Ethical Issues in Supervision

Abstract

Clinical supervision has long played an important role in the training of psychologists (Carroll, 2014; O’Donovan, Halford, & Walters, 2011; Watkins & Milne, 2014), and can be regarded as a “signature pedagogy” in the field of psychology (Bernard & Goodyear, 2014, p. 2). In the 1970s supervision began to establish itself as distinct from its roots in counselling psychology (Carroll, 2007). During the 1980s the profession shifted to a view of supervision as requiring specific knowledge and skills (Pettifor, Sinclair, & Falender, 2014). This shift is reflected in the emergence of new supervision models and approaches (see Watkins & Milne, 2014). In Australia, similar to other countries, the focus on supervision as a professional competence increased after 2000. In their review of the literature on supervision and its effectiveness on clinical practice and client outcomes, Spence, Wilson, Kavanagh, Strong, and Worrall (2001) concluded that there was tentative evidence for the positive influence of supervision on supervisee practice, though the authors also concluded that the review raised more questions than answers.