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Evaluation Guidelines

Approved Supervisors should regularly and routinely evaluate the progress of their supervisees, and share those evaluations with the supervisee. The following are some issues that Approved Supervisors should consider in the evaluations.


At the initiation of a supervisory relationship:

. Education-what is the MFT training previously received by the supervisee? Is he/she still in training? In what regular activities (readings, conferences, etc.) does the supervisee engage to stay current on developments in the field of family therapy?

. Practice setting-where does the supervisee see clients? What are the characteristics of the client population the supervisee serves?

. Previous supervision-what does the supervisee expect from supervision, what supervision techniques have they found to be particularly helpful?

. Theoretical orientation-does the supervisee practice primarily from a particular theory, and does she/he desire to develop knowledge and skills in a particular theory?


Throughout the supervisory relationship:

. Are the goals defined in the supervision contract being met?

. Is the supervisee presenting sufficient case information to the Approved Supervisor, and in an acceptable format?

. Are both the Approved Supervisor and the supervisee pleased with the process of supervision?

. What, if any, supervision records or logs need to be documented (ex: if reports are to be made to licensing boards or organizations) and are those records being kept?

. Have ethical or legal concerns emerged in supervision?

. Is the supervisee sufficiently aware of contextual issues (race, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economics, etc.) that emerge in the therapy and/or supervisory relationships?

. Have personal issues emerged for which the supervisee should be referred for therapy?

. Does the supervisee know and incorporate research findings into her/his practice?

. Has the Approved Supervisor identified issues around which the supervisee should receive additional training? If so, how will these be addressed?

. Review emergency procedures, abuse reporting procedures, and emergency contact  information.  Are any changes to the supervision contract needed?


For Approved Supervisors who are mentoring supervision candidates, a mid-contract evaluation should also include:

. Whether the candidate has completed the 30-hour supervision fundamentals course requirement. If not, when will it be taken?

. If the candidate has completed the course, has he/she presented the Philosophy of Supervision paper to the Approved Supervisor mentor?

. How many hours of supervision has the supervisor candidate provided? Is this at the rate initially anticipated in the training plan? If not, are there other sources of potential supervisees that should be explored?

. Has the supervisor candidate supervised at least two MFTs/trainees for at least nine months each? If not, how will this be accomplished?

. How many hours of supervision mentoring has the supervisor candidate received? Is this at the rate initially anticipated? Is the supervision mentoring occurring at a rate of roughly one hour for every five hours of supervision provided?

. Review the nine learning objectives and consider if the experiences in the training program is addressing all the objectives. If not, what steps could be taken to ensure that all learning objectives are attended to? This may include suggested readings, supplemental workshops, or discussions with the Approved Supervisor mentors.

. If progress is not being made as originally anticipated in the training plan, what changes should be made to the plan?


At the end of a term specified in the supervision contract:

. Have the original goals for supervision been met?

. How has the supervisee's skill and knowledge changed during the supervision?

. Ensure that the supervision that was provided is well documented, in case the supervisee needs to provide verification of the supervision at a future date.

. If the supervisee is ready to apply for licensure, AAMFT membership, the Approved Supervisor designation, etc., assist them in completing the supervision reports and other relevant application forms.

. Will the supervision contract be extended and, if so, how will it change?

. Would the supervisee benefit from working with a different supervisor? If so, how will that supervisor be identified?

. If the supervisory relationship is terminating, discuss how the supervisee will receive clinical supervision as needed in the future.