Integrating Deliberate Practice Into Group Supervision: A Case Illustration

Abstract

One of many challenges in group supervision is the question of how to keep every participant engaged and fully available for learning. This paper describes a group supervision structure that uses Deliberate Practice (DP) to involve every participant in the group through the development of therapeutic skills intended to enhance the effectiveness of their work with clients. A case example illustrates how this process unfolded in the context of therapy with a specific client, conducted by a psychiatrist undergoing psychotherapy training in a deliberate practice supervision group. Analysis of video recordings of group supervision sessions and notes on solitary deliberate practice are used to illustrate how a DP structure engaged all participants in the group, while also facilitating the clinical development of the supervised psychiatrist and enhancing patient outcomes. A DP approach to group supervision enables participants to learn from each other's cases, through the deployment of flexible activities that engage all members of the group while also providing personalized skills training.