Consultation &
Supervision - for Therapists
Hi there! If you made it here you are probably a mental health clinician looking for a supervisor, some to consult with or some resources. That’s awesome.
Supervision and consultation are the most underrated parts of job. Being in relationship with and accountable to other clinicians we trust is how we continually keep our stuff in check and make sure we’re providing the best care.
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One-on-one 55 minute session to discuss cases, techniques, theory, professional development and self-awareness. We make your development plan together and work to reach your goals.
3-5 professionals learning from and supporting each other. Let me know if you would like to be notified when I am starting a new group. Usually my groups focus on development of personal theory of counseling (and how social justice fits in) or how to level up one's application of social justice principles in and out of session.
In supervision, the supervisor is legally responsible for the actions of the supervisee. The supervisor can in some cases direct the supervisee to act in a specific way (usually for ethical/legal/reporting concerns). The supervisor has the final say in how the case should be handled and failure to comply may result in academic, professional, or legal action from the supervisor. This is most common for students/trainees in process of being licensed.
In consultation, the consultant is not legally liable for the actions of the consultee because the consultee would already be a licensed practitioner and responsible for their choices/actions. The consultant can make recommendations, give feedback, share materials, etc. but the final responsibility to act or not on these suggestion lies with the consultee. If the roles are defined as consultant and consultee – the relationship is entirely focused on the consultee’s growth/progress.
In peer consultation, all parties should be on relatively similar professional standing and all consult together on issues of concern. Time is spent equally amongst participants. This is a symbiotic give/take relationship.
Both supervision and consultation involve a relationship built on trust and focused on improving the skill of the supervisee/consultee. Supervision often happens more frequently than consultation, however, this is not always true. Consultation can occur short-term or long-term, frequently or infrequently depending on the needs/wants of the consultee. For example, someone looking to increase their skills in trauma treatment may meet frequently over a few months, whereas someone looking to examine their professional identity may choose to meet less frequently over a longer period of time.
As stated above the difference between supervision and consultation is largely a legal one. Here are some of the things we can do in both supervision/consultation.
When done correctly, supervision/consultation is a place for mental health (and affiliated) providers to increase their understanding of and confidence in:
Supervision/consultation can be one on one or in a group.
Supervision/consultation is also an awesome component of continued development as a professional and a way to do the following:
Mostly because I believe supervision/consultation is vital not only to good client care, but also in keeping clinicians happy (reducing burnout) and a way to increase positive impact in the world. Yeah, it’s that important to me. I feel so strongly about supervision, I regularly write blogs about it. You can check them out here.
I have theoretical training in supervision. I have been taught and tested on the theories of supervision not I have been “theoretically trained but without practice”.
I have supervised more than a dozen clinicians and I know the importance of individualized development plans. Those who work with me are offered more than clinical advice and resources. I offer personal and professional reflection assignments, discussions about intersections of the clinician's personal identities and how they interact with their professional identity and in their practice.
I have fought to have students dismissed from their programs because of ethical concerns with their practice. Those unwilling to uphold the gatekeeping side of the practice of supervision, should not supervise.
My consultees are often clinicians who are feeling a bit stuck and are worried they are not really doing what they think they are doing with clients. I use the priniciples and theories of supervision to evaluate the consultee's skills and needs and then we develop a specialized plan together. My goal is NOT to answer your questions, but to help you learn about yourself and your style so that you have more of your own answers.
During my training I saw some of my fellow students who I believed should not have graduated. I brought this to the attention of supervisors and professors, but was not satisfied and even angry with the lack of action. I even wrote a paper about it in my ethics class. I’ve turned it into a blog here.
I was very lucky to have some amazing supervisors along the way who taught me what GREAT supervision looked like. I also had some check the box supervisors who were, to put it lightly, a total waste of my time.
Supervision of Master’s level students was actually one of my jobs during my doctoral program and I loved it. I created an extra theory “class” with my colleague Dr. Sultan Magruder and we helped to make theory more applicable to case conceptualization and clinical work. During this experimental time I really learned what supervision could be and expanded my own ideas and tool box to be able to alter supervision to meet the developmental/professional needs of the supervisee.
Since then supervision has always been a highlight of my work in agencies and a great way to keep me on my toes. Nothing will make you stay up on research like a new clinician who is having to use it (or recently used it) in their papers.
I shifted my focus to consultation when I moved into private practice. This is largely due to the international nature of my practice and laws about where your supervisor needs to be located. My work in consultation has been even more thrilling as I am helping already skilled clinicians hone their skills, increase their impact/reach, and grow personally and professionally. It's so awesome to see these big changes that come with just a bit of guidance and support.
Supervision and consultation are both a multi-pronged collaborative process. Consultation has a slight hierarchical dynamic; in supervision, this dynamic is more pronounced. It is different from peer consultation in that the consultant/supervisor is expected to have a higher level of knowledge and/or skill than the supervisee and it is the supervisor’s responsibility to set and maintain norms in the supervisory relationship (expectations, assessments, and boundaries). The supervisory/consultancy pair should work together to set goals for the supervisee/consultee and periodically provide feedback to each other on process and progress.
My supervision/consultation theory, much like my personal theory of counseling is centered around social justice, culturally sensitive, feminist meta theories (and where applicable actual theories and models of supervision) and incorporates ideas/practices from existential, psychodynamic, narrative, and solution focused theories. That means I work hard to name my own biases and preferences in the work, remove unnecessary power differentials, and I also believe in the supervisees/consultees power, autonomy, and responsibility to grow and change in a way that is productive and helpful for them and their clients.
Components of supervision/consultation - These are the things I am always aware of in my work with other clinicians. We will decide together what we work on.
Supervision/consultation requires honesty, openness, and a certain level of self-disclosure due to the overlap of the personal/professional in the field of counseling. Supervision is not therapy and if it becomes apparent that a personal issue is impacting a clinician’s work, I may recommend the individual seek their own therapy in conjunction with or before continuing client care and/or our work together.
What fae provides:
That REALLY depends. You need to check with your licensing board in your jurisdiction. Like, actually talk to a human if you have any questions after reading their guidance.
My license is in Wahington DC, USA. We will be meeting online. Questions to ask your board might include: