Triadic supervision in CACREP accredited counselor education programs: Current practices and rationale

In 2001 the Counsel for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) approved the use of triadic supervision as an adjunct or alternative to individual supervision in the clinical training of counselors-in-training. In so doing they sanctioned triadic supervision as equal to individual supervision without the benefit of empirical studies. The counselor education community has slowly responded to this deficit of empirical studies with three dissertations and four peer reviewed journal articles that document empirical research on the efficacy of triadic supervision or offer conceptual models for the delivery of triadic supervision. Unfortunately, eight years later, little is currently known about the extent of the usage of triadic supervision in CACREP accredited counselor education programs or the models of delivery that are used by clinical faculty. The purpose of this study was to survey the clinical faculty of all 229 universities with CACREP accredited counselor education programs and ascertain their usage of triadic supervision. Clinical faculty from 59% of the universities with CACREP accredited counselor education programs responded to the survey. Almost two-thirds of the respondents indicated that they use triadic supervision with their practicum/internship students.