Need a clinical supervisor? Look for these 5 things.

Trying to find a clinical supervisor to complete your licensure hours, to help with growth or consultation can be difficult. It is similar to the dating process but without all the worry about sex.  You need to ask questions, get to know them and determine if the relationship would be a good long term commitment. 

1. The Basics:

Below are some basic things to look for to save you time, money and headache:

• First-Make sure they are licensed. If they are not licensed, your hours won’t count!

• Second-Make sure they have some practice experience within the state you are practicing. It is easy to look up licensing and you can anyone up through the following link and agency: LARA.

• Third-Make sure they have the same designation you are looking to obtain or already have; clinical or macro.

• Last- Ask about their experiencing supervising others. This is important but not always necessary. Supervision can also happen through training or other experience as a team lead, or other leadership role.

2. Similar Interests:

Once the basics are covered, another important item to check off your list is looking for a clinical supervisor who has a background and experience in your own area of interest.  This could mean finding someone with private practice experience if that is where you want to gain more experience. These similar experiences can help you grow your skills, gain new skills, help with complicated cases, and help you understand an another area of social work.

It could also mean seeking it outside of your employment if you are intent on leaving or if it is not available at your agency/company.  Just because someone has a Masters degree does not mean they can license you so please do your due diligence. 

3. Ethical Boundaries and Work:

All clinical supervisors should have a working knowledge of the social work  code of ethics and operate in a way that is ethical.  On a basic level this means affirming and supporting the dignity and worth of the person, understanding legal obligations such as reporting child abuse/neglect, keeping health information protected  as well as setting appropriate boundaries with staff, clients and their personal lives.  

Another ethical consideration is the work supervisors are doing on their decision making and areas of need.  A supervisor should also be involved and working through their own internal racism, areas of oppression, and discrimination. A supervisor should be advocating in the community, and speaking out against harmful and unjust behavior.  The last ethical issue addressed by a supervisor is self-care.  This should be a large part of the supervision experience; discussing self care. The supervisor should be practicing these skills as much as encouraging them to be practiced. 

4. Not Your Therapist:

Your clinical supervisor should not be a your therapist and you should not be doing therapy with them.  A part of supervision is your personal work but with limits. A clinical supervisor needs to encourage and direct you to find a therapist to work through the personal issues that are impacting your client or arising in your work with clients or systems. If you find yourself working on all of your own pain and hurt with the supervisor, it might be time to find a different clinical supervisor and a therapist.  

5. Theories into Practice:

The last important role of a clinical supervisor is helping put the theories and concepts learned in school into practice. This often happens within the internship and working with the internship supervisor but putting these theories into practice is the long term work of the social worker. This can happen through case consults, case examples and in vivo experiences while in supervision. 

Luckily, many agencies, private practices and companies who operate within the social services field, have someone on staff who is licensed and can provide supervision.  If this is the case and they meet most of the criteria above, you are in luck!  If not, you will need to seek out supervision in the community and there are a number of great social workers looking to help move through the licensing process and improve your clinical skills.