There are many different ways of developing supervision skills which can be helpful to the clinician or practitioner in their work. Specific models or approaches to both counselling supervision and clinical supervision come from different historical strands of thinking and beliefs about relationships between people. A few examples are given below. Peter Hawkins (1985) developed an integrative process model which is used internationally in a variety of helping professions. His "Seven Eyed model of Supervision" was further developed by Peter Hawkins along with Robin Shohet, Judy Ryde and Joan Wilmot in "Supervision in the Helping Professions" (1989, 2000 and 2006 and 2012) and with Nick Smith in "Coaching, Mentoring and organisational Consultancy: Supervision and Development" (2006 and 2013) and is taught on the courses of the Centre for Supervision and Team Development as well as many other supervision training courses. S. Page and V. Wosket describe a cyclical structure. F. Inskipp and B. Proctor (1993, 1995) developed an approach based on the normative, formative and restorative elements of the relationship between supervisor and supervisee. The Brief Therapy practice teaches a solution focused approach based on the work of
Steve de Shazer and
Insoo Kim Berg which uses the concepts of respectful curiosity, the preferred future, recognition of strengths and resources, and the use of scaling to assist the practitioner to progress (described in ). Waskett has described teaching solution-focused supervision skills to a variety of professionals Evidence-based CBT supervision is a distinctive and recent model that is based on cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT), enhanced by relevant theories (e.g. experiential learning theory), expert consensus statements, and on applied research findings (Milne & Reiser, 2017). It is therefore an example of
evidence-based practice, applied to supervision. CBT supervision meets the general definition of clinical supervision, adding some distinctive features that reflect CBT as a therapy. This includes a high degree of session structure and direction (e.g. detailed agenda-setting), but within a fundamentally collaborative relationship. Also, there is a primary emphasis on cognitive case conceptualization, mainly through the use of case discussion, intended to develop diagrammatic CBT formulations. But discussion should properly be combined with other CBT techniques, including Socratic questioning, guided discovery, educational role-play, behavioural rehearsal, and corrective feedback. Another distinctive aspect is a focus on evidence-based principles and methods, including the use of reliable instruments for feedback and evaluation, in relation to both therapy and supervision. Perhaps the single most defining characteristic of evidence-based CBT supervision is the active and routine commitment to research methods and findings: where other approaches refer to theory and clinical/supervisory experience for guidance, evidence-based CBT supervision appeals ultimately to 'the data'. Examples of the use of relevant theories, expert consensus statements and research, together with six formally-developed supervision guidelines (illustrated through video clips), can be found in Milne & Reiser (2017).
Deliberate practice supervision is a focused and structured approach where therapists continuously work on refining specific skills through targeted exercises and feedback. Supervisors help identify areas for improvement, set clear objectives, and provide real-time, constructive feedback. Based on the work of
K. Anders Ericsson, deliberate practice supervision emphasizes repetitive practice and reflection to enhance clinical effectiveness and adaptability, ultimately aiming to bridge the gap between current capabilities and desired performance levels in therapeutic settings. Over 20 peer-reviewed empirical studies have examined the process and outcome of deliberate practice supervision. A review published in 2024 described two major models of deliberate practice supervision. The Better Results model, created by Scott Miller, Mark Hubble, and Daryl Chow, uses data from
Feedback Informed Treatment to guide deliberate practice supervision. The Sentio Supervision Model, created by the Sentio Marriage and
Family Therapy MA program in California, systematically integrates psychotherapy skill building with the use of clinical videos and outcome data to increase trainees' clinical competence and confidence. Developmental models of supervision view supervisees as progressing through distinct stages of professional growth, requiring different types of supervision at each stage. Stoltenberg & Delworth’s Integrated Developmental Model (IDM) proposes three levels of supervisee development (beginner, intermediate, advanced), each with increasing autonomy and complexity in clinical skills. Loganbill, Hardy, & Delworth's developmental model describes cycles of stagnation, confusion, and integration as supervisees develop. In the Discrimination Model of supervision by Janine Bernard, supervisors take on three roles: Teacher (instructing and guiding), Counselor (helping with emotional reactions), and Consultant (collaborative problem-solving), and focus on three skill areas: Process (e.g., interpersonal dynamics), Conceptualization (understanding client issues), and Personalization (how the therapist uses themselves in therapy). ==Research on the effectiveness of supervision==