Clinical Supervision Guides›Free Supervision Toolkit›Case Presentation Template
Last updated: November 4, 2026
A case presentation template gives a supervisee a fixed order for presenting a client in supervision, so the discussion starts from a clear question and ends with something to practice. The format below has twelve parts and a short list of questions supervisees can bring, and it works in individual, triadic and group supervision. Plan on ten to fifteen minutes, remove identifying details, and bring a three-to-five-minute recording segment if the client has given written consent.
The format is part of the Sentio MFT program's free clinical supervision toolkit.
This is an optional aid from the Sentio MFT program's clinical supervision toolkit. This is not a BBS form.
- Your question for supervision: what you want from this discussion, in one or two sentences.
- Client snapshot: age range, identities the client has shared that matter to the work, presenting concern, referral source and number of sessions so far.
- Relevant history and current context.
- Assessment, provisional diagnosis and current risk, with any safety plan.
- Case conceptualization: the model you are using and your working hypothesis.
- Treatment goals and plan.
- Progress so far, including any outcome measures.
- Recording segment: the time stamp, why you chose it and what you want feedback on.
- Cultural and contextual factors.
- Your reactions to the client.
- Legal or ethical questions.
- What you plan to try next.
Questions to bring to supervision
- What am I missing in this assessment?
- What would you have done differently at this point in the session?
- What should I practice before I see this client again?
- Is there a risk or legal issue I have not seen?
- How are my reactions to this client affecting the work?
- What would progress look like in four weeks?
What Does a Completed Case Presentation Look Like?
The presentation below is invented and shortened, and it follows the twelve parts in order. Read aloud, it takes about eight minutes before the recording.
| Part | Example |
|---|---|
| 1. Question | How do I keep the session from turning into a debate when the client disputes every reflection? |
| 2. Snapshot | Client in their early thirties, works in tech, identifies as first-generation; self-referred for anxiety and conflict with a manager; six sessions. |
| 3. History and context | Grew up translating for parents; high expectations at home; recently passed over for promotion. |
| 4. Assessment and risk | Provisional diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder; no suicidal ideation on screening at intake or since. |
| 5. Conceptualization | Cognitive behavioral: beliefs about failure and being judged maintain worry and over-preparation. |
| 6. Goals and plan | Reduce worry time by half; practice asking for feedback at work; weekly thought records. |
| 7. Progress | GAD-7 down from 15 to 12; homework done twice in six weeks. |
| 8. Recording | Minute 22 to 26 of session six: the client rejects three reflections in a row. Feedback wanted on how to respond to the third. |
| 9. Culture and context | Family and workplace expectations around achievement; how the client may experience a therapist who seems to know better. |
| 10. My reactions | I feel tested and start explaining myself. |
| 11. Legal or ethical | None identified. |
| 12. Next | Name the pattern with the client and ask how it feels to be reflected; practice that response today. |
A presentation like this ends in rehearsal: the supervisor plays the client's line from minute 25, the supervisee tries a response, and the two repeat it until the response is usable. How to run group supervision describes the same rehearsal in a group.
What Rules Apply to Presenting Cases in Supervision?
No Board form or rule sets a case presentation format, so the structure is a matter of good practice. Two California rules do apply to what you bring. Reviewing audio or video recordings of a supervisee's work is part of California's definition of supervision, and it requires the client's written consent (BPC 4980.43.1(b)). And in group supervision the group may include no more than eight people receiving supervision for clinical services (BPC 4980.43.2), and the group's confidentiality rules belong in its first session.
Remove names and identifying details from every presentation, use a client code, and keep recordings on the employer's approved system. Our Clinical Supervision Guides show where case presentations fit in an individual or group session.
Keep reading
How to Run Group Supervision, a session structure with case presentations and rehearsal
120 Clinical Supervision Questions and Topics, questions by developmental stage to follow a presentation
Clinical Supervision Notes Template, the note that records the case discussion
Models of Clinical Supervision, where case presentation and rehearsal fit among supervision models
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you present a case in clinical supervision?
Start with your question for supervision, then give a short client snapshot, the relevant history, assessment and risk, your conceptualization, the plan, progress so far, a recording segment, cultural factors, your reactions, any legal or ethical questions and what you plan to try next.
How long should a case presentation be?
Ten to fifteen minutes in individual supervision, plus a three-to-five-minute recording segment. In a two-hour group, one or two members usually present.
Do I need client consent to show a session recording in supervision?
Yes. California's definition of supervision includes reviewing audio or video recordings of the supervisee's work with the client's written consent.
What should I leave out of a case presentation?
Names and identifying details. Use a client code and an age range, and share only the history that bears on your question.
References
California Business and Professions Code § 4980.43.1. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC§ionNum=4980.43.1
California Business and Professions Code § 4980.43.2. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC§ionNum=4980.43.2
American Psychological Association. (2025). Guidelines for clinical supervision in health service psychology. https://www.apa.org/about/policy/guidelines-supervision.pdf
