To supervise or not to supervise........that is the question
- Written by Ricki Boden
- Published in Supervision Highlights
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Are you at a juncture point in your psychotherapy career? Is it time to add something new? Or perhaps you have been supervising for a while now and you are re-evaluating if you want to continue. Review the 5 most common reasons clinicians choose to supervise or not to supervise. Join me in a discussion of the mult-faceted and nuanced topic of clinical superivision.
Clinicians often ask me to help them decide whether supervision should be the next step in their career development. After providing psychotherapy to clients and honing therapy skills some clinicians feel called to pass their skills to the next generation. In California therapists may supervise after being licensed for 2 years. Effective January 1, 2022 new supervisors must have 15 hours of supervision training before commencing supervision with AMFTs and trainees, ASWs and APCCs. In addition, they are required to complete 6 hours of continued professional development (CPC) in supervision with each license renewal. For detailed information go to www.bbs.ca.gov
CEU courses to meet BBS Supervision and Law & Ethics requirements are available at www.supervisionCEU.com
The following are the most common reasons therapists choose to supervise:
-Supervision feels like a natural next step in their own cliinical skill development
-Desire to contribute to ensuring the highest professional standards
-Wanting to give back either by replicating an excellent supervisory experience or to redo a bad experience
-Increase job skills and employability
-Boredom, wanting the stimulation of a new clinical role and skill set
These are the most common reasons therapists choose not to supervise:
-Fears of clinical responsibility and liability
-Economic disencentives
-Doubts of their ability to teach theory and articulate their clinical work (which feels intuitive to them)
-Feeling impatient with beginners
-Questioning if they can bridge an assumed genration gap with unlicensed supervisees
Where do you find yourself?
Ricki Boden
Board Certified Diplomate (BCD) has been in private practice in San Francisco since 1976 and was the Director of Women's Mental Health Services at New Leaf (formerly Operation Concern) for 20 years. She has extensive experience supervising graduate interns, registered trainees and licensed clinicians in private practice and agency settings, using both individual and group formats. She lectures, writes and provides consultation on supervision, Self Psychology theories, relationship dynamics, psychotherapy for lesbians, and issues for people with physical disabilities/chronic illness. She was formerly Adjunct Faculty of numerous Bay Area Graduate Programs.