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86 Finding a Great Supervisor: Essential Guidance for New Counselors

• Dr. Kate Walker Ph.D., LPC/LMFT Supervisor • Season 3 • Episode 86

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Embarking on your counseling career and need a guiding star? Look no further as I lay out the roadmap to securing not just any supervisor but the one who will be the lighthouse in your professional development storm. With the wisdom of my own mentors, Dr. Judy Tetrude and Dr. Chi-Sing Lee, illuminating the way, I share why the quest for the right supervisor stretches beyond licensure checkboxes to the heart of fostering a space where growth and self-reflection thrive. This is the chapter where you'll understand the gravity of this decision and gain insider know-how on assessing qualifications and ensuring their availability aligns with your burgeoning career needs.

Now, let's talk about making a lasting impression. In a landscape where passion meets purpose, harnessing your education and certifications is just the beginning. As I guide you through the nuances of what it truly means to communicate your drive and dedication to a potential mentor, you'll learn to embody the traits that turn heads—like adaptability, professionalism, and an unquenchable thirst for learning. This isn't just about finding the right fit; it's about creating a symbiotic relationship that will define your journey in the counseling community. So join us, and let's navigate the waters of professional growth together, with a supervisor who's more than a credential—they're your partner in the transformative voyage of your career.

Get your step by step guide to private practice. Because you are too important to lose to not knowing the rules, going broke, burning out, and giving up. #counselorsdontquit.

Speaker 1:

Hey, new graduates and supervisors who are listening in on the podcast I don't blame you, I would too. Welcome to today's episode how to Find a Great Supervisor. Okay, so how do you find a great supervisor? Well, you have a plan. Of course You've got to have a plan. So that's what I'm going to do today I'm going to walk you through a plan to find your amazing supervisor. Okay. So our plan starts with knowing what you should.

Speaker 1:

So our plan starts with why have supervision at all? Well, you've got to have the answers to that. Number one it's a requirement for licensure. In most states, counselor supervision is required for licensure as a professional counselor. That means that after graduating, counselors need to work under supervision of a licensed counselor supervisor for a certain number of hours before they can apply for their own license. So I get asked all the time, especially for people who are considering a second career you know, what does it take to become a counselor and how many hours of grad school do I need? And I always have to kind of pull them up short and say, hey, look, it's more than just grad school. I mean, in Texas you have to complete a 60 hour degree and you have to have 3000 supervised hours for a minimum of 18 months if you're an LPC and 24 months minimum if you're an LMFT. So having supervision sometimes, I think, gets glossed over a little bit. But your education as a professional counselor certainly does not end when you get your diploma in your hand.

Speaker 1:

The next thing you need to know about supervision is it is ongoing. It's not just something that happens during the initial license period. It's an ongoing process that can help you continue to grow and develop throughout your career. I mean my mentor, dr Judy Tetrude, who did so much for me and got me into supervision. She's still part of my life. I still call her. I ask what would Judy do? And she's amazing. And my supervisor for my clinical hours, dr Chi-Sing Lee. He was my LPC and my LMFD hours. He's still a part of my life as well and a wonderful mentor. So choosing a clinical supervisor doesn't just mean you're choosing someone for this 18 months to 60 months of the time that you're going to accrue these. So having a clinical supervisor goes way beyond just the designated time you have to have supervision. So choose wisely.

Speaker 1:

Another thing you need to know about supervision is it's a place for reflection. You're going to do as much work on your clinical skills like reflecting and extending and all of the things as you are on yourself. We call that counter-transference. You have to have the ability to self-reflect in a safe space. So an excellent supervisor is going to provide you with the trust factor so that you feel comfortable, new graduate, talking through things that trigger you, talking through things that didn't go well, talking through things that you were anxious about. It's okay to not feel 100% rainbows and unicorns when you're counseling A supervisor. An excellent supervisor will provide you that safe space and maintain that relationship throughout the supervision experience. So as you're looking for that excellent supervisor, it goes way beyond just price or hey, I'm working at an agency and they're going to give me free supervision. You should look for a supervisor who has experience in the area you want to practice in, who is supportive and encouraging and who is willing to provide you with construction and who is willing to provide you with constructive feedback.

Speaker 1:

So as you start the process, new graduate, this might be a good time to think back to when you have been supervised pre-counseling. So did you work in a fast food place and have a boss? Did you work at Hot Topic and have a manager. Anytime you have been supervised, think about what you loved about it, think about what you hated about it. That's likely to be the case as you move into this role of being supervised, because this is, as I mentioned before, a long-term relationship based on trust. And if you have never really liked being supervised maybe you don't like authority at all you may have to do a little inner work as you embark on this relationship. I mean, the supervisor's job is to critique you. Their job is to evaluate you. Their job is to tell you when you're not meeting expectations. Their job is to even remediate you and help you understand. Hey, you don't have the skills you need, and I know you're wanting to, and I know you want to fulfill your dream of becoming a counselor, but you need to fix these things. That's the supervisor's job. They are the boss of you for a period of time and if you don't feel comfortable or if that's just not your personality you don't like criticism, you don't like being critiqued definitely get in there and do the hard work as you embark on this new supervisory relationship.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so let's get down to the nitty gritty. What are you looking for? Number one look for the supervisor's qualifications. I know that sounds super simple, but make sure they have the S after their license. And you can go in Texas to the BHEC website and there's a button you can click it that says verify license. You can go and you can not only verify their license but verify that their S is still in good standing. Now if you're going even further and you're looking for someone who is certified in a particular area or has experience mentoring in a particular area, you're going to want to make sure you have their VITA or some evidence that they are and they're qualified to do what they say they're doing.

Speaker 1:

Now, I talked about this last week when we talked about what makes a terrible supervisor contract. About this last week, when we talked about what makes a terrible supervisor contract, one of the things I hope you really heard me say is availability. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of a supervisor being available. I'll give you examples. Number one if life happens and you have to miss supervision yes, it happens. You wanna make sure that your supervisor has other times available so you can fulfill your supervision requirement. You may be charged for it, especially if it's week three in a four-week month and you still haven't gotten the supervision hours that you need and they have to give up a Saturday. Yeah, you might have to be charged for that, but availability, availability, availability. New graduate you have to have half of your supervision hours in an individual or triadic setting. So if you have a supervisor and they're going to see you just in group, well, that's not okay and it doesn't follow the rules either.

Speaker 1:

So if your potential new supervisor is not able to work with your job schedule or your busy schedule, with your family or your other responsibilities, then, no matter what their expertise is and why you're pursuing that particular supervisor, it may not be a good fit Communication style. So you know one of the things that I know as a supervisor, I always had to deliver hard information. I mean, that's just the nature of it. If I'm delivering a critique, if I'm delivering some sort of a negative evaluation. So you know what's my communication style like. Well, if you're listening to this podcast, you have a pretty good idea of what my communication style is like.

Speaker 1:

As you're interviewing your potential new supervisor, try to get a feel for their communication style, because they are going to have to deliver critiques to you or you know, you want a supervisor that has a good balance. You know, sometimes we talk about it like the sandwich method, like if I'm going to give you bad news, I'm going to give you the good thing first, then the critique and then I'm going to follow it up with another good thing. So ask that question. Ask the supervisor hey, how do you deliver bad news? Ask the supervisor hey, how do you deliver bad news? Or you know, maybe you're getting a sense from the interview that they are just like all critique or they're kind of negative and you know that may not go away. So get a feel for their communication style during that interview and make sure it's a good fit for you.

Speaker 1:

Now I'm saving fees for last because I know you just got out of school, I know you just used up a lot of yours and your family's resources on this amazing graduate degree and I know you just took an expensive exam. But here's the thing everybody, you probably will have to pay for excellent supervision. Now, when I was supervising, I did something called the Ansplace model where I allowed my supervisees to donate 12 hours a month that was only three hours a week to the Ansplace nonprofit clinic in exchange for free supervision. And that was great for everybody because my supervisees. They got to get a really good experience in a private practice setting and they had to have a real job. I just made air quotes out at a hospital or some other site or you know where. They were accruing hours with other diagnoses, other supervisors, they were getting to interact with other colleagues. So it was a great balance. They got a good experience and the community where we had Anne's Place benefited as well, because they got lots and lots of good, low-cost counseling from my associates. So that's, I love that model.

Speaker 1:

But if you are looking for the cheapest supervisor in town, you never know. I mean, I know you're going to listen to this podcast episode and hopefully you'll download the guide that will have the link in the show notes here in a bit and you'll be able to really be thorough with your new supervisor as you interview them. I really hope you don't pick your next supervisor based on cost alone. There is just so much at stake here and the experience is so necessary it needs to be great. So pay attention to fees, but please don't make it the only thing.

Speaker 1:

Now, one of the things that can really aggravate supervisees are a disorganized supervisor. You know, if they just don't keep a good calendar if they're kind of flaky with their notes if they didn't keep track of time during supervision. So a good question to ask your supervisor is you know, what kind of systems do they have in place for scheduling supervision? What kind of systems do they have in place for making sure that you get a copy of your notes your supervision notes, not your client notes your supervision notes? What kind of systems do they have in place for rescheduling? All of those things are important and really good questions to ask, because disorganization can make everybody frustrated.

Speaker 1:

Finally, let me tell you a little bit about what a supervisor is looking for in you, right, because it's not just you shopping for the supervisor. Your supervisor is going to be really picky about who they bring on because your mistakes impact their license. So they're going to want to make sure they're going to look at your. They may ask to see a copy of your transcript. They're going to want to see your resume. They're going to want to see and talk to you about previous experiences you've had counseling. They're going to want to see your resume. They're going to want to see and talk to you about previous experiences you've had counseling. They're going to want to know what your theory is. So make sure you have specific examples.

Speaker 1:

So when you're describing your counseling skills, try to provide specific examples of times when you used those skills effectively. For example, you might describe a time when you helped a client develop coping strategies for managing anxiety. You want to make sure you highlight your strengths. Consider what you believe to be your strongest counseling skills and be sure to highlight those during the interview. For example, if you feel that you are particularly skilled at building rapport with clients, say so.

Speaker 1:

Talk about your training and your education. Make sure you discuss anything you have received, not only in your graduate school, but maybe you went out and got a Gottman training or you're starting the process of getting EMDR certified. Mention that to your potential supervisor. Show your passion, be enthusiastic, show genuine interest in this new process called supervision and counseling. Finally, be open to feedback from your potential clinical supervisor during this interview. Right? They're listening to see and to hear how you receive feedback. Right, because that's a really important thing. If you bristle when somebody gives you a critique or feedback, that's going to give your potential new supervisor that red flag that maybe you're not quite as teachable as you think you are.

Speaker 1:

So think about that I know I've talked about this several times, but really consider what you need to do to be teachable. So supervisors are really looking for supervisees that have a strong work ethic. That self-awareness I've talked about you're good that self-awareness. I've been talking about people skills. They're looking for people that have people skills, interpersonal skills. They're looking for professionalism and that is how you present yourself, it's how you dress, it's how you give eye contact, shake hands, sit across from someone. They're looking for your adaptability, your flexibility and, of course, your willingness to learn.

Speaker 1:

So finding a great supervisor isn't just luck. It's not just hey, I got this great job and hey, they gave me this supervisor. So I don't have a choice and this is the person I have to have. You can have a wonderful supervisor and a wonderful supervision experience that will become a relationship that lasts your entire career and beyond. I mean, I really, really hope that for you. So take the time, do the work, do the interviewing and really see this as an opportunity to become an amazing professional and make wonderful connections with other counselors. You won't regret it.