This tool is designed to measure therapist competency and can highlight a therapist’s specific strengths and weaknesses in a therapy session. The manual provides detailed instructions to raters.
Presentations and handouts from workshops.
Who are the Beck Institute supervisors? Beck Institute supervisors are highly skilled cognitive therapists who have trained with Dr. Aaron Beck and/or Dr. Judith Beck. You will be matched with a Beck Institute supervisor based on your treatment specialty.
How long are supervision terms? Supervision terms consist of 10 sessions over the course of 3 months. Those of you who are signed up for Group Supervision will have one term of 10 60-minute sessions. Those of you who are signed up for Individual Supervision will have two consecutive terms of ten 45-minute sessions (for a total of 20 sessions over six months.) Sessions are held weekly, although we have factored in a couple extra weeks to better accommodate for illness, vacation, holiday, etc.
What are the dates of my supervision term? The first supervision term for all participants is scheduled to begin July 1st and end on September 30th. Those in Individual Supervision will begin another supervision term, immediately following the first supervision term This second term will run from October 1st to December 31st, and will be a continuation of regular supervision, unless you qualify for supervision of supervision.
How will I submit my recordings to my supervisor? Recordings will be submitted through a private, password-protected file-sharing service that Beck Institute is providing to all supervisees. Instructions on how to use this service are included above (see “File Encryption and Delivery Portal Instructions” under “Resource Documents.”)
How often do I submit a session recording? A single session recording should be submitted at least three days in advance of your supervision call (approximately weekly.) Those of you in Individual Supervision will end up submitting 10 session recordings. Those of you in Group Supervision will rotate who is responsible for submitting the next week’s recording; for example, in a group of four clinicians, each clinician should expect to submit 2-3 session recordings across 10 sessions
How are supervision calls with my supervisor conducted? Supervision calls may be conducted via telephone or video conferencing. If using video conferencing, you are not permitted to enable the “Record” feature as recording supervision calls are strictly prohibited. More details on specific programs will be provided to program participants.
What device do you recommend for recording sessions for supervision? You will need to use a digital voice recorder that converts to audio files.
What can I say to get clients to consent to the recordings? We’ve found that saying something like the following helps:
“I have an unusual opportunity for you. You should feel free to say yes or no. I’m about to begin a special supervision program and if you do say yes, I think you’ll really benefit. Here’s what I’d do. I’d record our next few therapy sessions but I would never say or write down your full name. I’ll send the recordings to a special supervisor who will listen to it, then delete it, and then give me feedback. I always think two heads are better than one. You’d get the benefit of the expert supervision that I’ll be getting. [pause] What do you think? Do you want to be the client I choose? Or would you like to think about it?”
If you are in group supervision, just change the script to say:
“I’ll send the recordings to a special supervisor and to a couple of my colleagues. They’ll listen…”
How many clients should I record? Beck Institute recommends that you record two consenting clients per week (or, in advance of your scheduled week, for those of you in Group Supervision.) Recording more than one client at a time is helpful in the event that the primary client you’re using for supervision misses a session.
Do I have to use the same client throughout my supervision term? We recommend using the same client for at least the first few supervision sessions. You can then move onto another client if that would be more helpful. You are not required to use the same client throughout your supervision term, nor switch to another client.
How will my progress in supervision be tracked? Both you and your supervisor will rate every patient recording you submit using the Cognitive Therapy Rating Scale (CTRS.) You will need to read the CTRS Manual first. A Passing Score on the CTRS is 40. A copy of the CTRS and CTRS Manual are provided as downloadable documents on www.beckinstitute.org/Akron-Resources.
What are the requirements for successful completion of the Supervision Program (Individual)? In order to successfully complete the supervision program, you must attend all 10 supervision sessions, submit at least 7 session recordings to your supervisor, and obtain at least 3 CTRS scores of 40 or above as rated by your supervisor.
What kind of credential will I receive upon successful completion of your supervision program (Individual) or if I am enrolled in Group Supervision? When you successfully complete the supervision program, you will receive a Certificate of Completion in the Beck Supervision Program.
What happens if I do not meet the requirements for successful completion of your supervision program? You will receive a Letter of Participation documenting your participation in the supervision program.
Who does Supervision of Supervision apply to? To be eligible to participate in supervision of supervision, you must first successfully complete your first standard term of supervision (Individual) and receive 3 scores of 50 or higher on the CTRS. Please note that the standard to progress to supervision of supervision is a higher standard than is required to receive a Certificate of Completion. You must also receive a recommendation from your supervisor to begin supervision of supervision.
What is Supervision of Supervision? Supervision of supervision is structured the same way as regular supervision (10 sessions over the course of 3 months). However, instead of recordings of therapy sessions, you will send your supervisor recordings in which you are supervising your own trainees. You will then receive feedback from your Beck supervisor on how to become a more effective CBT supervisor.
What resources will Beck Institute provide me with for my CBT supervision? Beck Institute will provide you with a copy of the Cognitive Therapy Rating Scale (CTRS) and CTRS Manual, a Cognitive Therapy Worksheet Packet, access to a secure file sending service to send your recordings, and a sample consent form to use with your clients. You will also be provided with copies of Beck scales (BDI, BAI, and BHS and, if applicable, the Beck Youth Scales). Please note, the BDI, BAI, BHS, and all Youth Scales are owned by Pearson Assessments and are provided as a special courtesy as part of your participation in the Beck Supervision Program. They are only to be used with clients with whom you are working within the scope of the Beck Supervision Program. Otherwise you will be in violation of copyright laws.
