Web-Conference Supervision for Advanced Psychotherapy Training: A Practical Guide Allan Abbass Dalhousie University Stephen Arthey Melbourne Centre for Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy, Melbourne, Australia Jason Elliott Calgary, Alberta, Canada Tim Fedak Dalhousie University Dion Nowoweiski, Jasmina Markovski, and Sarah Nowoweiski Melbourne Centre for Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy, Melbourne, Australia The advent of readily accessible, inexpensive Web-conferencing applications has opened the door for distance psychotherapy supervision, using video recordings of treated clients. Although relatively new, this method of supervision is advantageous given the ease of use and low cost of various Internet applications. This method allows periodic supervision from point to point around the world, with no travel costs and no long gaps between direct training contacts. Web-conferencing permits face-to-face training so that the learner and supervisor can read each other’s emotional responses while reviewing case material. It allows group learning from direct supervision to complement local peer-to-peer learning methods. In this article, we describe the relevant literature on this type of learning method, the practical points in its utilization, its limitations, and its benefits. Keywords: psychotherapy supervision, Web-conference, video-conference, video recording Supervision is essential to developing professional competen- cies and maintaining standards for mental health professionals (Bernard & Goodyear, 2009). However, the distance between supervisors and supervisees can limit access to training (Buist, Coma, Silvas, & Burrows, 2000). Others may struggle to access these resources because of travel costs and disruption to work commitments. Although the earliest form of distance supervision likely in- volved written correspondence between Freud and his colleagues (Gay, 1998), more modern distance supervision approaches relied on the telephone, which limited communication to verbal dialogue and excluded the benefit of visual cues and subtleties (Wetchler, Trepper, McCollum, & Nelson, 1993). E-mail increased the ease of distance communication, yet there was considerable room for error and miscommunication, with only the written word available and no access to subtle communication of speech and body lan- guage (Watson, 2003). More recently, e-learning tools (e.g., discussion forums, text- chat) available within learning management systems (e.g., Black- board) have also been used for distance supervision. There is some evidence to support these real-time methods. In their investigation of the efficacy of a 12-week, online text-chat, peer supervision group for school counselor trainees, Butler and Constantine (2006) found that the trainees who participated in the web-based group reported significantly higher collective self-esteem (i.e., positive feelings in identifying as a school counselor) and case conceptu- alization skills compared with their counterparts who did not participate in web-based supervision. Conn, Roberts, and Powell (2009) examined the relationship between type of supervision (i.e., a hybrid model of face-to-face supervision [F2FS] and online text-chat, compared with F2FS only) and attitudes toward technol- ogy, future use of technology in professional practice, and the quality of supervision among a sample of school counseling in- terns. They found that the use of the hybrid model of supervision was positively related to attitudes toward use of technology in counselor education and in future professional practice. They further found that perceptions of supervisory rapport and of client focus did not differ between the hybrid group and the F2FS group. Additionally, satisfaction with the supervisory experience did not differ for students in the hybrid model of supervision and the F2FS group. Finally, they found that use of the hybrid model of super- Allan Abbass, Centre for Emotions and Health, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Stephen Arthey, Dion Nowoweiski, Jasmina Markovski, and Sarah Nowoweiski, Melbourne Centre for Intensive Short- Term Dynamic Psychotherapy, Melbourne, Australia; Jason Elliott, Indepen- dent Practice, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; and Tim Fedak, Division of Medical Education, Dalhousie Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Allan Abbass, MD, FRCPC, Professor & Director of Psychiatric Education, Director, Centre for Emotions and Health, Dalhousie University, Rm 8203-5909 Veterans Memorial Lane, Halifax NS, Canada B3H 2E2. E-mail: allan.abbass@dal.ca Psychotherapy © 2011 American Psychological Association 2011, Vol. 48, No. 2, 109 –118 0033-3204/11/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0022427 109