Psychotherapy Supervision in the New Millennium: Competency-Based, Evidence-Based, Particularized, and Energized

Psychotherapy supervision has increasingly become or is on the fast track to becoming competency-based, evidence-based, particularized,
and accountable. In this paper, I explore how that appears to be so by: (1) briefly considering the concepts of “competencies”
and “evidence-based practice” as preeminent guides for psychotherapy supervision practice and training; and (2) briefly reviewing
the current status, pressing needs, and future possibilities of psychoanalytic, cognitive-behavioral, humanistic-existential,
and integrative psychotherapy supervision. Based on my examination, the following conclusions are proposed: (1) the supervision relationship, individualization, developmental differentiation, and self–reflection (for supervisee and supervisor) appear to be crucial cornerstones for the conceptualization and actuation of supervision process and practice
across psychotherapy-based supervision approaches; (2) all indications suggest that three emphases—competency–based supervision, evidence–based practice, and accountability—will continue to substantially influence, affect, and inform psychotherapy supervision practice for its near and distant
future; (3) psychotherapy-based supervision approaches will need to be and indeed appear to now be in the process of becoming
increasingly particularized in how each of their respective approach-specific competencies are defined and explicated; and
(4) psychotherapy supervision has come to be increasingly viewed as an educational process and practice that is best facilitated
by: (a) a rich and enriching supervision training environment that vigorously addresses and attempts to meaningfully integrate
declarative, procedural, and reflective knowledge bases throughout the supervisory endeavor; and (b) the considered and deliberate
utilization of facilitative technology that has the potential to substantially enhance and expand the value of the supervisee’s
training/supervision experiences. Some discussion is provided about those four conclusions, and a retrofitted psychotherapy
supervision for the new millennium is considered.