Northcentral University

1 3 BEST PRACTICES SUGGESTIONS Direct observation, or raw data, of an intern's therapy work is an important aspect of the clinical supervisory relationship (Johnson, 2019). It allows the supervisor to have a more robust view, not filtered through the intern's lens, of the intern's work and increases the supervisor's ability to provide important feedback to the intern. Conversely, NOT including raw data in the supervisory relationship means important and relevant data may be missed and disadvantages the intern's clinical growth (Johnson, 2019). In addition to the benefits of raw data supervision, a study from the 1970s found that interns tend to prefer raw data supervision, specifically conducting co-therapy with a supervisor (Nelson, 1978). Northcentral University's MAMFT program has a 50-hour raw data requirement that all students must meet in order to graduate. Raw data can encompass three activities, but all involve the supervisor of record viewing the intern's therapy work. Supervisor watches the intern conduct therapy in real time Co-therapy (both supervisor raw data hour and a direct client contact hour) Intern video records a session for the supervisor to view all or a part of at a later time Intern audio records a session for the supervisor to listen to all or a part of at a later time The supervisor of record is the individual who has been both 1. vetted and approved by NCU; and 2. meets the state's requirements of who is eligible to supervise a post-graduate MFT intern. Although students are able to engage in additional supervision (outside of the one hour of weekly individual supervision) with individuals who have not been vetted, these hours do NOT count towards graduation requirements. Additionally, an hour of co-therapy or live viewing of an intern's full therapy sessions does NOT replace the one hour of weekly supervision. As always, if there are questions please reach out to clinical@ncu.edu. References Johnson, E. A. (2019). Recommendations to enhance psychotherapy supervision in psychology. Canadian Psychology, 60(4), 290-301. Nelson, G. L. (1978). Psychotherapy supervision from the trainee's point of view: A survey of preferences. Professional Psychology, 9(4), 539-550. S P R I N G 2 0 2 0 – I S S U E 5 LIVE AUDIO VIDEO

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