Clinical Supervision
As both an AAMFT-approved and ABEC-approved supervisor (and the only one in the Mobile area), I have been providing clinical supervision to associate licensed counselors (ALCs) and marriage and family therapists (MFTAs) since 2018. And I love it.
It’s one of the most enjoyable things I do. Fundamentally, analogous to therapy, it’s a growth-promoting relationship characterized by security, trust, and mutual contribution to one another’s growth. More specifically, it’s where a supervisee and I get to collaboratively and imaginatively engage in case conceptualization, brainstorm and practice specific interventions, identify implications of ethical practice/philosophy and worldview, as well as explore the role of culture and history in clinical practice (because, as in functional analysis, systems theory, and literary interpretation, context is king). And it’s where the supervisee in particular gets to experience grace and challenge, to toot their own horn and acknowledge missteps, to explore self-of-the-therapist issues and build skill, to gain confidence and solidify a professional identity.
As a common factors guy, I strive to encourage each supervisee in his or her existing and emergent gifts as opposed to trying to remake a clinician in my own image. Thus, I don’t provide supervision from the standpoint of a specific modality (e.g., CBT or structural family therapy), but instead recognize the validity of all models as capturing some small piece of what it means to be human (though I do tend to privilege a mix of systems thinking, postmodern and functional analytic perspectives). As such, I work flexibly with supervisees to support them in their preferred ways of working as well as nudge them in growth-promoting directions to expand their knowledge and skill-set.
Supervision Mentoring
I am also able to provide supervision mentoring for MFTs seeking the supervisor credential. This is a 12-month (or longer) process of meeting monthly to discuss your work with your own supervisees via self-report or raw data. My role here is to provide a supervisor candidate with feedback and direction to promote their growth as a budding clinical supervisor.
If you’re in need of clinical supervision for licensure, supervision mentoring, or just some consultation, feel free to reach out.