Supervised practice
This page provides some additional pointers of good practice that can be used as guidance to help put into practice what is in the Regulations themselves.These pointers of good practice do not form part of the Regulations.The wording in the Regulations is included below in order to provide sufficient context.The Regulation wording is shown in italic.
Supervised practice
Supervised practice is a form of professional interactive training carried out in a real work setting with the aims of:
- preparing a (Specialist) Psychologist-in-Training for independent practice
- developing the professional role of a (specialist) psychologist
- integrating theoretical and practical knowledge.
Supervised practice aims to qualify a (Specialist) Psychologist-in-Training for entry into independent practice.
At the end of the supervised practice training period, the (Specialist) Psychologist can practice independently.
After having successfully finished supervised practice the psychologist is expected to engage in continuous professional development (including supervision), when practicing independently.
Supervised practice assures the quality and competence required for independent practice in different fields of psychology and interdisciplinary collaboration with professionals in other fields. The psychologist-in-training has to provide evidence of a range of functional (e.g., need identification, planning, implementing assessments and interventions, evaluation) and foundational (e.g., ethics, communication, continuous professional development, science and research, collaboration, individual and cultural differences, digital/information and communication technology and self-care) competences required for independent practice as a psychologist.
During supervised practice, the psychologist-in-training puts into practice the knowledge, skills and attitudes gained from the university education and other professional experiences. The psychologist-in-training will encounter different professional tasks, challenges, ethical dilemmas, and issues, which can be managed with the support of a supervisor.
Supervised practice implies a regular meeting between the (Specialist) Psychologist-in-Training and the supervisor;
this should occur about every two weeks with predefined protected and uninterrupted time for meeting (in total at least 50 hours). Individual and group supervision have different advantages and drawbacks.
Based on the topics and context of supervision the supervisor decides on the proportion of individual (min. 20 hours per year) and group supervision, and whether to start with individual or group supervision.
As a face-to-face personal contact is regarded as crucial for establishing and keeping up a personal relationship.
A maximum of 50% of individual or group supervision could be online, after starting face to face to establish a trusting relationship.
For group supervision, the number of psychologists-in-training should be small to have enough time for each one (we recommend not more than four psychologists-in-training for group supervision). Alongside formal supervision, additional dyadic/team intervision is also recommended.
Psychologists-in-Training
Psychologist-in-Training are those who are in the process of engaging in supervised practice as part of fulfilling the 3rd phase of the EuroPsy requirements. They practice with real clients in real settings but under the individual and group supervision of a qualified supervisor.
The Supervisor
The supervisor is a psychologist who supports the learning and assesses the competence of the psychologists-in-training regularly and encourages them to act as independently as possible, given the situation and their competences.
In countries where professional licensing/registration exists, the supervisor needs to be a licensed/registered psychologist.
The supervisor’s competence in supervision is a core indicator of the quality of the supervised practice.
Required competences for supervisors
The supervisor has the time, commitment, and competences to serve as a supervisor.
A supervisor must have a minimum of two years (or its equivalent of at least 3000 hours) of independent practice in the field of practice / specialism in which they will supervise. In addition they must have some training in supervision (e.g., at least workshops lasting several days) before they can supervise independently. Whether the requirements are satisfied is a matter for the National EuroPsy Committee.
In countries where supervision is well established, we recommend as a minimum standard that the supervisor has:
- at least three years (4,500 hours) of professional experience in the relevant field
- received training in supervision (may be obtained during the five years of independent practice) including training courses, case studies, and the development of theoretical and empirical knowledge on supervision
- supervised practice of supervision (including observation, video or audio presentations).
Supervision training may be offered by professional bodies, training institutes or third level academic institutions. The training in supervision may start from workshops lasting several days, but complete postgraduate supervision training programmes lasting several months are recommended.
Competences of supervisors
Supervisors have developed competences such as being able to:
- Prepare a competence development plan in accordance with the psychologist's development needs and resources
- Facilitate a collaboration and a relationship characterised by respect, interest, acceptance, and trust, so that those who receive supervision experience it as safe to expose their work and insecurity
- Supervise in accordance with ethical principles and the laws that regulate the psychologist's practice
- Contribute to the development of foundational and functional competences which are relevant to the psychological professional practice
- Evaluate the psychologists-in-training’ learning process and competence level according to the plan and give regular and specific evaluative feedback in a form suitable for promoting learning and development
- Use guidance models and methods in a flexible and adapted way
- Be aware of the dynamics of the supervision relationship and react in an appropriate way (e.g., understand when a third person should be involved)
- Take appropriate actions when the supervisor becomes aware of the psychologist’s-in-training lack of development of competences and/or inappropriate professional behaviour
Procedural aspects, formative and summative assessment
The supervisor is required to supervise the psychologist-in-training and to assess the competences of a psychologist-in-training during (formative assessment) and at the end of the period of supervised practice (summative assessment) with respect to the functional and foundational competences mentioned above according to the rules and traditions that are specific for the particular field of practice and/or national context.
The assessment distinguishes between the two levels of competence:
Not yet competent
Competent
Competence insufficiently developed
Need of further development and requiring guidance and supervision
Competence sufficiently developed
Performing tasks without guidance at the level of EuroPsy
During supervised practice formative assessment should be done by the supervisor, but self-assessment is advised as well. The supervisor should teach the psychologist-in-training how to carry out self-reflection and self-assessment on both functional and foundational competences. The supervisor should give detailed feedback on which competences already have been developed and which competences still need to be developed to be able to practice independently. Supervisory and self-assessment should be compared and discussed to identify areas for further development and strategies to improve respective competences.
The psychologist-in-training should also give feedback to the supervisor during the supervision period. Both parties are responsible for ensuring that evaluation takes place. The results of the formative assessment shall be summarized in a tabular form, as indicated in the example here.
In the final summative assessment, the Supervisor should summarise the available information and indicate whether, based on the available evidence, the candidate can be expected to adequately perform the functional and foundational competences needed for independent practice. The Supervisor’s judgement should be expressed as a judgement of ‘competent’ or ‘not yet competent’.
The results of the evaluation shall be summarized in a tabular form, as indicated in;
Responsibilities of the psychologist-in-training
During supervised practice psychologists-in-training are responsible for the acquisition of their foundational and functional competences. Good practice requires the psychologists-in-training to record their work and development of competences (e.g., by using portfolios), and to identify professional development needs and review their own learning. These may form the basis for grounded professional practice and may contribute to continuing professional development where portfolios are also relevant.
Responsibilities of the supervisor
The supervisor should establish a supervision contract with the psychologist-in-training. In the contract the psychologist-in-training and supervisor should agree on the: Field of practice and client group(s) is covered. Role(s) the psychologist-in-training may take. Competences that will be developed. Responsibility of both the supervisor and psychologist-in-training to document the supervision.
The supervisor introduces the psychologist-in-training into the explicit and implicit rules of the profession. The supervisor provides a central contribution to the learning process through modelling, feedback, observation, and discussion, as well as to the quality of professional practice.
Supervision process
Supervision sessions will usually last one or two hours. During this time the supervisor and the psychologist-in-training work together, discussing what has been done, helping to reflect upon the task at a cognitive and emotional level, and supporting the development of competences and professional confidence. These sessions should involve reviewing tasks carried out by the psychologist-in-training under observation by the supervisor. Audio and video technology may perform a useful function in the process of supervision enabling open discussion and feedback on aspects of the performance of the psychologist-in-training. It might also include the psychologist-in-training observing the supervisor carrying out tasks, and then using reflection on these as part of the learning and development process.
Outcomes of supervision
The psychologist-in-training is required to provide evidence of the acquisition of the functional and foundational competences. They should complete a systematic self-evaluation of level of competences in relation to the range of competences and should use this format to plan for future professional development.
If the assessment after the year of supervised practice is ‘not yet competent’ local procedures should be followed to address the matter. Where no local appeal procedures exist, the (Specialist) Psychologist-in-Training may approach the National EuroPsy Committee for advice about the process to follow.
European Federation of Psychologists’Associations AISBL