Clinical Supervision of Mental Health Services: A Systematic Review of Supervision Characteristics and Practices Associated with Formative and Restorative Outcomes

Clin Superv. 2021;40(1):88-111. doi: 10.1080/07325223.2021.1904312. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Abstract

In this review, the authors examined supervision characteristics and practices associated with formative (e.g., skill development) and restorative (e.g., well-being) provider outcomes. We used qualitative review to summarize supervision characteristics associated with desired outcomes. Then, we applied a distillation approach (Chorpita et al., 2005) to identify practices associated with formative and restorative outcomes. The most common practices for promoting formative outcomes were corrective feedback, discussing intervention, and role play. Findings indicate several supervision strategies have demonstrated empirical support for improving formative outcomes. However, more rigorous research is needed in community settings, particularly for understanding which strategies improve restorative outcomes.

Keywords: clinical supervision; formative outcomes; mental health services; restorative outcomes.