Clinical supervisor and counselor perceptions of clinical supervision in addiction treatment.

Little is empirically known about clinical supervision in addiction treatment. This study describes multiple domains of clinical supervision in addiction treatment from the perspectives of clinical supervisors and their counselors. Survey data were obtained from 484 matched clinical supervisor-counselor dyads who participated in the Managing Effective Relationships in Treatment Services (MERITS I) project (a NIDA-funded National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) platform study). Four main conclusions can be drawn from the results of this study. First, supervisors have wide-ranging experience and training in supervision. Second, supervisors are generally viewed as effective in their job performance by counselors. Third, supervisors report significantly more time interacting with their counselors than counselors report spending with their supervisors. Fourth, a wide variety of methods are used to interact with and deliver feedback to counselors, although supervisors report greater use of these diverse methods than do their counselors.

Conclusions: While clinical supervision in addiction treatment programs seems to be effective, there is still room for improvement. Supervisors should devote more energy to their interactions with counselors, particularly because these interactions help foster professional growth and competence.