PSY 540 Module 2 Supervision Models Example

Course	PSY 540 Clinical Supervision
Module	Module 2
Paper type	Model comparison paper
Length	About 1,068 words, 6 pages
Format	APA 7 student paper
School	Aspen University
Program	Psychology and Addiction Studies
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for PSY 540 Module 2

One Supervisor, Three Supervisees, Two Models: Choosing a Map for Clinical Supervision

Student Name

Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University

PSY 540: Clinical Supervision

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

What this page is doingThe title sets out the paper's case and its comparison in a single line. APA 7 student title page.

One Supervisor, Three Supervisees, Two Models: Choosing a Map for Clinical Supervision

Marisol now has three supervisees at Sandia Valley, the fictional community agency in Albuquerque, at different points in their careers: Omar, a master's student starting practicum; Tess, an associate counselor in her first year after graduating; and Kayla, an associate a few months from full licensure. She wants a way to think about supervision that fits all three. This paper compares the main models and applies two of them.

Why Models Matter

Without a model, supervisors tend to supervise as they were supervised, or to do therapy with their supervisees, or to give advice case by case. A model offers a map: what to attend to, what role to take and how to adjust over time. Bernard and Goodyear (2019) group supervision models into three families. Models grounded in psychotherapy theories, such as cognitive behavioral or psychodynamic supervision, use the concepts and methods of a therapy approach in supervision. Developmental models describe how supervisees change over time and how supervision should change with them. Process models describe what the supervisor does within supervision, regardless of the therapy approach involved.

The Discrimination Model

Bernard (1979) proposed a model for training supervisors that remains among the most widely used process models. The supervisor can take one of three roles. As teacher, the supervisor instructs, demonstrates and gives direct feedback. As counselor, the supervisor helps the supervisee explore their own reactions, such as anxiety or strong feelings toward a client, without becoming the supervisee's therapist. As consultant, the supervisor acts as a colleague, offering ideas and trusting the supervisee to decide. The supervisor also chooses among three foci: the supervisee's interventions, what they actually do in session; their conceptualization, how they understand the client; and personalization, how their own personality and reactions affect the work. Crossing three roles with three foci gives nine possible responses, and the model's name refers to the supervisor's task of discriminating which one a moment calls for. Bernard stressed that supervisors tend to fall back on a favorite role and need to choose deliberately.

The Developmental Model

Stoltenberg (1981) proposed that counselors develop through levels, each calling for a different supervision environment. At the first level, counselors are dependent on the supervisor, anxious, focused on themselves and eager for structure and instruction. At the next, they move between dependence and autonomy, sometimes overconfident and sometimes overwhelmed, and need a supervisor who supports their growing independence while challenging them. At a more advanced level, counselors show conditional dependency and increasing insight, and supervision becomes more collegial. At the most advanced level, the counselor works with integrated autonomy. Stoltenberg's central point is that supervision should match the supervisee's level, providing structure early and stepping back later.

Comparing the Model Families

Family	Core idea	Strength	Limit
Psychotherapy-based	Supervise through the lens of a therapy approach	Consistent with the supervisee's therapy work	Less useful when supervisor and supervisee use different approaches
Developmental	Supervisees change over time; supervision should change with them	Explains why one approach does not fit all supervisees	Levels are less tidy in practice than in theory
Process: discrimination model	The supervisor chooses a role and a focus moment by moment	Practical; works across therapy approaches	Says little about why a supervisee needs a particular response
Combined	Use developmental level to guide choice of role and focus	Joins the why with the how	Requires judgment rather than rules

What this page is doingThe developmental model tells Marisol what each supervisee needs; the discrimination model tells her how to give it.

Psychotherapy-Based Models in Brief

Marisol practices mainly from a cognitive behavioral approach, and supervising through that lens has appeal: she could set agendas for supervision as she does for therapy sessions, assign practice between meetings and examine supervisees' automatic thoughts about difficult clients. The limit is that Tess works mostly from a person-centered approach, and supervising her entirely in cognitive behavioral terms would risk pushing her toward Marisol's way of working rather than helping her do her own well.

Applying the Models: Omar

Omar is at an early level: anxious, eager for answers and focused on his own performance. In his first weeks, Marisol will mostly take the teacher role, focusing on interventions, for example demonstrating how to ask about suicidal thoughts directly and then having Omar practice. She will introduce conceptualization gradually as his anxiety eases.

Applying the Models: Tess

Tess is moving between dependence and autonomy. She has been confident with most clients but became flustered with a client who reminded her of her father and shut down a conversation about him. Here Marisol takes the counselor role with a focus on personalization, helping Tess notice and reflect on her reaction and its effect on the session, while being careful not to turn supervision into therapy for Tess.

Applying the Models: Kayla

Kayla works with considerable independence. Marisol will mostly take the consultant role, focusing on conceptualization: Kayla presents a complex case, and Marisol offers alternative ways of understanding it while leaving decisions to her. Because Kayla will soon practice independently and may someday supervise, Marisol will also invite her to reflect on how she would supervise others.

What the Models Leave Out

Neither model says much about the relationship between supervisor and supervisee, which later research suggests may matter as much as any technique. Neither addresses culture directly, though a supervisee's level and needs may look different when supervisor and supervisee come from different backgrounds. And both were developed largely with counselors in training at universities, so their fit with experienced associates in busy community agencies is less tested. These gaps do not make the models less useful, but they mean Marisol will need other ideas, taken up in later modules, to complete her approach.

Combining Models

Using the two models together, Marisol judges each supervisee's level and needs and chooses a role and focus to match. The combination guards against both errors the models warn of: the developmental model protects against treating every supervisee the same, and the discrimination model protects against falling back on a single favorite role.

Conclusion

Supervision models fall into three families, and two of the most useful, the discrimination model and the developmental model, answer different questions. Bernard's model gives the supervisor a set of roles and foci to choose among, and Stoltenberg's model explains how supervisees' needs change. Applied to three supervisees at different stages, the models together guide Marisol toward teaching Omar, counseling Tess about a specific reaction and consulting with Kayla. Models are maps, not scripts.

References

Bernard, J. M. (1979). Supervisor training: A discrimination model. Counselor Education and Supervision, 19(1), 60-68. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6978.1979.tb00906.x

Bernard, J. M., & Goodyear, R. K. (2019). Fundamentals of clinical supervision (6th ed.). Pearson.

Stoltenberg, C. (1981). Approaching supervision from a developmental perspective: The counselor complexity model. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 28(1), 59-65. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.28.1.59

What the PSY 540 Module 2 instructions ask for

The second module of PSY 540 typically asks for a paper comparing supervision models and applying them to practice. Follow the Module 2 instructions in your Aspen course; the supervisees here are invented. Describe the main families of models. Explain at least two models in detail, using original sources where possible. Compare their assumptions, strengths and limits. Apply the models to realistic supervisees, showing how each would guide what the supervisor does. Explain whether and how models can be combined. Reference each source in APA 7 style, and treat no single model as the whole answer. Concrete examples of what a supervisor would say or do in each role make the comparison far more convincing than descriptions alone.

Inside the PSY 540 Module 2 example

Marisol supervises Omar, a practicum student; Tess, a new associate; and Kayla, nearing licensure, at the composite center in Albuquerque. Bernard and Goodyear's text supplies the three families of models. Bernard's Counselor Education and Supervision article sets out the discrimination model, with roles of teacher, counselor and consultant and foci on intervention, conceptualization and personalization. Stoltenberg's Journal of Counseling Psychology article describes developmental levels from dependence to autonomy. A four-row table compares the model families. The cases show Marisol teaching Omar, counseling Tess about her reaction to a client and consulting with Kayla. A closing section explains how the developmental model guides the choice of role and focus in the discrimination model.

PSY 540 Module 2 rubric: what earns full marks

Model comparison papers earn credit for accurate descriptions from sources, fair comparison and application that shows how models change what a supervisor does. This example uses original articles for both models. It explains the discrimination model's roles and foci with examples. It presents the developmental model's levels without overstating their precision. The comparison table sets out assumptions and limits. The cases apply both models to each supervisee, showing that the developmental model suggests which role from the discrimination model to use. The paper concludes that models are maps, not scripts. It also guards against turning the counselor role into therapy for the supervisee, a boundary the discrimination model asks supervisors to keep.

PSY 540 Module 2 help from the desk

Model comparison papers often describe models without showing how they would change a supervision session. For each model, explain what the supervisor would actually do differently. Use original sources where you can. Compare models on their assumptions and limits, not only their features. Apply them to supervisees at different stages. Show how models can work together, as many supervisors combine a developmental view with a process model. Be careful with developmental stages; supervisees do not move through them neatly, and the same person may be advanced in one skill and a beginner in another. When you apply a model, name the specific moment in supervision where it would shape your response, such as the first time a supervisee brings a risk assessment.

Write yours, or have the desk draft it

This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.

More PSY 540 and Psychology and Addiction Studies sample papers

PSY 540 Module 2 questions, answered

What does PSY 540 Module 2 usually ask for?

Aspen's PSY 540 covers models of supervision in this module, so comparing models and applying them to supervisees is typical. Check your Module 2 prompt.

What is the discrimination model of supervision?

Bernard's model, in which the supervisor moves among three roles, teacher, counselor and consultant, while focusing on the supervisee's interventions, conceptualization or personalization.

What is the developmental model of supervision?

Stoltenberg's model describes counselors moving from dependence and anxiety toward autonomy and integration, with supervision adjusted to each level.

Where can I find a free PSY 540 Module 2 sample paper?

Find the full paper above: three families of supervision models, the discrimination and developmental models compared and applied to three supervisees.

Can supervision models be combined?

Yes. Many supervisors use a developmental model to judge what a supervisee needs and a process model, such as the discrimination model, to decide how to respond.

PSY 540 Module 2 Models of Supervision Example