Clinical Supervision Approach Predicts Evidence-Based Trauma Treatment Delivery In Children's Mental Health

Course overview

Course Description: This course is based on material published in Frontiers in Psychiatry and is available as an open-access article. Observational studies of practices used in clinical supervision-as-usual can be leveraged to advance the limited research on workplace-based supervision as an evidence-based treatment (EBT) implementation strategy. This exploratory observational study examined the presence of supervision approaches (comprised of supervision techniques) and whether these predicted clinicians EBT technique delivery. Participants included 28 supervisors, 70 clinician supervisees, and 60 youth clients and guardians from 17 public mental health organizations. Data included audio-recorded supervision-as-usual sessions over 1 year, audio-recorded Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) treatment sessions with youth for 6 months, and youth-reported post-traumatic stress severity scores. Audio recordings of 438 supervision sessions were coded for session duration and the presence of 13 supervision techniques and intensity of their coverage. Audio recordings of 465 treatment sessions were coded for presence and intensity of coverage of TF-CBT practice elements. Agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis examined the presence of clusters of supervision technique use, termed supervision approaches. Generalized estimating equations estimated the relation between supervision approaches and delivery of TF-CBT elements. Two supervision approaches were identified- Supportive-Directive, and Supportive- that discriminated between the use of five supervision techniques. Clinicians who received a higher proportion of supportive- directive supervision sessions had greater odds of delivering the trauma narrative with a client. Findings suggest that patterns of supervision techniques can be identified and may shape EBT delivery. Supervision approaches show some evidence of being tailored to individual clinicians. Implications for the development of supervision implementation strategies and future directions are discussed. This course on using evidence-based treatment to treat mental health conditions in children is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors who do clinical work. In addition, this course is appropriate for advanced-level practitioners who wish to develop their knowledge of the use of evidence-based treatment in treating mental health conditions in children. The course material includes a literature review of interventions and research. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require continuing clinical education courses for license renewal. The course is based on a journal article that includes research. It contains statistical analysis and data that some clinicians enjoy reading, and others do not. A significant benefit of reading research-based articles for continuing education is they provide practitioners with the latest findings in their field. Authors: Meza, AlRasheed, Pullmann, Dorsey Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding using evidence-based treatment to treat mental health conditions in children. Specifically, a professional will: Recognize characteristics of evidence-based practices and supervision approaches and their roles in treating mental health conditions. Identify differences of supervision approaches in the context of community mental health settings. Describe outcomes of various supervision approaches in the context of community mental health settings. Citation: Meza, R. D., AlRasheed, R., Pullmann, M. D., & Dorsey, S. (2023). Clinical supervision approach predicts evidence-based trauma treatment delivery in childrens mental health. Frontiers in psychiatry, 13, 1072844. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1072844