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Supervision Guidelines
Jotform Approval Instructions for Supervisors (February 2024)
The applicant will be an AASECT member in good standing before starting supervision.
In order to start the supervisory process, a supervision contract must be put in writing between the Supervisor and the Supervisee, signed by both individuals prior to beginning supervision.
It is the AASECT Certified Supervisors’ responsibility to collect all contract documents. Supervisors and Supervisees should keep all documents easily accessible throughout the year and update regularly.
Sex Therapist Supervisors
1. Create one single PDF file with all the supervisor’s current documents, Each PDF must be legible, right-side up, and in order. Photos are not acceptable. Each document must be in force at the onset of supervision in order for the supervision agreement to be valid. All documents must remain in force throughout supervision.:
- A copy of your AASECT Sex Therapist Supervisor Certification certificate
- A copy of your current license with expiration date
- A copy of your current professional liability insurance face sheet
2. Instruct the Supervisee to create one single PDF file with their documents:
- A copy of the Supervisee’s curriculum vita (CV)
- A copy of the Supervisee’s current license with expiration date or equivalent document that allows them to practice in their state or province.
- A copy of the Supervisee’s professional liability insurance face sheet. If the supervisee is insured through their place of employment or university and not named on the policy, please include a letter from the organization named on the policy to prove coverage.
- Proof of AASECT membership (welcome letter confirmation or email from AASECT office confirming join date).
Sexuality Counselor Supervisors
1. Create one single PDF file with all the supervisor’s current documents. Each PDF must be legible, right-side up, and in order. Photos are not acceptable. Each document must be in force at the onset of supervision in order for the supervision agreement to be valid. All documents must remain in force throughout supervision.
- A copy of your AASECT Sexuality Counselor or Therapist Supervisor Certification certificate
- A copy of your license with expiration date.
- A copy of your professional liability insurance face sheet.
2. Instruct the Supervisee to create one single PDF file with their documents:
- A copy of the supervisee’s CV
- A copy of the Supervisee’s current license with expiration date or equivalent document that allows them to practice in their state or province.
- A copy of the Supervisee’s professional liability insurance face sheet. If the supervisee is insured through their place of employment or university and not named on the policy, please include a letter from the organization named on the policy to prove coverage.
- Proof of AASECT membership (welcome letter confirmation or email from AASECT office confirming join date).
Sexuality Educator Supervisors
1. Create one single PDF file with all the supervisor’s current documents. Each PDF must be legible, right-side up, and in order. Photos are not acceptable. Each document must be in force at the onset of supervision in order for the supervision agreement to be valid. All documents must remain in force throughout supervision.
- A copy of your AASECT Sexuality Educator Supervisor Certification certificate
2. Instruct the Supervisee to create one single PDF file with their documents:
- A copy of the supervisee’s transcript(s) or diploma.
- A copy of the supervisee's CV.
- Proof of AASECT membership (welcome letter confirmation or email from AASECT office confirming join date).
Supervisors-in-Training (SIT)
Please note - Supervisors-in-Training (SIT) cannot supervise other people working toward becoming supervisors. Additionally, SITs cannot lead group supervision alone.
1. Create one single PDF file with all the SIT's current documents. Each PDF must be legible, right-side up, and in order. Photos are not acceptable. Each document must be in force at the onset of supervision in order for the supervision agreement to be valid. All documents must remain in force throughout supervision.
- A copy of the AASECT Sex Therapist/Sexuality Counselor/Sexuality Educator Certification certificate, including the date first certified.
- A copy of their CV.
- A copy of their license to practice (therapists and counselors) with expiration date.
- A copy of their professional liability insurance face sheet (therapists and counselors).
2. Please instruct the supervisor-in-training’s supervisee to gather the following:
Therapists/Counselors - One single PDF file with the new supervisee’s documents:
- A copy of the supervisee’s CV.
- A copy of the supervisee’s license if they have one (if not, please note why) with expiration date.
- A copy of the supervisee’s professional liability insurance face sheet. If the supervisee is insured through their place of employment or university and not named on the policy, please include a letter from the organization named on the policy to prove coverage.
- Proof of AASECT membership (welcome letter confirmation or email from AASECT office confirming join date).
Educators - One single PDF file with the new supervisee’s documents:
- A copy of the supervisee’s transcript(s) or diploma.
- Proof of AASECT membership (welcome letter confirmation or email from AASECT office confirming join date).
Please note - Electronic signatures will be permitted; however, the signature must appear as an actual signature and not as a typed font. Electronic images such as .jpeg or .pdf of an actual signature will be acceptable.
Dual Certifications
If you already have certification in one category and are submitting a Supervision contract for another, please attach a copy of your existing certificate with the contract materials.
The AASECT Certification Steering Committee convened and discussed several questions regarding supervision. The Committee has agreed on some updates to the current guidelines for supervision (as detailed below). The Committee Chairs’ perspectives are united – we continue to be fully committed to excellence in supervision and training. We want to ensure that prospective applicants are not ‘sliding through’ or ’falling through the cracks’ while under supervision and between supervisors. We continue to also encourage supervisors to use good common sense when assessing a supervisee’s strengths and challenges. We believe that it is the job of the supervisor (individual and group) to attest to the readiness of the supervisee for applying for AASECT Certification.
Individual Supervision
A supervisee is permitted to have more than one AASECT Certified Supervisor during the supervisory period but is asked to designate one of the supervisors as their primary supervisor. The primary supervisor will follow the course of the supervisee’s supervision from beginning to end and is responsible for talking with any other of the supervisee’s supervisors during the course of supervision.
- This designated primary supervisor will not only sign the endorsement form for the supervisee’s certification application, but they must also write a letter of recommendation detailing the competence of the supervisee, as well as stating their thoughts on the readiness of the supervisee with regard to their quest for applying for AASECT Certification.
- The primary supervisor will sign off on the entire application after having reviewed it thoroughly and in its entirety. Please note that on the front page of the certification application, just below where the applicant signature appears, there is now a supervisory sign-off box. The application should not be submitted to AASECT until the primary supervisor has reviewed everything and believes it is ready to be submitted. There is a signature section in the Jotform version of the applications, with instructions.
- An example of an application ‘table of contents’ for applicants is listed on the AASECT website under Supervision Guidelines.
Number of Supervisors
A supervisee may have multiple supervisors, but only one can be designated as their primary supervisor.
- A supervisee may seek several hours of supervision (group or individual), and if that supervision is six (6) hours or shorter, the supervisor providing that supervision only fills out the Certificate of Endorsement - Professional Supervisor and does not need to attach a letter of recommendation (though they need not be dissuaded from submitting a letter if they wish to do so). All supervisors must complete the Certificate of Endorsement - Professional Supervisor regardless of the length of supervision.
- A supervisee must identify their primary supervisor and maintain contact with that individual, as well as update them about any additional supervision. The primary supervisor is required to be in contact with all other supervisors for the supervisee so that when they are reviewing the certification application before it is submitted, they are completely knowledgeable of the supervisee’s path toward AASECT Certification.
Group Supervision
A supervisee may seek group supervision for up to 20 hours of sexuality educator supervision, up to 15 hours of sexuality counselor supervision, or up to 25 hours of sex therapist supervision.
- A supervisor providing group supervision for a supervisee must fill out the Certificate of Endorsement - Professional Supervisor and attach a letter of recommendation including a statement about the applicant’s use of group supervision, as well as their thoughts on the readiness and competence of the supervisee and their ability to practice as an AASECT Certified Sexuality Educator/Counselor/ Therapist.
- Group supervision guidelines, single supervisor - Therapists and Counselors:
- Minimum group size is two (2) individuals. Maximum group size is four (4) individuals. (See Co-supervision Guidelines below.)
- The CeSC recognizes that group supervision is different from individual supervision, allowing growth and skill development in ways that are different from each other.
- Group supervision is a shared experience, and not every person in any given group necessarily speaks for the exact same amount of time.
- Group supervision must provide the equivalent of 30 minutes per individual in the group. Therefore a group with two (2) individuals can be no shorter than one (1) hour. A group with three (3) individuals can be no shorter than 90 minutes. And a group with four (4) individuals can be no shorter than two (2) hours.
- The maximum group supervision length for one (1) supervisor with four (4) supervisees is four (4) hours.
- Group Supervision Guidelines for Educators:
- Educator supervisors may have a maximum of eight (8) supervisees in group supervision.
- Minimum group size is two (2) individuals. Maximum group size is eight (8) individuals.
- The minimum group supervision length for Educator Supervision groups with four to eight (4-8) people is two hours.
- The maximum group supervision length for one (1) Educator Supervisor with four to eight (4-8) people is 3 hours.
AASECT Annual Conference Pre-conference Workshop Group Supervision
Group supervision during the annual conference may be longer than four (4) hours.
- All AASECT pre-conference workshop group supervision hours will be accepted as part of a supervisee’s supervisory experience.
- The supervisee must supply all supporting documentation for a supervision agreement immediately upon registering for the pre-conference workshop(s), so that the supervisor has sufficient time to get the required approval prior to the start of the conference.
- AASECT pre-conference workshop group supervisors must fill out the Certificate of Endorsement - Professional Supervisor.
Cross Discipline Supervision
Applicants seeking certification in any discipline may contract for 5 hours only for supervision from a supervisor of other disciplines (Educator, Counselor, Therapist). For those applicants seeking dual certification, these hours may not be “double-dipped.” Use the Supervision Form for Supervision of Short Duration to attest to the hours.
Co-supervision
Co-supervision is allowed when a supervisor is under contract to supervise a Sex Therapy Supervisor Certification candidate, or if two (2) AASECT Certified Supervisors choose to join forces. The same standard of a maximum of four (4) supervisees per supervisor; groups with two (2) co-supervisors may have a maximum of eight (8) supervisees applies. A larger number of supervisees necessitates longer group sessions using the formula ‘one (1) participant = 30 minutes.’
Special Considerations, Group Supervision
The CeSC recognizes that there may be special circumstances that are not addressed in these guidelines. Any request for special circumstance approval should be submitted to the AASECT Office.
Sex Therapy Supervision
Sex therapy supervision takes place over a minimum of 18 months. The maximum number of supervisory hours in a month is six (6).
The above description for group and individual supervision is effective June 1, 2017. Supervisors will be notified by AASECT via email and the AASECT Supervisors’ Listserv. These rules also go into effect June 1, 2017. Supervision agreements that were signed prior to June 1, 2017 are not affected. In this case the applicant should detail the rule exception in a cover letter accompanying their eventual application for AASECT Certification.
With notification - When a supervisee who is under contract with an AASECT Certified Supervisor for AASECT Certification supervision hours finds it necessary to interrupt supervision, the supervisee must notify (in writing) the supervisor(s). The start date of the interruption and the estimated length of the interruption must be included. When the supervisee resumes supervision, the criteria that were in effect at the time the original supervision contract was approved will still apply. If supervision does not resume within two (2) years, a new supervision contract is required, and the supervisee will have to meet the AASECT Certification criteria in effect at the time of the new contract(s).
Without notification - If a supervisee interrupts supervision without written notification to the AASECT Certified Supervisor(s), and wants to return to supervision within one (1) year, a new contract with an AASECT Certified Supervisor must be started, and the supervisee will be held to the criteria that were in effect at the time of the original contract. If two (2) years have lapsed since the supervisee interrupted supervision, a new contract must be entered into, and the supervisee will have to meet the AASECT Certification criteria in effect at the time of the new contract(s).
Please note that as of June 6, 2012, all individuals providing supervision must be AASECT Certified Supervisors. The only exceptions are for those sex therapists with contracts approved prior to June 6, 2012. These contracts will run until terminated.
1. From the start of the process, supervisors should have supervisees organize their materials into folders that follow the categories outlined on the certification application forms located on the AASECT website.
2. Save and document every class, in-service, workshop, seminar, conference etc. Have supervisees carefully review the requirements outlined in detail online as to what may be counted and for how much.
3. Undergraduate classes may count towards AASECT Certification no matter how long ago. The supervisee must have official copies of all college transcripts.
Coursework listed must be accompanied by the course syllabus. If the applicant no longer has the course syllabus, it is their responsibility to contact the institution where they took the course, and request an updated version of the course syllabus or an equivalent syllabus for a similar course. The applicant should highlight those areas in the syllabus that explain the course's relationship to the Core Knowledge Areas required for AASECT Certification.
4. As a supervisor, you need to hear how the supervisee will work the whole course of a case as they go. Supervisees should have some cases that include medical complications, disease complications and dual diagnosis complications so you can assess their ability to deal with how those issues impact sexuality.
5. The need for extra vigorous ethical standards for sex therapists needs to be explored thoroughly. Talk about boundary issues exhaustively. Explain what can happen if a patient accuses a therapist of inappropriate sexual behavior even where there is no ground for it.
6. Supervisees may work with a total of 4 supervisors. Getting input from more than one supervisor is helpful. It is useful to have one supervisor oversee the entire supervisory process as a whole. See Individual and Group Supervision Guidelines.
7. Supervisors are asked to document what types of cases/diagnoses were seen, type(s) and number of people, as well as over what period of time. Supervisees should keep a log of their cases and so should supervisors.
8. The supervisor must sign off on all supervisee certification applications. After carefully reviewing the application, the supervisor signs off on the first page of the application on the line stating, "I have reviewed and approved this application for AASECT Certification."
9. All applications for AASECT Certification should include a cover letter and table of contents at the beginning of the application*. Click on the following examples of table of contents:
Table of Contents Example 1 (University/College/Institute)
Table of Contents Example 2 (General)
*This is no longer required with the new Jotform application system, but still encouraged for any applicant's using the PDF application.
10. If an application is submitted electronically, the application is contained in no more than two electronic PDF documents.
Helpful Links
Certificate of Endorsement - Professional Supervisor
Certificate of Endorsement - Professional Supervisor for Supervisor-In-Training
Certificate of Endorsement - Professional Colleague
See below for downloadable PDF versions of these forms.