Clinical supervision is central to evidence-based practice (EBP) and continuing professional development (CPD), but the evidence base has made little impact on supervision, a major form of CPD. We unite the two by developing four evidence-based guidelines for cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) supervision. The guidelines were designed to address the supervision cycle (i.e. collaborative goal-setting; methods of facilitating learning; evaluation and feedback) within the context of the supervision alliance. Guideline development followed the National Institute for Clinical Excellence approach, including a representative stakeholder working group (with local service users and supervisees), a national group of supervisors and supervisor trainers, plus an expert reference group. A total of 106 such participants completed an ad-hoc guideline evaluation tool, designed to provide a multi-dimensional reaction evaluation of the guidelines. The guidelines were all rated favourably, satisfying the key initial criteria of accuracy and acceptability, and were judged to represent a CBT approach to supervision. It is concluded that the use of the guidelines might help CBT supervisors to better meet demands for CPD (including specialization in supervision) and EBP.

Psychosocial Interventions (PSIs) and PSI supervision underpin the delivery of early interventions for people experiencing psychosis. Early Intervention (EI) teams are relatively new in the NHS and there is currently a lack of empirical research into PSI supervision in this area. This study aimed to elicit staff views of PSI supervision and to identify any unmet supervision needs within a newly developed EI team in the UK. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 multidisciplinary team members. Descriptive statistics and a thematic analysis were used to analyse the responses. The different types of supervision available to team members, gaps in the provision of PSI supervision and aspects that supervisees found helpful and unhelpful about PSI supervision are discussed as are ideas for improving the provision of PSI supervision in EI teams. The limitations of the study and ideas for further research are also outlined.

NICE Clinical Guideline no. 78 recently identified Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) as an appropriate treatment approach for the effective treatment of suicidal behaviours in the context of borderline personality disorder. Uniquely among the cognitive behavioural therapies DBT is a team-based treatment. This paper focuses on the task of selecting and training a team before considering issues in the training and supervision of therapists learning this approach.