What does a secondary supervisor do (in your 4+2/5+1)?

It can be very confusing knowing how to distinguish between activities that are to be completed with your principal supervisor and what are to be completed with your secondary supervisor.

Let's clear this up (see below).

Firstly, it's important to note that any time with your secondary supervisor is generally optional.  However, here are some important considerations around how you involve your secondary supervisor:

1) How available is your principal supervisor?

If you can't meet your required supervision ratio with your principal then it's likely you will need to utilise your secondary (or secondaries) to obtain sufficient hours of supervision.

2) Are there specialised learning needs that your secondary supervisor can assist with?

If your principal supervisor is unable to support areas of learning that you require, you should try to book in time with your secondary supervisor.  You should identify your learning needs and aspirations and seek supervision from your secondary to gain this specialised assistance.  Likewise, they may have specialised knowledge in the 4+2 or 5+1 internship - e.g. in completing case reports or assisting with assessments.  econdary supervisors may therefore be helpful in charting your career development.

3) There's no limit to the number of secondary supervisors you can add so if you find it more beneficial to have multiple secondaries to get the most out of your internship, then this is easy to action.

4) What if your principal supervisor were to disappear tomorrow?

If you are heavily dependant on your principal supervisor, it's a bit problem if they get sick, overbooked or for a variety of possible reasons, are just unable to continue with you.  Therefore periodically touching base (e.g. 1 session every few weeks) with a secondary is helpful, to just have them on top of how you're progressing.

In summary, secondary supervisors can play a great role in ensuring that you make the most of your 4+2/5+1 internship. 

Psychology Squared are available for principal and secondary, individual or group supervision.  Contact us here if interested.