The right of supervisees to receive informed consent creates a responsibility on the part of the supervisor to provide supervisees with a great deal of information. No matter how thoroughly supervisees are prepared, supervision will inevitably hold some surprises for them. However, these surprises should be due to the learning process itself and the complexity of human functioning, not due to carelessness or omissions on the part of the supervisor (Bernard & Goodyear, 2004). Information that supervisors should discuss with supervisees during their initial meeting includes the following:

Clients need to understand how supervision affects their confidentiality. Because supervisors will have access to confidential client information, clients should be informed regarding what information about them will be shared, with whom, and for what purposes. Will the supervisor be reviewing tapes of counseling sessions? Reading clinical case notes? Observing counseling sessions from behind a one-way mirror? If the supervisee is receiving group supervision as well as individual supervision, clients need to know this and also to understand that the supervisee will protect their identities when discussing their cases within the group format.

Sharing client information with a clinical supervisor is ethically acceptable and is not considered a breach of the client’s confidentiality. The umbrella of confidentiality is understood to be extended to other professionals (such as supervisors, consultants, or fellow members of a treatment team) with whom a counselor shares client information when the purpose is to improve services to clients (Remley & Herlihy, 2005).

Privileged communication is the legal counterpart to confidentiality. Supervisees need to know whether their relationships with their clients are considered to be privileged under the law in the state where they practice. Generally, the answer depends on whether the supervisor’s communications with clients are privileged. Privilege is usually extended to assistants and supervisees of professionals who themselves have privileged communication with their clients (Remley & Herlihy, 2005).

From an ethical perspective, it is important for supervisors to remember that they share the same obligations to client confidentiality as does the supervisee. Supervisors must maintain the confidentiality of any materials in their possession that may contain identifying information about clients, and they need to ensure that tapes of sessions are erased after they have served their purpose.

Competence in supervision is an elusive concept that can be difficult to define, particularly because competence is not an either-or characteristic. Competence exists on a continuum with maximum professional effectiveness on one end and gross negligence or incompetence at the other extreme. Generally speaking, however, competence as a supervisor is viewed as a quality that can be intentionally acquired through training, credentials, and experience.

To become a competent supervisor, it is necessary to acquire specific training in supervision. Professional organizations of most mental health professions make this obligation explicit to their members. For example, the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision’s (ACES) Ethical Guidelines for Counseling Supervisors (1993) require that those who undertake a supervisory role receive training in supervision before taking on that role, and the National Association for Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics (1999) requires social workers to have the knowledge and skills needed to supervise properly. Best-practice standards for competent supervision in counseling, as described in the ACES “Standards for Counseling Supervisors” (1990), include the following knowledge and skill components:

Credentials are another possible means to gauge competence as a supervisor. Although a license or certification is required to practice most mental health professions, there is no standardized credentialing process for supervision. Counselor licensure boards in some states (e.g., California, Louisiana, Ohio, Texas) require those who supervise counselor interns not only to be licensed as counselors but also to hold a separate credential as a board-approved supervisor. The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) also offers an approved supervisory credential. The Center for Credentialing and Education (CCE), an affiliate of the NBCC, offers a national supervisory credential, but it is a voluntary credential. As was noted in the introductory chapter, supervisor competence is a vital issue that remains to be addressed on a consistent basis by the mental health professions.

The third criterion for achieving competence is clinical experience. Supervisors are expected to be well experienced in the areas of client services in which they are supervising. It would be impossible for any supervisor to have the breadth and depth of experience that would be needed to be competent to supervise in every specialty area, in every practice setting, and with every type of clientele who might present for services. Therefore, those who intend to provide supervision should be very clear about the kinds of cases they would not supervise (e.g., genetic counseling, child sexual abuse, or gerontological counseling if the supervisor lacks experience with these issues) and the kinds of settings that are outside their range of experience (e.g., inpatient treatment facilities for the chronically mentally ill if the supervisor’s experience is limited to the school setting).