyear, 2009; Falender &
Shafranske, 2012). Therefore, in developing a supervision contract
for a specific clinical experience, the supervisor is able to consider
what they are committing to providing as well as their goals and
expectations for their supervisees (ASPPB, 2015; Thomas, 2007,
2010). When a supervisor introduces a supervision contract in an
initial meeting, they also model behaviors for the supervisee to
elucidate, including preparedness and setting an agenda at each
meeting (Osborn, Paez, & Carrabine, 2007; Thomas, 2007). The
initial conversation about the supervision contract also permits the
supervisor to address the power hierarchy that is inherent within
the supervisory relationship while also providing transparency
about the supervisor’s roles and responsibilities, including serving
as a gatekeeper for the public and profession (Falender & Shafran-
ske, 2017). At the same time, supervision contracts may promote
collaboration and a supervisory alliance between the supervisor
and supervisee (Osborn et al., 2007). From an ethics perspective,
discussing the details of the contract at the beginning of the
supervisory relationship might also help to ensure the process of
informed consent (Barnett & Molzon, 2014; Falender & Shafran-
ske, 2012; Thomas, 2007).
 CLINICAL SUPERVISION CONTRACT
Osborn and Davis (1996) recommended including the following
topics within a supervision contract: (a) purpose, goals, and ob-
jectives; (b) context of supervision services; (c) evaluation meth-
od; (d) responsibilities for both the supervisor and supervisee; (e)
procedural considerations; and (f) the supervisor’s scope of com-
petence. Given the breadth of these areas, there are various com-
ponents that could be included within a contract, and it might be
useful to provide as many details as necessary for a specific
experience. For example, a contract may contain details about the
length, frequency, and duration of supervision, record keeping, the
process for rescheduling supervision, payment arrangement for
clinical services, and productivity expectations. Once a contract
has been developed, a supervisor could continue using that tem-
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
plate, tailoring the document to supervisee goals and/or a particular
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
clinical experience as needed. Despite the benefits of implement-
ing supervision contracts, the majority of supervisors and trainees
do not report using contracts within supervision (McCarthy, 2013;
Smith, Riva, & Erickson Cornish, 2012). Prior literature has sug-
gested some barriers to the adoption of supervision contracts,
including limited time to develop and tailor a contract to a specific
experience and difficulty deciding which components should be
part of the document (e.g., Smith et al., 2014; Sutter et al., 2002).
It is also possible that trainees have limited exposure to supervi-
sion contracts during practicum, internship, and postdoctoral ex-
periences; therefore, they may not utilize supervision contracts in
their own practice as supervisors. To aid in professional develop-
ment, it may be beneficial to provide training in supervision
contracts (e.g., during an advanced graduate level course on su-
pervision, consultation, and administration) as well as promote
conversations about important areas to consider when developing
a supervision contract.
Student Experiences
The idea of creating a supervision contract was generated within a
course titled “Supervision, Consultation, and Administration” in the
spring semester of 2016 at the University of Kansas Clinical Child
Psychology Program. During this course, 10 students engaged in
multiple class discussions in which they reflected on their graduate
training experiences in clinical supervision. Class discussions ranged
from informal descriptions of personal supervision experiences to
critical evaluations of the relationship between personal experiences
and the clinical supervision literature. Students openly shared the
positive and negative aspects of their current and past supervision,
their own ideas for improvement, and their questions regarding the
components of effective supervision.
Throughout the class discussions, it became clear that the style or
purpose of clinical supervision is not “one size fits-all,” as students
shared differing opinions on their own preferred experience. All
students agreed that equally effective supervisors might have diverse
orientations and approaches. Furthermore, all students agreed that the
most effective supervisors engaged the student in a discussion of
expectations at the beginning of the supervisory relationship. Most
students agreed that they rarely engaged with their supervisors about
these expectations, and one student shared that only one of her
graduate school supervisors had ever asked her about her preferred
style of supervision at the beginning of their relationship. Another
student shared that lack of agreement on practical aspects (e.g.,
expected timeline for report edits and preferred style of report or
237
progress note writing), created unnecessary frustration and confusion
during one supervisory relationship.
Additional concerns were related to difficulties with evaluating
supervisors when expectations were not clear. Given the inherent
power difference between supervisors and graduate students, one
student noted that it is difficult to provide feedback about any
negative aspects of supervision if these topic areas are brought up
for the first time during the final evaluation meeting. Throughout
the discussions, it became clear that setting well-defined expecta-
tions at the beginning of individual supervision would reduce
supervisees’ anxiety during supervisor evaluation sessions, allow
for more constructive feedback between the student and the su-
pervisor, and improve the supervision quality. As such, the pro-
fessor challenged the students to identify important constructs of a
working supervisory relationship along with expectations to be
addressed.
Consistent with student experiences, the literature has identified
supervisor qualities that can enhance supervision. For example,
effective supervisors work collaboratively with supervisees, estab-
lish joint goals, provide regular feedback, and demonstrate flexi-
bility (e.g., Falender & Shafranske, 2004). Extant research also
suggests that establishing clear expectations at the start of super-
vision is associated with a stronger supervisory working alliance
(McCarthy, 2013; Nelson & Friedlander, 2001). Taken together,
students agreed that supervisors should be able to conduct super-
vision with flexibility and individuality but that clear expectations
set forth at the beginning of the supervisory relationship with
opportunities for supervisee contribution (when appropriate)
would improve multiple aspects of the supervision experience.
The Course Project
The current summary of components for constructing a supervision
contract (see Appendix) was developed by 10 advanced graduate
students, with the guidance, contribution, and feedback of their faculty
professor during a graduate-level course. The course was not a clinical
practicum focused on application of techniques; rather, it was a
seminar course focused on intensive readings, discussions, and pre-
sentations in order to assist students in gaining an understanding of
current and future roles as professional psychologists. During the
discussion of supervision, the students and professor decided to create
a supervision contract that facilitates professional supervision rela-
tionships. Recognizing that a supervisor may refine a contract for a
specific clinical experience, the students and professor sought to
generate a broad set of guidelines for developing a supervision con-
tract. The purpose of this educational project was to examine and
incorporate the literature on clinical supervision and to draw from
graduate students’ experiences with practicum supervision to generate
the supervision contract template. Although it was an extra activity
beyond the prearranged requirements for the course, the students and
professor agreed to undertake this project to make the course material
relevant and applicable to the clinical training of current graduate
students and clinical supervisors in the training clinic and to make a
meaningful impact within the doctoral program as a whole. At the
same time, the project sought to aid in the students’ professional
development.
Students first immersed themselves into the literature on profes-
sional supervision, existing supervision contracts, best practices iden-
tified from sources such as state licensing boards, and the Guidelines
 238 AMARO ET AL.
for Clinical Supervision for Health Service Psychology (American
Psychological Association [APA], 2014). Students then created a list
of qualities of supervisors and supervisees that facilitate strong super-
visory relationships. Additionally, based on their previous experiences
with supervision processes, students collaboratively listed information
that they would want to discuss and agree upon with supervisors at the
outset of the supervisory relationship. Consistent with recommenda-
tions from Osborn and Davis (1996), the students and professor
sought to cover several aspects of supervision within the contract
summary, such as providing information on the logistics of supervi-
sion and evaluation process. Following multiple discussions, the stu-
dents and professor ultimately agreed upon nine overarching themes,
including (a) expectations and joint goals, (b) communication and
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
contact, (c) record keeping, (d) components of group and individual
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
supervision, (e) supervisor approach, (f) interpersonal relationships,
(g) navigating systems, (h) evaluation and feedback, and (i) ethics and
supervision.
After the overarching themes were identified, students divided into
groups of one to three and outlined terms of each section. Time was
dedicated in several class sessions to discussing, clarifying, and edit-
ing drafts of sections to form a full draft of the contract guidelines. At
the end of the spring semester, the full document, along with a preface
written by the professor, were then sent to the class via e-mail, and
everyone provided feedback on content, structure, and grammar/
editing. The professor sent the completed preface and contract, as well
as a letter establishing the context of the document, to the department
faculty (most of whom serve as clinical supervisors in the program’s
training clinic) for review and feedback. The hope was that the
document would serve as a catalyst for continued dialogue throughout
the supervision process.
Throughout the course, several students initiated conversations
with their supervisors about the use of supervision contracts, and
many supervisors appeared receptive to the idea. In discussions with
students outside of the course, many indicated that they would find a
contract a useful tool for supervision and endorsed similar experiences
to the ones that were discussed as part of the class. Additionally,
students indicated that there would be benefits to reviewing the
contract periodically throughout the semester to evaluate progress
toward goals. Although clinical supervisors did not uniformly incor-
porate a contract immediately following the course, there have been
ongoing conversations regarding the use of supervision contracts
since this educational exercise. For instance, one clinical supervisor
recently adopted the use of a supervision contract, and students’
reactions have been positive, noting that it has been helpful to under-
stand expectations and identify goals at the outset of the semester.
Discussion
Developed based on the literature on professional supervision and
best practices identified from other sources (e.g., state licensing
boards; Board of Psychology State of California, Department of
Consumer Affairs, 2016; Falender & Shafranske, 2012), the students
and professor created a set of guidelines for developing supervision
contracts that aims to encourage goal-oriented supervisee–supervisor
conversations, create space to establish transparent expectations in the
provision of clinical supervision, and elicit bidirectional feedback
while minimizing the inherent power differential. In addition to a
focus on the development of the supervisee, this document recognizes
the importance of developing a relationship that is collaborative,
professional, and respectful. Supervisors recognize the supervisee as
another human being in a situation that is fraught with interpersonal
issues, role ambiguity, role conflicts, and a differential in status and
power. There is a sense of responsibility shared by the supervisor and
supervisee for the success of supervision as well as the ongoing
monitoring and evaluation of training/developmental outcomes.
Therefore, when guided by clear expectations, feedback can be used
formatively and summatively to aid in the development of the formal
competencies, both diplomatically and constructively. As this was
designed to benefit all parties, the supervision contract template was
constructed in a way to provide direct guidance in navigating the
clinical supervisory relationship.
In consideration of the overlapping supervisory (broadly defined)
relationships that many faculty entertain, a supervision contract is
intended to promote explicit discussions at the beginning of a new
clinical supervisory relationship. Through these conversations, the
students and professor hoped to create opportunities for well-defined
expectations, shared responsibility, and the utilization of formative,
summative, and bidirectional feedback. Though the students and
professor ultimately opted to create a contract template specific to
aspects of clinical supervision, the utility of such a contract for other
supervisory relationships, including research, was routinely men-
tioned.
The supervision contract was designed to be a catalyst for initiating
conversations related to logistical considerations and in giving stu-
dents a voice for their emerging professional identity. The students not
only strived to eliminate ambiguity by codifying logistical responsi-
bilities but simultaneously sought to establish longer term utility. As
such, the students recognized the inherent value of intentionally
highlighting key differences in the delivery of clinical supervision
among health service psychologists. Therefore, the framework of the
contract was beneficial for reflecting on aspects of supervision that are
most impactful on students’ development as emerging practitioners,
professionals, and supervisors. In this sense, the template served as a
didactic exercise to explore the mechanisms of clinical supervision
while also developing students’ clinical skills.
The principal challenge was to write the contract summary in a
broad enough sense that all supervisors found value in its adaptation
and implementation but with sufficient detail to outline targeted action
items. Some clinical supervisors in the training clinic were already
engaging in informal conversations at the outset of a new clinical
supervisory relationship, but the students and professor felt a formal-
ized contract could be helpful in standardizing these conversations.
For clinical supervisors for whom these conversations were less rote,
the students and professor aimed to establish a framework for eliciting
a collaborative dialogue. Through pinpointed action items, the con-
tract template aimed to serve as a prompt for benchmarking super-
visee progress (without taking the place of formal supervisor and
supervisee evaluation forms), outlining goals, and collaboratively
determining expectations while remaining sensitive to nuances among
supervisors. Future studies should further assess perceived barriers to
adopting supervision contracts. Using a mixed-methods approach, it
will also be important to examine outcome data, such as supervisor–
supervisee satisfaction and the implementation of supervision con-
tracts after educational experiences.
Akin to the Guidelines for Clinical Supervision in Health Service
Psychology (APA, 2014), the set of guidelines for constructing a
supervision contract was designed to be a living document and tai-
lored by supervisors for specific clinical experiences. In drafting this
 CLINICAL SUPERVISION CONTRACT
template, it was the students and professor’s hope that implementation
would spur a series of iterative revisions making the educational goal
of the contract more effective. Supervisors, even within a single
training program, often display a rich variety of theoretical orienta-
tions, patient population experiences, and clinical expertise. With this
diversity, however, often comes unintentionally inconsistent supervi-
sion experiences across trainees. The document features a standard
format in which to consistently discuss supervisor and supervisee
expectations, thereby providing a more standardized approach to
structuring supervision training while also allowing for these diverse
experiences to take shape. At the same time, the current summary is
intended to be adapted and formatted to meet the specific needs of the
clinical experience. For instance, some of the logistics of supervision
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
may already be delineated in a practicum syllabus, whereas the
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
supervision contract may provide additional structure for a conversa-
tion on the supervisor’s and trainee’s goals for the practicum. Further,
the domain-specific contents of the contract allow for greater “porta-
bility” of supervision competencies (Falender & Shafranske, 2004, p.
231), such that trainees are taught the framework of professional
practice rather than distinct clinical skills. Similar procedures, based
on this one, could be used to effectively provide a criterion for
measuring supervisory knowledge consistent with supervision com-
petency.
As noted by Norcross and Halgin (1997), the focus on supervision
should be teaching trainees “how to think” rather than “what to think.”
This sentiment exemplifies the goals of the Competency Benchmarks
in Professional Psychology (APA, 2011), which notably include
“training in the professional knowledge base of enhancing and mon-
itoring the professional functioning of others” (p. 14). Like any of
the diverse services provided by psychologists, the practice of effec-
tive supervision requires the ongoing development of an evidence
base whereby the methods of clinical science are applied to promote
the optimal training of professional skills. The development of this
contract template is an effort toward advocating for this evidence
base, and the students and professor hope it will prompt similar
procedures in other programs and serve as a structured tool to initiate
meaningful dialogue.
Overall, students were open to this didactic exercise and partici-
pated in multiple engaging class discussions regarding the develop-
ment of the summary of components for constructing contracts. Many
of these conversations extended beyond the classroom, with several
students and supervisors engaged in dialogues about the use of su-
pervision contracts. Additionally, it has impacted the students’ pro-
fessional development, such that the students continue to reflect on
important aspects of supervision, which is essential as trainees move
toward becoming supervisors in the profession.
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 240 AMARO ET AL.
Appendix
Working Toward a Mutual Understanding and Joint Collaboration in Clinical Supervision
The supervisor and supervisee are expected to review and dis-
cuss this document at the outset of the supervisory relationship and
come to an agreement about the terms herein. Further, this docu-
ment can serve as a catalyst for continued dialogue throughout the
supervision process.
Expectations and Joint Goals
1. Discuss with supervisee about her or his optimal learning
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
style and clarify preferred facilitating style as a supervisor.
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
2. Explore together ways in which those styles might or might
not be compatible and outline potential solutions to any
barriers.
3. Establish the supervisee’s and supervisor’s goals regarding
the supervisee’s growth over the semester.
i. Discuss any anxieties and fears the supervisor may need to
be aware of regarding clinical work at the start of the
semester.
ii. Re-evaluate progress on an ongoing basis throughout the
semester.
iii. In the event that expectations are not met, see training
manual for remediation process.
Communication and Contact
1. Discuss frequency and length of supervision sessions.
2. Indicate preferred method of communication and note
any restrictions.
3. Outline situations in which the supervisee should con-
tact the supervisor.
4. Discuss how to handle planned and unexpected ab-
sences for both the supervisee and supervisor (e.g., Is
supervision cancelled, rescheduled, or conducted via
another method that week? Who provides back-up su-
pervisor/supervisee coverage?).
(Appendix continues)
Record Keeping
1. Supervisor and supervisee are aware of clinic policies
regarding record keeping. (See the training manual and
handbook.)
2. Provide clear expectations for progress notes (e.g., Does
the supervisor prefer to sign all progress notes each
week during individual supervision? Does the supervi-
sor prefer written notes or typed progress notes? If the
latter, should the notes be placed in the supervisor’s
mailbox prior to supervision?).
Components of Group and Individual Supervision
1. Provide clear expectations for the supervisee’s presen-
tation of work (e.g., verbal accounts of sessions, show-
ing videos, and/or providing written transcripts).
2. Outline expectations for the structure of group and
individual supervision.
Supervisor Approach
1. Discuss case conceptualization, theoretical orientation,
and supervisory models, including attending to diversity
dimensions (e.g., race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orien-
tation, disability, socioeconomic status, and oppression/
privilege).
2. Provide a balance of autonomy and guidance in a de-
velopmentally appropriate manner.
3. Engage the supervisee in case conceptualization and
self-reflection on a regular basis.
4. Maintain an openness and flexibility towards innovative
techniques and emerging research.
5. Pursue continued education in supervision as well as
diversity competence.
 CLINICAL SUPERVISION CONTRACT
Interpersonal Relations
1. Create a safe environment that allows for open commu-
nication between supervisor and supervisee regarding
both personal and professional issues that may influence
the care provided to clients.
2. Work collaboratively with the supervisee to conceptu-
alize cases and create treatment plans that give due
consideration to the evaluations and plans offered by the
supervisee.
3. Demonstrate respect toward the personal background of
the supervisee through nonjudgmental discussion of
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
personal issues relevant to clinical work.
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
4. Respond to appropriate questions and suggestions made
by the supervisee without defensiveness in order to
welcome the opportunity for mutual learning.
5. Convey empathy; that is, understand and accept that the
supervisee may have insecurities and a level of discom-
fort regarding challenging cases.
6. Convey enthusiasm for the supervision process and the
growth of the supervisee.
7. Model self-awareness to the supervisee through self-
exploration, understanding one’s own biases, and will-
ingness to pursue education or consultation.
Navigating Systems
1. Model client advocacy and promoting change in com-
plex systems, such as legal, educational, child welfare,
medical, and mental health systems.
2. Facilitate the supervisee’s skills in navigating complex
systems through observation, conjoint participation, and
discussion.
Evaluation and Feedback
1. Discuss evaluation criteria (e.g., recorded sessions and
self-reports of the supervisee) and the format of evalu-
ation and feedback with the supervisee within the first
two supervision sessions. Explain how and to whom
evaluations will be disclosed.
2. Provide frequent evaluation and feedback, so that sum-
mative feedback is representative of the feedback given
throughout the supervisory relationship.
3. Include a balance of both positive and corrective feed-
back, such that feedback notes the growth of the super-
visee, as well as areas of future growth.
241
4. Exhibit sensitivity to the timing and amount of feedback
that a supervisee can assimilate at any given moment.
5. Present feedback in an open, transparent, and clear
manner directly to the supervisee.
6. Explicitly tie evaluation and feedback to specific behav-
iors as well as competencies and training goals.
7. Encourage self-assessment by the supervisee and incor-
porate this information into the evaluation process.
8. Implement remediation steps if the supervisee is not
meeting competence criteria.
9. Seek evaluation and feedback from the supervisee about
the nature of supervision and incorporate this feedback
into future sessions.
10. Return edited reports to the supervisee in a timely
manner. Specifically, edits will be returned within
_____________________________________ of the
supervisee giving the report to the supervisor.
Ethics in Supervision
1. Know and apply the APA ethics code to the supervisory
relationship.
2. Encourage and assist the supervisee in considering eth-
ical guidelines, and intervene when necessary to ensure
the supervisee is upholding the ethics code.
3. Respect the supervisee’s right to privacy by refraining
from discussing issues related to the supervisee’s per-
formance with other students.
4. Model the process of ethical decision making for the
benefit of the supervisee when possible and prudent.
5. Model ethical behavior by openly discussing the exis-
tence of multiple relationships and the implications this
may have for boundary crossings and violations.
Supervisee Signature Supervisor Signature
Print Name Print Name
Date Date
Received August 15, 2018
Revision received May 17, 2019
Accepted May 20, 2019 䡲