Deliberate Practice Supervision in Action: The Sentio Supervision Model.

Abstract

Deliberate Practice (DP) is gaining consensus by researchers as a potentially promising method to increase therapist's effectiveness. While many clinicians and trainers now support DP's potential benefits, there is still a lack of guidelines, research, and training on implementing DP in clinical supervision. Recently, Vaz and Rousmaniere have proposed the Sentio Supervision Model as a method to integrate three major supervision-enhancing contributions: the use of routine outcome monitoring, the use of therapy recordings, and the use of DP skills training. We present a case study focusing on one client's treatment progress and their therapist's engagement in weekly supervision following the Sentio Supervision Model. The client had been identified by the outcome measure as being at risk of deterioration, and after DP supervision showed recovery and became on track for a good treatment outcome. Annotated transcripts provide a closer look into the clinical and supervisory process and how the latter influenced the former. We highlight the potential benefits and challenges inherent to this novel Supervision Model.