Abstract The marriage and family therapy (MFT) supervision literature points to discrepancies between supervisor's and supervisee's expectations of supervision. There are no specific guidelines for beginning or experienced supervisors regarding establishing a contract for supervision with their supervisees. In addition, the MPT supervision literature lacks any significant attempts to encourage an ongoing dialogue in which both supervisor(s) and supervisee(s) discuss needs, agendas, styles, techniques and goals in a systematic manner. This seems striking in light of the importance placed on establishing such a contract with clients in the therapy process. This paper presents the Initial Supervisory Session Check-list (ISSC), a set of guidelines for use by both supervisors and supervisees regardless of the theoretical orientation and developmental level of those involved.