Best Practices in Supervision of School Psychologists: Perspectives

Best Practices in Supervision of School Psychologists:Perspectives from the Field and the University SettingAshley Arnold, MA, LSSP, NCSPJennifer L. Schroeder, PhD, LP, LSSP, NCSP

Objectives

Review legal and ethical guidelines for providing supervision

Review effective techniques for supervision of practicum students, interns, and first-year LSSPs

NASP Principles for Professional Ethics

Standard IV.4.2

“School psychologists who supervise practicum students and interns are responsible for all professional practices of the supervisee. They ensure that practicum students and interns are adequately supervised as outlined in the NASP Graduate Preparation Standards for School Psychologists. Interns and graduate students are identified as such, and their work is cosigned by the supervising school psychologist.”

NASP Principles for Professional Ethics

Standard IV.4.3

“School psychologists who employ, supervise, or train professional provide appropriate working conditions, fair and timely evaluation, constructive supervision, and continuing professional development opportunities.”

NASP Principles for Professional Ethics

Standard IV.4.4

“School psychologists who are faculty members at universities or who supervise graduate education field experiences apply these ethical principles in all work with school psychology graduate students. In addition, they promote the ethical practice of graduate students by providing specific and comprehensive instruction, feedback, and mentoring.”

Supervisor Qualifications

TSBEP Rule 465.38(5) Supervision may only be provided by a LSSP, who has a

minimum of 3 years of experience providing psychological services in the public schools of this or another state. To meet supervisor qualifications, a licensee must be able to document the required experience by providing documentation from the authority that regulate the provision of psychological services in the public schools of that state…

Supervisor Qualifications

TSBEP Rule 465.38(5)

(continued)…

…and proof that the licensee provided such services, documented by the public schools in the state in which the services were provided. Any licensed specialist in school psychology may count one full year as an intern or trainee as one of the 3 years of experience required to perform supervision.

Supervision RulesTSBEP Rule 465.38(4)(A)(i-iv)

(4) Supervision. (A) Direct, systematic, face-to-face supervision must be provided to: (i) Interns as defined in §463.9 of this title

(ii) Individuals who meet the training requirements of §463.9 of this title and who have passed the National School Psychology Examination at the Texas cutoff score or above and who have been notified in writing of this status by the Board. These individuals may practice under supervision in a Texas public school district for no more than one calendar year. They must be designated as trainees.

Supervision RulesTSBEP Rule 465.38(4)(A)(i-iv) (continued)

(4) Supervision. (A) Direct, systematic, face-to-face supervision must be provided to:(iii) LSSPs for a period of one academic year following licensure unless the individual also holds licensure as a psychologist in Texas. This supervision may be waived for individuals who legally provided full-time, unsupervised school psychological services in another state for a minimum of 3 academic years immediately preceding application for licensure in Texas as documented by the public schools where services were provided and who graduated from a training program approved by NASP or accredited in school psychology by APA or who hold NCSP certification.

Supervision RulesTSBEP Rule 465.38(4)(A)(i-iv) (continued)

(4) Supervision. (A) Direct, systematic, face-to-face supervision must be provided to:

(iv) LSSPs when the individual is providing psychological services outside his or her area of training and supervised experience.

Supervision RulesTSBEP Rule 465.38(4)(B)

(B) Nothing in this rule applies to administrative supervision of psychology personnel within Texas public schools, performed by non-psychologists, in job functions involving, but not limited to, attendance, time management, completion of assignments, or adherence to school policies and procedures.

INTERNSHIP AND TRAINEE REQUIREMENTS

Internship RulesTSBEP 463.9 (c)

(c) Minimum of 1200 hours, of which 600 must be in a public school

Must be provided through a formal course of supervised study from a regionally accredited institution of higher education

Supervised by an individual qualified in accordance with Board rule §465.38 of this title (relating to Psychological Services in the Schools).

Internship which is not obtained in a public school must be supervised by a licensed psychologist.

No experience with a supervisor who is related within the second degree of affinity or within the second degree by consanguinity to the person, or is under Board disciplinary order, may be considered for specialist in school psychology licensure.

Internship RulesTSBEP 463.9 (c)

Internships may not involve more than two sites (a school district is considered one site) and must be obtained in not less than one or more than two academic years.

These individuals must be designated as interns. Direct, systematic supervision must involve a

minimum of one face-to-face contact hour per week or two consecutive face-to-face contact hours once every two weeks with the intern.

Internship RulesTSBEP 463.9 (c)

The internship must include direct intern application of assessment, intervention, behavior management, and consultation, for children representing a range of ages, populations and needs.

Who Can Practice in the Schools?TSBEP Rule 463.9 (g)

(g) Provision of psychological services in the public schools by unlicensed individuals. An unlicensed individual may provide psychological services under supervision in the public schools pursuant to section §501.004(a)(2) of the Act. Services may be provided if:

(1) the individual is enrolled in an internship, practicum or other site based training in a school psychology program in a regionally accredited institution of higher education,

OR

Who Can Practice in the Schools?TSBEP Rule 463.9 (g)

(g) Provision of psychological services in the public schools by unlicensed individuals. An unlicensed individual may provide psychological services under supervision in the public schools pursuant to section §501.004(a)(2) of the Act. Services may be provided if:

(2) the individual has completed an internship in a school psychology program in a regionally accredited institution of higher education AND has an application for licensure as an LSSP pending before the Board AND the Board has not notified the applicant that he or she does not meet the training requirements for this licensure,

Who Can Practice in the Schools?TSBEP Rule 463.9 (g)

(g) Provision of psychological services in the public schools by unlicensed individuals. An unlicensed individual may provide psychological services under supervision in the public schools pursuant to section §501.004(a)(2) of the Act. Services may be provided if:

OR (3) the individual has been issued a trainee status letter by the Board.

Trainee Requirements TSBEP Rule 463.9 (f)

Trainee Requirements. An applicant for the specialist in school psychology license who meets all requirements, prior to taking and passing the Jurisprudence examination, may, in accordance with Board rule §465.38(4) of this title (relating to Psychological Services in the Schools), practice under supervision as a trainee for not more than one calendar year.

Qualifications and ObligationsSite Supervisors

Meet the NCSP credentialing requirements Complete a minimum of 3 years’ supervised experience

as a LSSP Helpful if employed full time in the district Knowledge that supervision takes considerable time Possesses significant interpersonal skills Familiar with basic ethical and legal responsibilities and

requirements for field work

Qualifications and ObligationsUniversity Supervisors

Ensure university and state requirements are met Serves as liaison between training site and university

program Develop a relationship with the site supervisor Monitors appropriateness of site Ensures the student is sufficiently competent to warrant

licensure

Qualifications and ObligationsUniversity Supervisors

Formal opportunities for students to compare notes, ask questions, and formulate conclusions

Makes site visits

If a student encounters difficulty, serves as both mediator and problem solver

Clinical vs. Administrative Supervision

Supervision Competencies (Dunsmuir & Leadbetter, 2010)

Profession Specific

Specialist/TherapeuticCore

Clinical Supervision

Clinical Supervisors: Demonstrate and teach techniques and skills Examine student work with supervisees Help supervisees conceptualize cases Assist supervisees as they design intervention

strategies Assist supervisees as they disaggregate and interpret

data

Clinical Supervision

Clinical Supervisors: Ensure that supervisees practice only within areas of

professional competence Help supervisees learn how to work with different

types of people Debrief supervisees after difficult or crisis situations Provide second opinions

Clinical Supervision

Clinical Supervisors: Help supervisees address their blind spots resulting

from personal experiences Provide training and professional development

opportunities Encourage induction into the profession via

membership in professional organizations

Supervisee Experience and Developmental Model (Ronnestad & Skovholt, 2003) Expertise requires 5-7 years of corrected experience to

develop Lifelong, slow, continuous, erratic Relationships have most impact on development, not

workshops

What to expect…the development of competence

Supervisee Experience and Developmental Model (Ronnestad & Skovholt, 2003)

Six stages of professional growth Lay helpers – sympathetic, advice giving, low emotional

regulation Beginning student – rely heavily on supervisors, highly anxious Advanced students/interns – Excessively thorough, conflicts

during supervision are common due to trying to assert themselves

Novice professionals – Explore their roles, become disillusioned Experienced professionals – lack of interest in professional

development Senior professionals – increased sense of reality in terms of

what they can accomplish

Developmental Stages Model (Benner, 1984; Stoltenberg et al., 1998)

Focuses on cognitive changes with the practitioner Five stages

Novices – Rule-governed, “know about” not “how to,” anxious, focus on skill acquisition

Advanced beginners – Begin to take into account context, concerned with learning and mastering techniques

Competence – Less preoccupied with own performance, engage in planning and goal setting

Proficiency – Reflect and integrate Experts – Intuitive, efficient

Developmental Supervision

ALL school psychologists are novices when they encounter situations with which they have no experience

Need to match style with stage at which supervisee is Novice – needs close supervision, encourage, suggest,

integrate Advanced beginner – give more autonomy, introduce

alternative views, provide comments on processes, use tapes, role plays, etc.

Competent – let supervisees lead supervision, case-based Proficient and expert –supervision helps maintain and

upgrade skill, supervising supervisors

Administrative Supervision

Administrative Supervisors: Provide leadership Recruit and hire Delegate assignments Conduct formal personnel evaluations Design corrective action Take ultimate responsibility for services provided by

supervisees

Can a person be both clinical and administrative supervisor?

Example of MOU between University and School District

Rationales for Supervision

Skill Maintenance Skill Improvement and Expansion Professional Development Reduced Stress Enhanced Accountability

Challenges in Supervising School Psychological Services

Evaluation Procedures Supervisory Structures Lack of Supervision Training

Only 11% of supervisors have supervision training (Ross & Goh, 1993)

What kinds of things would training need to include (develop an idea of what you might need)?

Training Supervisors

Workshops, Informal Self-Study, and Peer Supervision Networks NASP has an online forum for supervisors

University-Run Training for Field Supervisors Formal Coursework in Supervision or Administration

Supervisor Characteristics

Personal Characteristics Integrity Secure Attachment Styles Sufficient Cognitive Development Mentally healthy Sensitive and responsive to multicultural issues

Motivation Leadership Skills Delegation Skills

Theoretical Orientation and Supervision Models

Psychodynamic – focuses on developing relationships Person-centered – focuses on developing UPR, congruence,

empathy and warmth Behavioral and cognitive behavioral – focuses on teaching

appropriate skills and behaviors Constructivism – construction of stories that influence future

behavior Discrimination model – focuses on matching supervisee needs and

supervisor skills Integrative approaches –combines multiple approaches

Supervisor Role and Style (Hart & Nance, 2003)

Directive Teacher

Supportive Teacher

Consultant

Counselor

High

Direction

Low

High Support Low

Learning Principles Provide experiential learning Provide collaborative and interactive learning Focus on important information Tie new information to known information Space and repeat learning trials Incorporate corrective feedback Encourage the monitoring of learning Ensure comprehension Foster self-regulation and self-appraisal of learning

Supervision Goals

Reconcile your goal with the supervisee’s goals early Write it down (may include in supervision contract) Treat similar to treatment goals Begin each supervision session with a working agenda

Supervision Format

Individual Individual within a small group Group (4-8 supervisees) Peer Collaborative work Mixed format

Technology & Supervision

Email Ensure confidentiality Watch nonverbal cues (e.g., ALL CAPS)

Telephone Videoconferencing

Helpful Tips

Have LSSP call parent prior to testing and review informed consent, including informing parent of training status

Sign in blue ink Maintain copy of trainee letter Field Supervisor Evaluation

Helpful Tips

STRUCTURE!!! Regular intervals of evaluation Scheduled time weekly for supervision

Same day, same time Documentation of supervision time

App: Hours Tracker Structured Forms

Helpful Tips

Develop a handbook for new supervisees List materials you would want to include

Set goals based on personal interests and developing competencies

Proactive interns are persistent with their supervisors Adapt with flexibility Think critically

Helpful Tips

Handout 1.1 Field Supervisor Competencies Handout 2.1 Supervisory Strategies to Meet Supervisees’

Psychological Needs Handout 2.2 Strategies to Reduce Supervisee Anxiety Handout 14.8 School Psychology Position Interview

Questions Handout 15.15 Intern Evaluation of Internship Handout 15.17 Supervisor Evaluation

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONSWho’s responsibility is it to ensure the practicum student/intern/trainee can practice?

Licensees ensure that their supervisees have legal authority to provide psychological services in adherence to Board rules.

TSBEP Rule 465.2(b)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONSDo I have to document the supervision in writing?

Yes! Licensees shall document their supervision activities in writing.

TSBEP Rule 465.2(e)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONSSigning Reports

____________________

Kid Rock, School Psychology Practicum Student

Supervised by: 

_____________________

Mick Jagger, MA, LSSP

______________________

Derek Holland, LSSP Trainee

______________________

Nolan Ryan, MA, LSSP, NCSP

LSSP Supervisor

References

Smith Harvey, V. & Struzziero, J. A. (2008). Professional Development and Supervision of School Psychologists (Second ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: National Association of School Psychologists and Corwin Press.

Douglas, K. & Valsamis (2013). Making the Most of Supervision. Communique, 41(8).