Update on remote supervision for field instructors and students completing a current or summer practicum – April 22, 2020

We thank you again for the critical contribution you are making to the education of MSW students from the University of Toronto.  Supervising remotely and use of various technologies may be new to you.  As we gather resources to support you, we wanted to share a couple of documents with you right away:

• Strategies for Remote Supervision of MSW Students, which includes some questions for discussion during your supervision time together; and,
• A current Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) resource, Guidelines for Uses of Technology in Counselling and Psychotherapy, which you may find useful.

Page 22 content is below. Pages 33-35 contains a checklist for using technology for clinical supervision.

Updates and additional resources are posted on our website, COVID-19 Impact on Practicum Courses.

Again, our sincere gratitude for the contribution you are making.

The Practicum Office
Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work
University of Toronto
practicum.fsw@utoronto.ca

Clinical Supervision (p.22)

While the guidelines for clinical supervision are similar to other areas of online work there are some key benefits to technology-based clinical supervision. One of the main benefits is increased access to quality supervision regardless of location including to supervisors with specific expertise that may ​[not] be accessible to one otherwise.

Of course, the use of technology does not change the ethical guidelines for supervision. The added dimensions for consideration in using technology in clinical supervision are client confidentiality, informed consent and the supervisory relationship.

Some key questions:

• Is supervision of online therapy taking place online? In what modality?
• Is supervision of in-person work taking place online? Or vice-versa?

 You will find more detailed information in Appendix B – Checklist for the Uses of Technology in Clinical Supervision.