An Empirical Method for Spot-Checking Supervision Videotapes

Supervision is a highly-supported tool for guiding counselors through growth and development, and supervisors are encouraged to watch videotapes of their supervisees’ counseling sessions as part of this process. Supervisors might choose to watch a supervisee’s entire videotape, or they might choose to watch specific segments, which is called spot-checking. Through statistical analysis, an empirically-supported method for spot-checking has been identified; supervisors can watch minutes 0–5, 15–20, 30–35, and 40–45 of a counseling video (20 minutes total) to obtain a representative sample of the entire video.