Transporting Efficacious Treatments to Field Settings: The Link Between Supervisory Practices and Therapist Fidelity in MST Programs

Abstract

Validated a measure of clinical supervision practices, further validated a measure of therapist adherence, and examined the association between supervisory practices and therapist adherence to an evidence-based treatment model (i.e., multisystemic therapy [MST]) in real-world clinical settings. Evidence of linkages between supervisor adherence to the MST supervisory protocol, as assessed through therapist reports, and therapist adherence to MST principles, as assessed through caregiver reports, was obtained from 285 families of youths presenting serious clinical problems, and 74 therapists and 12 supervisors of 16 teams in 9 organizations providing MST across 3 states. The findings provide a valuable step in examining the determinants of therapist fidelity to complex treatments in real-world clinical settings.