Overview
Psychologists who wish to provide supervision for registrants undertaking the 4+2 and 5+1 internships, the registrar program and higher degree placements, must complete the required training to be a Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA; ‘the Board’) Board-approved supervisor.
The APS is a Board-approved training provider for all forms of supervisor training, including parts 1, 2, and 3 of the Supervisor training program. Although these three components may be undertaken with different Board-approved training providers, they must be completed sequentially.
Psychologists wishing to undertake this training, must meet the eligibility criteria for PsyBA approval. To view the criteria and guidelines, visit the Psychology Board of Australia.
Part 1: Knowledge assessment,
Part 2: Skills training, and
Part 3: Competency-based assessment and evaluation
This is the final component of Supervisor training, and requires:
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an electronic recording of a supervision session, and
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a written reflection piece of your demonstration of supervisor competencies (as relevant) in that session.
IMPORTANT
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As trainee supervisors who have not completed all three parts of the supervisor training are ineligible to supervise, the person fulfilling the role of supervisee may be another psychologist or colleague who agrees to act out the supervisee role.
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Prospective participants are advised to register in this component PRIOR to completing the required audio-visual recordings. Detailed instructions on the requirements for submitting audio-visual recordings are available upon registration.
Assessment tasks
This module (Part 3) consists of two assessment tasks:
Task 1: Supervisory performance will be demonstrated in a role-play supervision session submitted online as an audio-visual recording of a supervision session. The maximum length of the recording must not exceed 45 minutes.
Task 2: Self-awareness of the development of supervisor competencies will be assessed through the submission of a written reflection piece (including a self-evaluation) of your:
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supervisor competencies in the recorded and submitted session in task 1, and
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development of all Board-required competencies throughout your supervisor training.
The written component has a 800 - 1,000 word limit.
Assessment outcomes, and any assessor feedback for these two tasks, will be delivered to participants securely online.
Prerequisites
Participants undertaking this final component of supervisor training, will be required to provide documented evidence of successful completion of Part 2: Skills Training (or equivalent), with a Board-approved Provider within, but not exceeding, a period of 6 months since their completion of Part 2 of Supervisor training.
For participants who have completed the equivalent of Part 2 Supervisor training with another Board-approved Provider, an electronic certificate of completion must be submitted upon enrolment. General registration status and other details will be checked independently against data available on the Register of Practitioners. A selective audit of certificates of completion issued by other Providers will be undertaken.
The APS will notify the Psychology Board of Australia if there is any discrepancy between information regarding eligibility that has been provided by the enrolee and information contained on the Register of Practitioners.
Duration of access
Participants are required to submit the tasks within six (6) months of having completed the Part 2 component.
Participants who do not submit the assessment requirements (audio-visual recordings and written reflection piece) within that time-frame, will be deemed to have failed an will need to re-enrol in Part 2.
Technical information
Participants will require an audio-visual recording device in the form of either a smartphone with a camera, webcam, A/V camera with sound recording capability, or equivalent.
Assessment
Participants must successfully complete the online assessment of the audio-visual recording and written reflection piece in order to obtain a pass and receive a Certificate of Completion.
Participants will be systematically assessed on the demonstration of supervisor competencies.
A pass or fail grade with feedback will be provided. A pass or fail grade with feedback will be provided.
Unsuccessful attempt
If a full pass is not achieved in the first attempt, participants are afforded the opportunity to submit supplementary or replacement tasks.
The maximum number of attempts permitted is three (3). After the third unsuccessful attempt, the participant is required to re-enrol in Parts 1 and 2 of the Program before re-attempting Part 3.
The original submission is counted as Attempt 1.
Decision review Policy
A participant may apply to request a review of an assessment outcome for this component of the Supervisor Training Program. Contact [email protected]
Results reporting
As a condition of its status as a Provider of Supervisor training, the APS is required to provide the Psychology Board of Australia the annual summary data including the number of persons who pass or fail, percentage of persons passing or failing as a function of the number of test attempts taken, and summary enrolee evaluations of the course.
Becoming a Board-approved Supervisor
In addition to completing the three components of Board-approved supervisor training (Part 1: Knowledge assessment, Part 2: Skills training workshop, and Part 3: Competency-based assessment and evaluation), there are also minimum eligibility requirements for supervisors of registrars in an endorsed area of practice of 2 years of holding endorsement in that approved area of practice.
Determinations about who may be a Board-approved Supervisor, rests exclusively with the Psychology Board of Australia.
Psychologists wishing to become Board-approved supervisors, upon completion of full training, should complete and submit the ABAS-76 application form.
CPD Frequently Asked Questions
Refer to the APS CPD Frequently Asked Questions for general information when undertaking APS Supervisor Training.
Activity details
This activity forms part of the supervisor-training-series.