Your First Clinical Supervision Session

Both parties ensure professionalism by arriving on time, being in a quiet, stationary workspace, ensuring stable internet, video, and audio connection.

Supervisee should be prepared to speak to their caseload, expectations of what they want to achieve in supervision, and have relevant information or questions regarding the licensing process.

Supervisor should be prepared with supervision agreements.

Logistics to cover:

1. Informed consent which should include:

• professional disclosure including academic background, experience, and supervision style (may be best to refer to Motivo profile)
• expectations of all parties including meeting duration, frequency, cancelation policy, expected agendas, session logs/notes, and zoom etiquette
• risks and benefits of supervision
• criteria for evaluation and consequences of under performance
• tasks, functions, and goals of supervision
• ethical and legal considerations such as confidentiality (specific discussion around employer paid supervision should be discussed)

2. Review and sign needed paperwork

3. Gather information about work site:

• Type of employer (private, community or school mental health, clinic, hospital)
• Job expectations
• Management and clinical support structure

4. Goal setting including plan to evaluate progress toward goals

Establish crisis protocols:

Supervisor should learn about work site crisis protocol

Establish crisis protocol within the supervisory relationship. This discussion may also include training on assessment measures (example Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale) and crisis/safety planning.

Supervisory relationship:

Discuss the presence of power differentials within the relationship

Be aware of the complexities of supervisor and supervisee identities and the impact they have on the relationship and work with clients

Continue to check in on the working relationship

Discuss how supervisor roles will change over time from Teacher to Counselor to Consultant

To cover in future sessions:

• Review of a variety of modalities, their basis, common interventions
• Ethics
• Ethical decision making
• Legal knowledge such as HIPAA, state law on duty to warn and mandated reporting
• Complete a mandated reporter training
• Knowledge of self in context of diversity including how to operate
  • Consider using diversity checklist as a springboard for discussion of cultural influences that impact supervision.
• Documentation best practices and timeliness
• Self-identify personal distress
• Self-care
• Organizing your day and scheduling complexities
• Social and emotional intelligence
• Knowing the extent of the limits of one’s own skills; habit of self-evaluation and learning
• Evaluate goals, progress, and set new goals regularly
• Consider setting topic or training schedule to achieve goals
• Transference and Countertransference