TL;DR

Why is supervision & supervising important?

It helps clinicians learn real world skills so they can create their own sustainable practice - keep burnout at bay
Gatekeeping keeps the public safe from harm

What does a good supervisor do?

Individualize the supervision for each supervisee. Turns out our clients aren’t the only ones who have unique stories and multiple intersectional identities/roles.
Learn techniques/theories on supervision.
Think critically about if your supervisee is at a developmentally appropriate level and enact gatekeeping if needed (for the safety of clients).
Help supervisees integrate their knowledge with real world practice, professional development, and self-care.

I have really strong feelings about supervision. Like, some pretty aggressive soap box-esque feelings (from my perspective of the USA Mental health care system).

In most cases, supervision is given as a support to clinicians. A place to ask clinical questions. In the worst case, supervision is given as an obligation for cheap or free (often student) labor. Now, it is definitely a systemic failure that has placed an undue burden without sufficient financial support on the mental health field (and we need to continue to advocate for systemic reform at organizational, regional and national levels). However, we must also be creating change at the individual level. It is unacceptable to ask clinicians to supervise without any professional training in supervision. We don’t ask therapists to see clients without any professional training. Supervision is just as important as clinical work with clients. We can even use the same principles in supervision that we do in clinical work. If it really is the best option for you to take on a client who is presenting with an issue you are not an expert in, you take steps to increase your knowledge in that area. Therefore if you decide or are told you are going to supervise someone, increase your knowledge in that area.

Supervision is also vital to gatekeeping. Too often, supervisors do not stop to consider “Does this clinician belong in this field?” Too often professors and universities are too afraid of lawsuits to fail students out of training programs (some of which do not screen incoming students well at all in the interest of profit). It will be necessary for us to hurt some feelings and say some hard to hear things in order to maintain our greater duty to the safety and treatment of the public.

Supervision should be the place where new clinicians start to make sense of all the theory and research they have been cramming in their brains and incorporating it into their larger practice of being a whole clinician/human. The personal is professional and both of those are political. A supervisor should be scaffolding more advanced and independent thinking in messy real world settings as well as providing information not given/absorbed in training (theory, techniques, social justice ideas, practical skills, professional development, etc.). Clinicians need these to not only be effective and successful but to also reduce/prevent burn out. There are few things I hate to see more in the field than a good clinician leaving their work in needed areas like trauma and severe/persistent mental illness (or leave the field entirely!) because they weren’t supported enough or taught how to manage their own practice.

A lot of us came into this field to “help people”. Supervision is a way for us to exponentially increase our impact. We may be able to see hundreds of clients during our career but so will each of our supervisees, so if we can help them be their very best, we are then touching lives of thousands or more! SO DO GOOD SUPERVISION.

Like I said, I have really strong feelings about supervision. You can find more readings on supervision towards the bottom of my Resources page. If you want a supervisor who knows what they’re doing and will help you level up your clinical skills, grow professionally, help you navigate the ethics of the field, and also push you to be the best therapist you can be (by respecting and understanding the person you are), hit me up. You can read more about my supervision style here and you can contact me through the Get Started page.

Dr. Fae

has a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology. She lives abroad and offers online therapy & clinical supervision. In her individual therapy practice, she specializes in value alignment, existential questions, decision making, and general coping to increase overall life satisfaction. Her online self-study course Deepening & Developing Connections is always available.
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Importance of Clinical Supervision