Free Supervisor Training: Year-Long Deliberate Practice Program in California

Sentio University and the Sentio Counseling Center offer a free, one-year Deliberate Practice (DP) Supervision Training Program for licensed clinical supervisors in California. This is the only supervisor training program in the country that fully integrates video-based feedback, structured skill rehearsal, and routine outcome monitoring into every supervision session. Participants receive over 50 continuing education (CE) credits and earn certification as a DP Coach from the International Deliberate Practice Society. There is no tuition, no fee, and no cost to participate.

Whether you are a licensed LMFT, LCSW, LPCC, or LEP looking to deepen your supervision skills, meet California BBS supervisor training requirements, or bring evidence-based methodology into your clinical training practice, this program provides the most rigorous and research-backed supervisor training available today.

Apply for the Free Supervisor Training Program

What You Will Learn in the DP Supervision Training Program

The Deliberate Practice Supervision Training Program teaches licensed supervisors how to integrate Deliberate Practice into traditional clinical supervision. Deliberate Practice is a research-backed training methodology that accelerates skill development through targeted repetition, real-time feedback, and progressive challenge calibration. Over the course of 12 months, you will learn to:

Increase direct skill rehearsal in supervision. Traditional supervision often relies on case discussion alone. In the DP model, supervisors learn to structure sessions so that trainees spend significant time actively practicing clinical skills, not just talking about them.

Provide effective performance feedback using video recordings. Every supervision session in this program incorporates video review of actual therapy sessions. You will learn to identify specific clinical moments, provide targeted corrective feedback, and guide trainees through repeated practice of challenging skills.

Calibrate training to each trainee's zone of proximal development. Effective training requires tasks that are neither too easy nor too challenging. You will learn to assess where each trainee stands and adjust the difficulty of exercises accordingly.

Develop custom DP exercises for specific therapeutic models. The program covers exercise design for multiple modalities, including common factors skills, specific evidence-based treatments, and the development of therapist self-awareness and the "Person of the Therapist."

Integrate routine outcome monitoring into supervision. Sentio's model uses validated clinical outcome data at every level of training. You will learn how to use session-by-session outcome measures to inform supervision decisions and track trainee development over time.

Assign and evaluate DP homework between sessions. Skill development does not stop when supervision ends. You will learn to design practice assignments that extend learning between sessions and build toward measurable improvement.

California BBS Supervisor Requirements and How Sentio Meets Them

The California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) requires that clinical supervisors meet specific qualifications outlined in the BBS FAQ on supervisor qualifications (item #30, pages 11 through 12). To participate in the Sentio DP Supervision Training Program, California supervisors must hold an active California license as an LMFT, LCSW, LPCC, or LEP and meet all BBS supervisor eligibility criteria.

The BBS also requires that licensed professionals complete six hours of supervision-specific continuing education credits during each license renewal cycle. The Sentio DP Supervision Training Program provides well over the required six hours. Weekly one-hour group mentoring meetings each count as one CE credit hour, and these credits can be applied directly to the BBS supervision CE requirement as well as to non-specific CE requirements for license renewal.

Sentio University CEs are accepted by the California BBS for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs. Please note that Sentio University is not an APA-approved CE provider, so these credits cannot be claimed by psychologists or psychiatrists. Regulatory agencies outside California may not recognize these credits.

Program Structure: 50+ Hours of Video-Based Supervision Training

The program is divided into two phases, totaling over 50 hours of structured training across 12 months.

Phase 1: Foundational Training (3 weeks). Participants attend three weekly one-hour Zoom classes covering the core principles of Deliberate Practice supervision, the Sentio Supervision Model, and the mechanics of video-based feedback. Dates and times are determined based on participant availability. This phase requires approximately one hour per week.

Phase 2: Supervised Practice (11 months). For the remaining eleven months, participants provide two hours per week of individual, videotaped Zoom supervision to MFT and PCC trainees who are providing online therapy through Sentio Counseling Center. Participants also attend one hour per week of group mentoring, during which they receive feedback on their own supervision videos and engage in group DP skill-building exercises. Each participant supervises two trainees who work under their license and is responsible for the standard work of clinical supervision, including evaluations and documentation. This phase totals approximately three hours per week.

All training and supervision is conducted online via Zoom. Supervisors must have a high level of comfort with screen-sharing and video recording on Zoom. Sentio provides technical training and support, but candidates who are not confident navigating Zoom's screen-sharing features may find this program challenging.

Cost: Free Supervisor Training Through Work-Trade

The DP Supervision Training Program is offered at no cost through a work-trade arrangement. Supervisors provide clinical supervision to Sentio Counseling Center trainees in exchange for advanced training, weekly mentoring, CE credits, and DP Coach certification. There is no tuition, no application fee, and no hidden cost. Most comparable supervisor training programs charge between $200 and $2,200 for far fewer hours of instruction and no ongoing mentorship. Sentio's model is free because supervision is integral to the counseling center's clinical operations, and training excellent supervisors directly benefits the quality of care that clients receive.

Why Sentio: Research-Backed, Peer-Reviewed, and Transparent

Sentio University is a nonprofit graduate institution in Los Angeles offering a Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy built around Deliberate Practice methodology. The university's faculty are active scholars whose research appears in peer-reviewed journals including Nature and the Journal of Clinical Psychology. Sentio leadership co-edits the APA-published book series The Essentials of Deliberate Practice, which now includes over 16 volumes covering psychotherapy modalities from CBT to psychodynamic therapy to multicultural orientation.

The Sentio Counseling Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing sliding-scale therapy starting at $15 per session to individuals and couples across California. It is the only counseling center in California that fully integrates Deliberate Practice methodology and clinical outcome data into every level of its training and supervision. Every client session is informed by validated Routine Outcome Monitoring data. Every supervision session incorporates video review of real clinical work. And every supervisor completes advanced training in a structured DP supervision model.

What makes this program unique is Sentio's commitment to radical transparency and continuous improvement at every level. Just as Sentio's MFT students receive weekly video-based feedback on their clinical work, supervisors in the training program receive weekly feedback on their own supervision sessions. This parallel process, where everyone from trainees to supervisors to faculty engages in ongoing skill development, is central to what sets Sentio apart from traditional therapist training programs.

Sentio University is also the first graduate program in mental health to formally implement safe and ethical AI training for students and is an affiliate of the International Association for Safe and Ethical AI (IASEAI). The Sentio AI Research Team conducts studies on AI safety in mental health contexts in collaboration with the Digital Safety Research Institute (DSRI) at UL Research Institutes.

Published Research on Deliberate Practice Supervision

The Sentio Supervision Model has been described and evaluated in peer-reviewed publications and professional journals. Supervisors considering this program are encouraged to review the following:

Deliberate Practice Supervision in Action: The Sentio Supervision Model (Journal of Clinical Psychology)

What Deliberate Practice Supervision Has to Offer Traditional Supervision: Nine Take-Home Messages (Psychotherapy Bulletin, APA Division 29)

The Leap Towards Deliberate Practice Supervision

A Supervisor's Deliberate Practice Journey (Psychotherapy Bulletin, APA Division 29)

Rethinking Psychotherapy Training and Supervision: The Case for Deliberate Practice

Deliberate Practice Supervision Series from the Sentio Marriage and Family Therapy Program (Psychotherapy Bulletin, APA Division 29)

The "magic" of looking at that score: A multilevel investigation of therapist review of client symptom measures and clinical outcome

Video demonstrations of Deliberate Practice supervision are available on YouTube: Demo 1 and Demo 2.

Free Training Resources from Sentio University

Even before applying to the training program, licensed supervisors and other mental health professionals can access a growing library of free Deliberate Practice training tools through the Sentio Innovation Lab. Resources include DP exercise instructions and demonstration videos for multiple therapeutic modalities (Schema Therapy, DBT, Motivational Interviewing, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, REBT, and more), multicultural orientation training materials, therapist inner skills exercises, recorded webinars on Deliberate Practice and AI in mental health, and information about the Therapist Throwdown, a live demonstration event designed to normalize showing clinical work and receiving constructive feedback. All Innovation Lab materials are released under an open-source format and are free for use by clinicians, supervisors, and training programs worldwide.

Browse free Deliberate Practice exercises and videos

Serving Communities Across California

Because Sentio Counseling Center provides all services online, supervisors in the program serve trainees and clients throughout the state. SCC currently reaches individuals and couples in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Oakland, Long Beach, Fresno, Bakersfield, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Riverside, Stockton, Irvine, Santa Clarita, and communities across Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Diego County, Alameda County, and San Bernardino County. Supervisors who join the program contribute directly to expanding access to affordable, outcome-driven mental health services in underserved California communities.

Frequently Asked Questions About MFT Supervisor Training

What is Deliberate Practice in clinical supervision?
Deliberate Practice is a research-backed training methodology, originally studied by K. Anders Ericsson, that accelerates skill development through targeted repetition, expert feedback, and progressive difficulty calibration. In clinical supervision, DP means moving beyond case discussion to include structured skill rehearsal, video review of therapy sessions, and measurable outcome tracking. The Sentio Supervision Model is one of the first published frameworks for applying DP principles to clinical supervision. Learn more about what Deliberate Practice is and explore the research behind it.

Is the DP Supervision Training Program really free?
Yes. There is no tuition, no application fee, and no cost of any kind. The program operates through a work-trade arrangement: you provide supervised clinical hours to Sentio Counseling Center trainees, and in return you receive over 50 hours of advanced training, weekly mentoring, up to 50 CE credits, and DP Coach certification. Comparable supervisor training programs typically charge $200 to $2,200 for fewer hours and no ongoing mentorship.

How many CE credits does the program provide?
Participants may receive up to 50 continuing education credits over the course of the year. Weekly one-hour group mentoring meetings each count as one CE credit hour. These credits are accepted by the California BBS for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs, and can be applied to the six hours of supervision CEs required for license renewal as well as non-specific CE requirements.

What are the BBS requirements to become a clinical supervisor in California?
The California Board of Behavioral Sciences requires that supervisors hold an active California license, have practiced for at least two years post-licensure (requirements vary by license type), and complete specific supervision training. Full details are in item #30 (pages 11-12) of the BBS FAQ on supervisor qualifications. The Sentio training program satisfies and exceeds the BBS continuing education requirements for supervisors.

How many hours of supervision training do I need in California?
The BBS requires six hours of supervision-specific continuing education credits per license renewal cycle. The Sentio DP Supervision Training Program provides over 50 CE hours across the year, far exceeding this minimum. If you are becoming a supervisor for the first time, additional requirements related to post-licensure experience and training hours may apply depending on your license type.

What is the difference between AAMFT Approved Supervisor and CAMFT Certified Supervisor?
The AAMFT Approved Supervisor designation is a national credential from the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy that requires a specific course of study and supervised supervision experience. The CAMFT Certified Supervisor is a California-specific designation from the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. Both are voluntary professional credentials. Neither is required by the BBS to supervise trainees in California, though many employers and trainees value them. The Sentio DP Supervision Training Program is a distinct program that provides DP Coach certification from the International Deliberate Practice Society, along with CE credits that count toward BBS renewal requirements.

Can I complete the program entirely online?
Yes. All training, supervision, and mentoring sessions are conducted online via Zoom. There is no in-person attendance requirement. You will need a reliable internet connection, a private space for conducting supervision, and comfort with Zoom's screen-sharing and recording features.

What is the weekly time commitment?
During Phase 1 (3 weeks), the commitment is approximately one hour per week. During Phase 2 (11 months), the commitment is approximately three hours per week: two hours of individual supervision with trainees and one hour of group mentoring with Sentio's supervisor trainers.

What credential do I earn upon completion?
Supervisors who complete the full training program receive certification as a DP Coach from the International Deliberate Practice Society. This designation recognizes advanced competency in applying Deliberate Practice methodology to clinical training and supervision.

Who are the supervisor trainers and mentors?
Program mentors are senior Sentio faculty members with extensive experience in DP supervision, clinical training, and published research. Sentio's leadership includes the co-editors of the APA-published Essentials of Deliberate Practice book series and researchers whose work has appeared in Nature, the Journal of Clinical Psychology, and APA Division 29's Psychotherapy Bulletin. Meet the full team on the Leadership, Faculty, and Supervisors page.

Is this program available to supervisors outside California?
The program is currently open to licensed supervisors in California and Washington State. Washington State supervisors must hold an active Washington license. Because CE recognition varies by state, supervisors outside these two states should confirm with their licensing board before applying.

How does this compare to a 15-hour BBS supervision training course?
Most commercial 15-hour supervisor training courses focus on regulatory compliance, ethics, and documentation. They provide the minimum required hours at a cost typically ranging from $200 to $600. The Sentio DP Supervision Training Program provides over 50 hours of hands-on training that goes far beyond compliance. You learn a complete, research-backed supervision methodology, practice it under expert mentorship for an entire year, earn DP Coach certification, and receive more CE credits than any comparable program. And it is free.

How do I apply?
Licensed supervisors in California or Washington State can apply by completing the online application form. You are welcome to share this opportunity with colleagues who may be eligible.

How does video-based supervision training work?
In the Sentio model, trainees record their therapy sessions (with client consent) via Zoom. During supervision, the supervisor and trainee watch selected clips together, identify specific clinical moments for improvement, and then engage in live skill rehearsal targeting those moments. This cycle of observation, feedback, and practice is what distinguishes DP supervision from traditional talk-based supervision. During group mentoring, program participants review clips of their own supervision sessions and receive feedback from Sentio's senior trainers, creating a parallel process of continuous improvement at every level.

What is routine outcome monitoring and why does it matter for supervision?
Routine Outcome Monitoring (ROM) uses validated questionnaires administered to clients at every session to track symptom change over time. In the Sentio model, supervisors use ROM data to identify which clients are improving, which are stuck, and which are deteriorating. This allows supervision to be targeted and data-informed rather than relying solely on the trainee's verbal report. Research consistently shows that therapists who review outcome data have better client outcomes. The DP Supervision Training Program teaches supervisors how to integrate ROM into their supervision workflow.

Can I use these CE credits for my BBS license renewal?
Yes. Sentio University CEs are accepted by the California BBS. They can be applied to the six hours of supervision-specific CEs required for license renewal and also to non-specific CE requirements. These CEs are valid for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs. They are not accepted for psychologists or psychiatrists, and regulatory agencies outside California may not recognize them.

Apply for the Free Supervisor Training Program

How to Apply for the Free Supervisor Training Program

If you are a licensed supervisor in California or Washington State and are interested in transforming your supervision practice through Deliberate Practice, complete the application here. You are welcome to share this opportunity with colleagues who may be eligible. For questions, visit the contact page or explore more about Deliberate Practice, the Sentio MFT Program, and free training resources from the Innovation Lab.

"No one is master, all are students, forever."