To foster their development as future supervisors, psychology interns provide either direct or simulated supervision to others at their sites. During these exercises interns explore the professional role of supervisor and develop skills and attitudes appropriate to that function. Interns practice supervising in either a real or mock setting facilitated on site by their supervisors. Following each session, interns will receive supervision of supervision (for direct supervision experiences–see Vertical Supervision below for more information) or participate in a group discussion (for mock sessions) on supervision style, level of effectiveness, areas for improvement, theoretical underpinnings, and/or specific topics of discussion (such as evaluating supervisees or providing difficult feedback). The chief purpose of these exercises is to provide interns with experiential training in the supervision profession-wide competency and to encourage them to begin developing an effective supervision approach while receiving valuable and honest feedback in its practice. This process is supported during the training year via presentations, resources, and discussions that focus on current supervising theories and principles of supervision. These supervision exercises will be used by the interns’ supervisors to evaluate their performance in the Supervision competency.
