Texas Counselors Creating Badass Businesses

96 Supervisor Training Certification: How to Avoid the Pitfalls of Agency-Paid Supervision

• Dr. Kate Walker Ph.D., LPC/LMFT Supervisor • Season 3 • Episode 96

Share episode

Ever wondered if your supervisor training is truly yours to keep, or if your employer has more control than you think? Join us, Dr. Kate Walker, as we unravel the complexities and boundaries of LPC and LMFT supervisor training in Texas. This episode promises to equip you with best practices for navigating the murky waters of employer-funded training. We emphasize that while the training is just the first step, earning and maintaining your supervisor designation is a personal milestone, not an obligation to your workplace. You'll gain insights into the importance of renewing your designation and meeting continuing education requirements, ensuring you stay ahead in your professional journey.

Securing supervision for LPC licensure can feel like a never-ending catch-22. In our second chapter, we shed light on the struggles LPC associates face and scrutinize the temporary supervisor arrangements some agencies use. Find out why these arrangements often lead to paperwork nightmares and liability concerns. We'll also tackle the thorny issue of agencies paying for supervisor training only to see trainees quit midway, leaving a trail of reimbursement disputes. Learn why written agreements are crucial for both agencies and course takers, and discover practical solutions to these common challenges. This is your go-to episode for understanding the intricacies of the LPC licensure process and the responsibilities it entails.

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 Joe, you know you're our supervisor. Thank you so much for being a supervisor. We were happy to pay for your course and we've got Fred over here. Fred is a great talent. We want to hire them but we can't because our policy is we don't hire associates, so we need you to just kind of be the temporary supervisor.

Speaker 1:

This is the Texas Counselors Creating Badass Businesses podcast with Dr Kate Walker, where I teach you, texans and non-Texans alike, the latest research-based information to hit your income goals, stay out of trouble and make a bigger impact in your community. Join me and let's fill the gaps in access to mental health care and create a counseling career you'll love. Let's get to work. Welcome to Texas Counselors Creating Badass Businesses, where it's all about working smarter, not harder. And here's your host, dr Kate Walker, who will manifest the s*** out of any goal. Episode 96 is the second in our three-part series where we're peeking behind the curtain of supervisor training. So if you've already had your training, don't worry, there's still a lot in here that you're going to love. If you haven't, well, you're going to want to pay attention to this one, especially if your job has offered to pay for your training. Don't forget the new book, the Clinical Supervision Survival Guide, is finally out on Amazon. But you can also grab it by going to katewalkertrainingcom book Now let's get to work. Going to katewalkertrainingcom slash book Now let's get to work.

Speaker 1:

What could possibly go wrong if your work is paying for you to take the supervisor training? I mean, this could happen for any reason and it's not nefarious, I promise you. That's not what I'm setting you up for. I'm not setting you up for like bam, then you're going to find out this horrible thing. I am going to take you through some things that could go wrong if you don't do the things I'm going to tell you to do. And you know I'm going to tell you what to do, not because I'm bossy Okay, I'm a little bossy, but it's also because, after years and years of teaching the 40 hour training to become an LPC or LMFT supervisor in Texas, you guys got to remember this is all I do. I mean, I see a few clients, but this is really all that I do. So for almost 20 years, hearing folks who have their agency or their school district or the private practice owner pay for them to take our course and I love it. You know, I get the check and it's wonderful and, yay, I get a new supervisor out in the world. So I'm going to talk about a few things that you can do. Potential supervisor who may be getting your course paid for, yay, by another agency. And surprise, surprise, I'm even going to talk to the agency. If you're listening to this agency which I don't know why you would, but maybe you are I'm going to tell you what not to do also. Okay.

Speaker 1:

So, first and foremost, we're going to lead with boundaries. Okay. So when you finish the 40-hour training to become an LPC or LMFT supervisor in Texas, you are not automatically an LPC or LMFT supervisor in Texas. I know your head's spinning right now. You're going wait, wait what I just spent all this money, or my agency did on this course and I'm not a supervisor, no, because we just help you complete the educational component.

Speaker 1:

Guess who gets to decide if you get the S the state right, it's their designation to give. So if you have met, let's say, the LPC boards other requirements like the number of years you need to have practiced and you know the other things right. So there are other criteria. If you've met those criteria and you submit the handy dandy certificate that you got from our course that says, yes, you met all of our criteria, then it is up to that licensing board to then give you that designation, and they can take it away. So the point is, it's yours. Once they give it to you, it renews along with your license, and it's up to you to maintain it. The care and feeding of that designation, along with your license, is your responsibility. You have to reapply for it, or rather renew it. You have to submit the money to keep it renewed. You have to get the continuing education required by the board in order to make sure that you're compliant with state regulations. It's yours. Be proud of it. Right? Hang that certificate on the wall if you want to.

Speaker 1:

So what happens, though, if your agency, your school district, your private practice owner, if they have paid for you to get this designation? Let's just imagine it came after a conversation, right? You guys sat down together they said hey, you know, joe, you do an amazing job. We'd love to have you supervise. We think you have leadership qualities and you're glowing because you're like well, yeah, I do, I'm, you know, I'm great at this, I love this, and what better news than someone's going to pay for your training to do something you love. Well, there's a little bit of a covert contract going on there. Oh, or it may actually be overt, right, they may say cleanly, plainly, and you will see the associates that we hire into our agency school district practice. And you may say, well, yeah, yeah, of course.

Speaker 1:

Well then you take the Kate Walker training, 40 hour training to become an LPC or an LMFT supervisor in Texas, and you hear me say again and again, and again you don't have to take on anybody, right, this is your designation, this is your license. So if somebody comes through the door of your office at your agency and you have that shiny new S and the agency is like, oh, this is going to work out great, joe's a supervisor, so Joni, get on down there, sign that paperwork. And after interviewing Joni, you're like, oh no, no, this is not a good fit. And you have your reasons, because you took my course and you have all the interview procedures. You bought my book, the Clinical Supervision Survival Guide. So you've got all the templates and you are set and you're saying to yourself, no, I can't take on Joni. Well, now you got to break it to your agency Because, whether it was overt or covert, you may have agreed that just kind of carte blanche to take on whichever associate meandered down the hallway into your office, you know?

Speaker 1:

And that's a legitimate agreement, right, it was made in good faith. Now it's up to you to teach your agency the gravity of the liability that you are taking on, right? So if you took the basic course from us, you paid, or your agency paid $600, and that's an investment. But if something happens because Joni just set off, your red flags and sirens are wailing inside your head, but you take them on anyway because that's what you agreed to do, and it results in a complaint or a problem of some kind, right, the mental cost to you, maybe the cost you have to pay for an attorney until your malpractice insurance pays you back, and then your malpractice insurance goes up because Joni and you have both had a complaint filed against you, right, we're way above $600 now.

Speaker 1:

So, as you think through this process and you're agreeing to take the money from the agency, I want you to consider the freedom that you must exercise to pick and choose who actually becomes your supervisee, because your agency may not know the ins and outs. I mean, you listen to this podcast. I'm talking about stuff all the time. That, I think, is probably new information about what supervisors can do, about liability and how to protect yourself and all the things. So if you have to get your teacher hat on and then explain to the agency, hey look, this is what I can do, this is what I'm not going to do. You've got to trust me here. And Joni may not be a great fit for the agency and here's why, right, I'm not going to take her on as my supervisee. Here's why, right, you want to keep that relationship with the agency because, again, it was in good faith that they did this right. So that's one area that we see a lot where supervisors new level one, brand new supervisors can get a little bit blindsided because they accepted the gift of the paid for supervisor training and sort of a.

Speaker 1:

One part B to that is, you know, the obligation to finish the course. Now, at Kate Walker Training, when you buy the course, it's your course forever and ever. Amen. But you have 90 days from the day that you purchase to keep your eligibility for the supervisor designation. That's not my rule. That's not a Kate Walker training rule. That is a Texas LPC, lmft and social work, because we're going to be offering this course for social workers soon. So all three of those member boards are aligned on that 90 days.

Speaker 1:

And the next episode the third of our three episodes on Peak Behind the Curtain I'm going to talk about that 90 days. And the next episode the third of our three episodes on Peak Behind the Curtain I'm going to talk about that 90 days. But for now, just know that if you accept the gift of your agency or the private practice owner paying for your 40-hour training, you better get the course done in 90 days, right, I mean those 40 CEs. That's a lot of CEs to have, just. I mean most licenses I know of only need 24 to 30 to right. So having 40 that your agency paid for and you don't even get the S at the end at least not for me that doesn't mean you're not eligible forever. It just means you're not eligible from our course or that particular course that you purchased. So remember that obligation. When you accept that gift, you're accepting the responsibility of actually finishing the course.

Speaker 1:

Hey, clinical supervisor, I know there's a lot to be worried about, everything from supervisee liability to paperwork organization to oh my gosh, do I know when my supervisee's malpractice insurance expires. I've got help on the way. My new book, the Clinical Supervision Survival Guide, is published and ready for you on Amazon, super easy to get, you can go to katewalkertrainingcom book. And to make it even easier for you, to get all of the resources that I talk about in the book, I'm talking about assessments, I'm talking about templates, I'm talking about remediation plans. When you use the QR code you will get to download every single thing I talk about. I want to make it as easy as possible because, let's face it, you've got enough on your plate. So go to katewalkertrainingcom book, use the QR code, get the resources. And I've got a special surprise for you, because we were so excited with the way the book turned out. We are working on a planner. That's right, something you can track. Those homework assignments you can track. Hey, did I cover the rules this month? Oh, I can track my lesson plans. You can track all of those important dates in the new planner. We don't have it ready yet, but when you buy the book and use the QR code, guess what you can get on our waiting list. So go to katewalkertrainingcom bookcom, grab the book and keep putting amazing therapists out into the world.

Speaker 1:

Second thing that's really kind of new for me. I had not heard about this, but the very wise, kind nurturing participants in our Texas Supervisor Coalition Facebook group have taught me how they deal with it. So it was actually brought up to me by someone who answered an email and it was great and they said basically the problem is the temporary supervisor. Okay, so here's the situation In Texas.

Speaker 1:

When the LPC associate applies for their license, they must have a supervisor, so that agreement has to be part of their application packet. So they're out scouring the world for the perfect supervisor and the problem is many times they won't get hired unless they have their associates. So that's the catch 22, right? So what some agencies will do is they will say hey, joe, you know you're our supervisor, thank you so much for being a supervisor. We were happy to pay for your course and we've got Fred over here. Fred is a great talent. We want to hire them, but we can't because our policy is we don't hire associates. So we need you to just kind of be the temporary supervisor so they can get their paperwork signed, get it turned in supervisor, so they can get their paperwork signed, get it turned in, get that LPC associate license and then they're going to get supervised by somebody else, so you're just the temporary supervisor until, I guess, they move on.

Speaker 1:

I mean, I know the situation sounds kind of weird and I may not be stating it exactly how it was presented to me, but another situation would be okay the person signs up with you supervisor and then they kind of disappear, right, and so I don't want to cloud the issue too much because I don't know all the implications of being the temporary supervisor. I mean, I teach the course, so these things are kind of going through my head. I'm thinking, okay, well, then you've got to get this person on your roster, then you have to remove them from your roster, then you have 30 days to complete any paperwork. So you've got the application, then you're going to have to submit the experience hours, which there aren't any. So that's a lot of time and paperwork for you, who just kind of serves as a conduit or a go-between or a temporary fix. So this LPC associate can get their license. Actually, I won't even call them LPC associate, we'll call it LPC associate wannabe. Right, they're getting ready to be an LPC associate. So you're fulfilling a need, for sure.

Speaker 1:

But are you sure you're being compensated and, for that matter, are you sure you're being compensated for the extra liability and all the things you take on being that agency supervisor? So just food for thought. Again, I don't know. There's not enough data. I haven't really heard, sort of anecdotally, what can go wrong. I would love to hear from you guys you can tag me on Instagram at Kate Walker Training or in one of our Facebook groups. I'd love to hear any of you who've had the experience of being the temporary supervisor and if that's even been a problem. You know I may be stirring a pot. I shouldn't be stirring. So let me move on to agencies. I'm talking to you now. Agencies you want to hear what we have. Okay, this is sad, this is not good. So and I hate to be the heavy, but I have to be the heavy sometimes so the agency will pay for Janine to get their supervisor designation.

Speaker 1:

Well, janine gets about halfway through our program and then we don't hear anything and it happens. I hate that. You know we always try to reach out and make phone calls, but we just can't reach Janine anymore. They've gone dark, we don't know. So the 90 days passes, they still have the course. They bought the course and you know, we may or may not know whether an agency has paid or not. Sometimes we don't know because it's just kind of shows up paid on our end. We remove Janine from our active roster into a different list and then a little bit later we'll get a phone call from somebody at the agency and they'll say, hey, we paid for Janine to get her training and she quit. And we're like, oh no, I'm so sorry that she quit. And they'll say, yeah, we are too. Can we get our money back? And you know what our answer is no, right, we've sold a course. Janine took the course. Janine owns the course, right.

Speaker 1:

So, agencies, if you're hearing me, get some kind of written agreement in place so that you can get paid back from Janine, who now owns the course, right, because she's got a profile on Kate Walker Training. I can look her up right now. I can see how many modules she's taken. I could see how many assignments she's turned in. I can't take the course away from her because it's paid for, right. So if you're an agency and you're listening to my voice, please make sure, before you pay for someone to become a supervisor, get something in writing that explains if you don't finish the course, you owe us X amount of dollars, right? Some kind of a reimbursement in place. I'm not talking about a non-compete and those kind of messy things in place. I'm not talking about a non-compete and those kind of messy things. This is no. We're buying you this and if you break it, you buy it. You know you've got to pay us back, all right.

Speaker 1:

So again, I don't get a lot of information after that phone call. I don't necessarily hear from agencies about how they resolved that. I'd love to know. I'd love to hear from agencies to see how they were able to recoup those funds, if they were able to recoup those funds from folks they paid for to take the training and it didn't work out so well. So let me review.

Speaker 1:

Right, if you are a course taker, you have an obligation to that agency. It may be overt like hey, get this course finished in 90 days because that's the responsible thing to do. It may be covert like you're going to take on all of these supervisees. We send your way, right? So put on your teacher hat, start explaining to your agency how this works. That's your obligation, right? And then we talked about the temporary supervisor. Again, I don't quite know the ins and outs of all that, but I may get more information if you guys tell me how that works out for you, if you've ever been in that situation. And then finally, really aimed at the agencies don't spend money on a course if you don't have something in writing that explains the consequences of not finishing the course or quitting employment or something like that. I mean that supervisor designation, that's huge. I mean, unless you're just giving out gifts, you know which? Yay, go you. But for our purposes today, right, that's a problem if you are trying to recoup that money after losing an employee. All right, guys, that's what I got to talk about today. Peek behind the curtain Next time.

Speaker 1:

I'm going to talk about what supervision courses may not be teaching you and why the video absolutely turns out to be everybody's favorite assignment, and what's the 90 days all about anyway. All right, I'm Dr Kate Walker. I'll see you soon. Thanks so much for listening. I want to give you a free CE Now. If you don't need a CE, which is another word for continuing education, totally okay. You're still going to love the experts that we host every single month at Kate Walker Training. It's easy to attend. Just go to katewalkertrainingcom. Forward slash free webinar and I will see you there. I'm Dr Kate Walker. Thank you so much for listening to Texas counselors creating badass businesses. Thank you to Ridgely Walker for her lovely voiceovers at our introduction and do me a favor when you get a second, please like, share and subscribe and write us a review. That's really how we get picked up by other RSS feeds and we get this information out to the mental health badasses who need it. Thanks again and keep saving the world with excellent therapy. Thank you.