Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Clinical Social Work Journal (2019) 47:53–60 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-018-0686-1 ORIGINAL PAPER Field Supervision Training for a Screening Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) Implementation Project Lori L. Egizio 1  · Douglas C. Smith 1  · Kyle Bennett 1  · Corey Campbell 1  · Liliane Windsor 1 Published online: 10 October 2018 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018 Abstract Although feld education is considered the signature pedagogy in social work, few studies examine preparing feld supervi- sors for clinical supervision. This study describes fndings from a 3-year project during which feld education supervisors were trained to supervise students’ use of screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) and motivational interviewing. The core components of the supervisory training model are described (i.e., didactic training, coaching, in- person visits), and self-reported feld supervisor outcomes are examined using pre-training and post-training assessments. On our 30-day post training assessment, feld supervisors (n = 79) reported increased personal use of motivational interviewing (86.5% vs. 73.9% at baseline) and SBIRT (43.2% vs.17.4% at baseline) in their own practice, as well as increased agency- level use of these models. Field supervisory trainings focused on implementing specifc empirically-supported treatments to promote their dissemination in social work practice. The next generation of feld supervisory training research should link supervisory trainings to both student performance and client-level outcomes. Keywords Screening brief intervention and referral to treatment · Motivational interviewing · Clinical supervision · Empirically supported treatment · Evidence-based practice · Substance use disorders Introduction Because of the limited attention to training and clinical supervision for empirically-supported treatments (ESTs) in social work, this article introduces an extensive model of feld supervisor training on an EST called screening brief intervention and referral for treatment (SBIRT). Prior research by Bledsoe et al. (2007) showed that 62% of all schools of social work did not require any didactic content or clinical supervision of ESTs within their curricula. How- ever, training social work students on ESTs is part of the broader movement toward using evidence-based practice, which Drisko and Grady (2015) defne as, “a process for integrating research evidence into clinical practice in com- bination with the client’s needs, values and preferences, as well as the clinician’s professional expertise” (pg. 274). In short, if social work truly desires students to use research- informed practices, viable models are needed for increasing feld instructors’ knowledge of ESTs and supervision skills related to such models. This overall training model described here is explicitly aimed at increasing the dissemination of ESTs for substance use. With funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA), the School of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign (UI SSW) ofered students both classroom and supervised practice experiences in delivering SBIRT and Motivational Interviewing (MI). A unique feature of this training model is the dual emphasis on training both students entering the feld and their feld placement supervisors. This dyad model can possibly support the dissemination of ESTs by providing in vivo reinforcement of adherence to an EST with actual clients. This model could ensure continuity of students’ training in ESTs from coursework through their feld placements. In this article we will first provide background on how this efort is consistent with social work accredita- tion standards surrounding research-informed practices. Then, we will describe the training model we developed, with particular emphasis on our feld placement supervisor trainings. Finally, we will present data on feld supervisor’s * Lori L. Egizio legizio@illinois.edu 1 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA