Perspectives of Psychology Supervisors and Trainees: Implications for Supervision and Telesupervision

Abstract

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically increased the need for psychology training programs to use telesupervision, prompting a necessity to better understand telesupervision practice to enable success for both training and clinical care outcomes. Mirroring telemental health, telesupervision needs to be implemented in a manner that upholds elements associated with effective supervision. In the present quality improvement project, psychology supervisors (n = 242) and trainees (n = 128) at Veterans Affairs Health Care System (VA) sites throughout the USA were invited to complete anonymous online questionnaires regarding supervision experiences across in-person and telesupervision modalities. Data assessing the varying experiences of trainees and supervisors related to access of supervision and supervisors, amount and type of oversight, and frequency of evaluative feedback were analyzed. The findings suggest that supervisors and trainees differed in their endorsement of essential elements of supervision as in-person supervision shifted to the telesupervision modality. A thematic analysis of qualitative data revealed potential benefits, challenges, and needs for successful telesupervision implementation. Overall, the findings provide insight into supervisor and trainee perceptions of supervision and benefits and challenges across in-person and telesupervision modalities. Implications for scaffolding optimal learning experiences across both in-person and telesupervision modalities are discussed.