How Do I find an LCSW supervisor?
What to look for to make the most of your supervision experience and optimize your professional growth.
You have competed the masters degree, passed the Licensed Master Social Worker Exam, and you are ready to begin the last major leg of your education and professional growth, beginning your Licensed Clinical Social Worker Supervision plan. Congrats, you made it. While it may be tempting to jump into the first opportunity to get your supervision hours started, but here are a few things to consider when determining your next steps in selecting and LCSW supervisor.
Relationship matters. Social work in and of itself is a career bases off of relationships, collaborations with clients, stakeholders, multi disciplinary teams, and colleges, and the supervision process is no different. Take the time to make sure that you see the potential of a quality, healthy, collaborative relationship. A major task in the supervision process is continuing to challenge personal biases, and identify transference and counter transference in the therapeutic process. Your ability to feel safe in sharing and addressing your own personal growth will be influenced by the quality of relationship you are able to establish. This is a two year process and you get to choose this individual on the other side of this relationship and supervision process with you. Consider:
Interviewing several supervisors to have a way to compare comfort level, communication styles, and ability to connect.
Identifying the values and influences that influence your best practice and ask a potential supervisee about their own.
Asking for references from other professionals that know you well
Waiting until you find an options that you are confident and comfortable with.
Your professional growth is worth asking the questions.
Expertise and Experiences matters. Supervisors will be assisting you in addressing difficult cases creating treatment plans and solidifying your style of therapy and case conceptualization. It is imperative that you trust and respect the practice style of your supervisor. This is the person that you are trusting and asking to assist you in refining yout therapeutic style and expertise. When you think about your future practice goals, consider:
The age ranges that you would like to practice (Children, teen, families, older adults)
The specific populations with which you would like to develop an expertise (veterans, grief survivors, additions, family conflict, etc)
The training, certifications, and practice models that you hope to utilize.
The setting of your desired practice (short term crisis care, longer term in patent care, private practice, non-profit work, community mental health)
The grater the commonalities that you are able to find with a potential supervisor the more likely you will be able to focus on and develop that kind of practice you desire.
Learning style matters. At this point in your education, you likely know how you learn best. As your last major formalized learning opportunity (for you professional license anyways), use this information about yourself to set yourself up for the best learning opportunity. When thinking about your learning style consider if you would learn best:
in group vs individual setting as the primary format for supervision hours
In and in person formal to virtual connection
Formal vs informal format of the supervision
Book studies, case consultation, etc.
Find a supervisor that is able to work with your learning style and help you make the most of your investment.
Long term learning matters. While the selection of a supervisor is important, remember that this is a profession of long-term and ongoing learning. If you are not able to get what you desire from your supervision process, or have completed your supervision and are disappointed in your experience, remember that the opportunity for learning is career long and there are always new ways to find the support and education you desire
