“Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we’re all in this together.”
Our work as mental health professionals aiding individuals through life struggles and growth is a great honor, both challenging and rewarding. I believe we provide the best services to our clients when we are well-informed on evidence-based practices and have the ability to implement theory and appropriate interventions consistently. I understand the experience you have with your clinical supervisor can have a significant impact on how capable, comfortable, and confident you feel proceeding forward in your career, which is why I strive to provide encouragement, autonomy, and a growth mindset within the supervisory relationship. I realize the needs of supervisees are as unique and individual as the person I am working with, so I take a personalized approach to understand your strengths and areas for growth. Earlier in the supervisory process, I provide more guidance and direction, evolving toward collaboration as your knowledge, skills, and confidence grow so you feel self-assured in your abilities and limitations upon completion of supervision.
The purpose of clinical supervision is to monitor and ensure the welfare of clients, promote the development of supervisees' clinical and professional identity, evaluate the competence of supervisees and fulfill requirements for licensure. It is my belief that as a supervisor I must meet the developmental needs of the supervisee. I often alternate between roles based on the needs of the supervisee. In the beginning, I may take a more direct feedback approach, and as the supervisee gains more experience, my role may change into a more collaborative approach.
In my supervision, I require that students are directly observed by myself while providing counseling services to clients (known as "tele-supervision"). This is to occur one time every three months on a date agreed upon between the supervisor and the supervisee. Tele-supervision is to occur a total of eight times during the span of the two-year supervision experience. The supervisee is required to obtain written permission from their client prior to the tele-supervision taking place and have the signed document uploaded into the client's file.
During the course of completing 100 supervision hours there are two formats that can be implemented (upon availability):