Who uses clinical supervision and why?
Looking for clinical supervision but not sure where to start? Whether you are looking for clinical supervision for your counselling work, looking to start private practice, or perhaps you are in the early stages of your social work career and needing additional support to take your career to the next level, an external clinical supervisor can mean the difference between surviving and thriving in your clinical career. Clinical supervision is used by Psychologists, Social Workers, Psychotherapists and Counsellors. Many clinicians seek external clinical supervision in addition to workplace provided supervision.
What is clinical supervision and why is it important?
Supervision is a process of reflecting on your work to develop your skills and knowledge. Clinical supervision also plays an important role in improved client outcomes and mitigating clinician burnout. Supervision can provide emotional support as well as information, guidance and skill building.
Clinical supervision is also a requirement for mental health professionals to be registered with your relevant professional regulatory body such as the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
Clinical supervision for early career Social Workers
Clinical Supervision for early career Social Workers plays a vital role in professional development and growth, protects clients, ensures professional standards are met and quality services are delivered, resulting in improved client outcomes.
Clinical supervision for early career Social Workers provides invaluable support while navigating workplace dynamics, workload, case conceptualisation, skill building and developing self care strategies.
Clinical supervision for counselling Social Workers
In addition to the above mentioned importance of supervision, clinical supervision for counselling Social Workers also focuses on developing skills and utilisation of evidence based therapeutic models and focused psychological strategies. In order to practice and develop your counselling therapy approach, you might choose a clinical supervisor who provides counselling from a particular model that you wish to develop proficiency in. Some examples of therapeutic models you may wish to explore with your supervisor could include Motivational Interviewing, Narrative Therapy, CBT, ACT or EMDR. Some training accreditations require supervision by a recognised consultant in a therapeutic model in order to gain the qualification.
As well as considering the therapeutic models that inform your clinical supervisor, it can help to choose a supervisor who has current experience in providing psychological counselling if you are looking to develop or progress in this field. In addition, you might consider someone who specialises in your field of counselling, for example, young people, family counselling, mental health counselling, victims of crime, grief and loss, employee assistance program counselling.
Clinical supervision for Employee Assistance Program clinicians
Employee Assistance Program Counselling or EAP counselling is short term and solution focused. Clinical Supervision for Employee Assistance Program clinicians provided by
someone who has experience working in this model can provide specific tools and resources that this cohort of clients are seeking. In addition to building therapeutic skills that focus on skill building such as communication skills, emotional regulation, parenting, relationships and anger management, an experienced EAP clinical supervisor can provide support and guidance around case noting, KPIs, and balancing client work with administrative demands and working across departments.
Benefits of having an external clinical supervisor
While many employers offer supervision of some kind, there are several reasons you might wish to also engage an external clinical supervisor.
Firstly, your supervisor in your workplace might also be your manager, and sometimes this can make it more difficult to raise concerns. The supervision provided by your workplace manager might be focussed on your particular role, case load and workplace, while external supervision can cover other areas of interest and driven by your needs.
Secondly, your supervisor might be from a different discipline, which while multi-disciplinary teams can bring many benefits, if you are looking for accreditation, you will have a certain number of hours of supervision to log for your professional body that need to be provided by someone in your profession.
Lastly, an external supervisor is someone you choose who not only has the skills you have specifically chosen, but provides additional and impartial support.
Three things to consider when choosing a clinical supervisor:
1. Knowledge
Perhaps you want to develop skills in a particular area that can't be met in your workplace. You may wish to gain a new certification, therefore selecting a supervisor based on their skills, knowledge and practice area can pay dividends in terms of personal and professional growth.
2. Career goal
Perhaps you have a career goal and by seeking a clinical supervisor in your dream role can help guide you take the steps towards that goal and open up pathways and connections.
3. Cost
While clinical supervision can be costly, it is important to weigh up the advantages in non-financial terms such as wellbeing, skill building, career investment and connection. You might also consider group supervision to keep costs down while connecting with clinicians with shared goals and practice area interests.
Clinical Supervision Counselling, Newcastle, NSW
Looking for local clinical supervision in Newcastle NSW? I specialise in providing clinical supervision for early career Social Workers, Employee Assistance Program clinicians, and counselling Social Workers.
I provide private practice counselling utilising a variety of therapeutic models including ACT, CBT, Motivational Interviewing and Narrative Therapy. I have many years experience providing Employee Assistance Program counselling and supervising EAP clinicians. Read more about my clinical supervision values or contact me for a 15 minute no obligation phone call to discuss your supervision needs.
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