MFT supervision in the era of telehealth: Attachment, tasks, and ethical considerations

Abstract

Virtual platforms have been growing in use for marriage and family therapy (MFT). However, the unprecedented circumstances of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic required MFT supervisors and supervisees to shift to telehealth. It is necessary to explore the experience with MFT telehealth supervision to support the application of the existing supervision literature. A sample of American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) Approved Supervisors and MFT supervisees (N = 48) completed a survey evaluating the transition to telehealth supervision. A mixed methods design was used to explore common themes and the association with adult attachment and supervision tasks. Results indicated there are benefits and limitations identified by supervisors and supervisees. Attachment style and supervision tasks were associated with telehealth preference, connection and engagement during supervision. Recommendations for conducting telehealth supervision and future research are discussed.

Training the psychologist of the future in the use of digital mental health technologies.

“…The current guidelines for online practice and telehealth delivery are relatively new, and there are almost no guidelines for supervision of treatments that are not delivered in person (Hausman et al, 2021). In addition to the need to train therapists in delivering technology-mediated interventions, supervision itself is now very often delivered via technology platforms, and telesupervision has been found to be beneficial in its ease of access and ability to share electronic resources but also difficult in that some supervisors and trainees report a decrease in their engagement with the supervision process (Mosely et al, 2023). In our practice, we have found that we are often training supervisors in the use of specific apps and digital technologies along with the student clinicians.…”

Supervisión en psicología clínica: Una revisión sobre estudios empíricos 2012-2021

“…Por su parte Nadan et al (2020) muestran los ajustes en supervisión de Terapia Familiar y de Pareja al pasar a ser online, con la pandemia. En contraste, Mosley et al (2021) identificaron que la supervisión remota en el contexto de entrenamiento en terapia familiar y de pareja puede tener utilidad pero también limitaciones. Antes de la pandemia, ya se habían empezado a realizar estudios sobre el efecto de la supervisión remota.…”

Innovation of Alternative Supervision Practices for Completion of Action Research Project in Covid-19 Pandemic Situation – A Study Based on the Bachelor of Education (Hon.) in Special Needs Education (Bedsne) Offered by the Open University of Sri Lanka (O

“…The virtual platforms have been growing in use of education sectors, especially during the pandemic period ZOOM platform, e-mail communication, social medias, phone calls were getting popular in education (Mosley, Parker, & Call, 2022). Thus, the supervisor was able to use these platforms for conducting sessions.…”