Supervision from Afar: trainees’ perspectives on telesupervision

Telesupervision, or supervision at a distance, has become more widely used due to its many practical and economic benefits, with research suggesting it is as satisfactory as traditional, in-person supervision processes. Particularly as a result of the global pandemic COVID-19 limiting in-person contact, use of telesupervision has even become mandatory for some training sites. In the current article, two doctoral-level clinical psychology student trainees provided their perspectives on participating in telesupervision during practicum training at a telepsychology clinic prior to COVID-19 and briefly highlighted how it has applied to their work in the current environment. Their experiences are discussed in conjunction with relevant supervision literature, as well as the impact on the trainees’ development. The trainees’ perspectives support the notion that telepsychology can be a positive component of training, irrespective of public health concerns, and specific positive factors of using telesupervision are discussed.