4 Things To Consider If Your Supervision Is Less Than Ideal

I received a call this week from a counselor who has recently moved into Colorado.  She asked if I could provide clinical supervision for her post-graduate work.  As we explored that possibility, the conversation turned to her previous experiences with clinical supervision and they were less than ideal.

If you, too, find yourself tempted to settle for a less than ideal supervisor, you are in need of a supervision rescue. Here are some ideas to consider. . . .

There is NO correlation between being a good therapist and being a good clinical supervisor.

Although the knowledge bases overlap, they require decidedly different skill sets.  Teaching, training, and monitoring are necessary for clinical supervision but are not the tasks of a counselor. Thus, the trend to require supervisors to have formal training in supervision.

Poppy Love . . . . #4 -- squaRED by onkel wart / Thomas Lieser

Mental health professionals are trained to initiate and facilitate difficult conversations.

This may be the perfect opportunity for you to discuss and re-negotiate your supervision with your current supervisor.  Perhaps she was unaware of your interest in clinical supervision and is willing and able to change how she supervises you ; or, perhaps she is not skilled in clinical supervision and can help facilitate a transfer for you to work under someone different who provides clinical supervision.  

Be clear about what you want / expect / need and ask for it.

Some therapists find that it works better to get clinical supervision from someone other than their immediate supervisor at work.

What you may not have realized is that if your boss may be functioning as  your administrative supervisor AND your clinical supervisor.  If so, at least some of the time, it is likely that she will have conflicting/dual roles.

You can’t always speak openly about mistakes that you’ve made with someone who has the authority / responsibility to fire you.

Many organizations are open to contracting with an independent  licensed mental health professional to provide weekly clinical supervision to their employees as an employee benefit.

This supervision may be provided to a small group, to you individually, or in some combination of the two. An organization can contract for this supervision at a much lower fee than if you seek out private supervision on your own.  

If your work site does not currently offer this type of supervision, perhaps it’s time to do a little reconnaissance work and then pitch the idea to them.

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