LSP Supervision & Professional Development 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A psychologist in independent practice has not received any formal continuing education in five years but believes their skills remain current. According to APA Ethics Code 2.03, this psychologist is:
- Fully compliant since no client complaints have been filed
- Potentially violating the obligation to maintain competence through ongoing professional development (Correct answer)
- Exempt since state licensure renewal was completed
- Compliant if they primarily see long-term clients whose needs are familiar
Correct answer: Potentially violating the obligation to maintain competence through ongoing professional development
APA Ethics Code 2.03 requires psychologists to undertake ongoing efforts to maintain competence in areas of practice, making stagnation in professional development an ethical concern.
Question 2: The concept of 'informed consent' in the supervisory relationship includes informing supervisees about all of the following EXCEPT:
- Evaluation criteria and procedures
- The supervisor's theoretical orientation
- The names and diagnoses of the supervisor's own personal clients (Correct answer)
- Limits of confidentiality in supervision
Correct answer: The names and diagnoses of the supervisor's own personal clients
Supervisory informed consent covers evaluation processes, orientation, and confidentiality limits — it does not include disclosure of the supervisor's private caseload information.
Question 3: A psychologist supervisor is also the direct clinical supervisor of a close personal friend who enrolled in a training program. This represents:
- A beneficial arrangement since trust is already established
- A dual relationship that compromises objectivity and requires recusal or restructuring (Correct answer)
- An acceptable practice if both parties sign a waiver
- A minor ethical concern that can be managed through self-monitoring alone
Correct answer: A dual relationship that compromises objectivity and requires recusal or restructuring
Dual relationships in supervision compromise the supervisor's ability to evaluate objectively and may harm both the supervisee and clients, requiring recusal or formal restructuring.
Question 4: Which of the following is an example of a 'remediation plan' in supervision?
- A schedule for the supervisee to complete licensure hours
- A structured, time-limited intervention designed to address a specific supervisee competency deficit with clear benchmarks (Correct answer)
- A peer review of the supervisor's own clinical performance
- A plan to reassign all of the supervisee's clients to senior staff
Correct answer: A structured, time-limited intervention designed to address a specific supervisee competency deficit with clear benchmarks
A remediation plan is a formal, documented plan with specific goals, strategies, and benchmarks for addressing identified competency deficits in a supervisee.
Question 5: Telehealth supervision (supervising remotely via video) requires supervisors to be ESPECIALLY attentive to:
- Whether the supervisee is using a standing desk
- Technology security, cross-jurisdictional licensing requirements, and maintaining the quality of the supervisory alliance (Correct answer)
- The supervisee's home decor visible on camera
- Replacing all in-person contact with asynchronous email exchanges
Correct answer: Technology security, cross-jurisdictional licensing requirements, and maintaining the quality of the supervisory alliance
Remote supervision introduces unique concerns around data security, potential multi-state licensing issues, and maintaining a strong supervisory relationship without in-person contact.
Question 6: A supervisee disagrees with the supervisor's clinical recommendation for a shared case and expresses this during supervision. The supervisor should IDEALLY respond by:
- Requiring the supervisee to follow the recommendation without further discussion
- Welcoming the disagreement as a learning opportunity and exploring the supervisee's clinical reasoning (Correct answer)
- Documenting the disagreement as insubordination in the supervisee's file
- Deferring entirely to the supervisee's judgment to foster autonomy
Correct answer: Welcoming the disagreement as a learning opportunity and exploring the supervisee's clinical reasoning
Encouraging and exploring supervisee disagreement promotes critical thinking, models intellectual humility, and develops autonomous clinical reasoning — core goals of effective supervision.
Question 7: Which of the following BEST characterizes the supervisor's role regarding a supervisee's personal therapy needs identified during supervision?
- The supervisor should provide personal therapy to the supervisee within the supervision sessions
- The supervisor may recommend personal therapy and refer the supervisee externally but should not provide it themselves (Correct answer)
- Personal therapy is irrelevant to professional development and should not be discussed
- The supervisor is required by APA ethics to mandate personal therapy for all supervisees
Correct answer: The supervisor may recommend personal therapy and refer the supervisee externally but should not provide it themselves
Supervisors may identify and recommend personal therapy when appropriate, but providing it themselves constitutes a dual relationship and boundary violation; referral to an outside therapist is the ethical path.
LSP Supervision & Professional Development 5
A psychologist in independent practice has not received any formal continuing education in five years but believes their skills remain current.
According to APA Ethics Code 2.03, this psychologist is: