Here in Colorado, you know that you need clinical supervision to count your work hours towards your counseling or social work license. But you are a bit wary of clinical supervision and you’re not sure what it is all about or how to get the most out of it. Doing clinical supervision is an investment of time and money and you want to make sure you are using your time as efficiently as possible, while learning as much as you can about your chosen field. Here is a quick guide for how to get the most out of your Colorado clinical supervision, from a trained and experienced clinical supervisor.
Find Your Clinical Supervisor
Perhaps you have already chosen a good clinical supervisor for yourself, or maybe you’re at the beginning stages of looking for a clinical supervisor in Colorado. Perhaps the most important thing to take some time to do up front is to research and find a good fit clinical supervisor for you. There are many aspects that go into finding a good clinical supervisor while also making sure he/she will work well with you and your unique learning style, personality, and experience. Here are some things I suggest doing before you even commit to working with a clinical supervisor:
Seek recommendations from colleagues, your school, your agency or practice, or networking groups for clinical supervisors in Colorado
Research several clinical supervisors either online or through consultation calls to determine training, experience, and supervision style
Ask questions of potential clinical supervisors to ensure they will be a good fit with you
Doing a bit of work up front to ensure you have a clinical supervisor that you have a good relationship with, that you can develop trust with, and that has the training and experience needed to provide good supervision will save you a lot of headache in the future.
Try Both Individual Clinical Supervision and Group Supervision
The most common format for clinical supervision in Colorado is individual supervision. Individual supervision really affords you the time to develop a good relationship with your supervisor and to explore in depth about your cases and other supervisory issues. Individual supervision is absolutely necessary for you to get the learning and oversight needed in your job and supervised hours, and most clinical supervisors are very proficient in doing individual clinical supervision.
However, group clinical supervision is absolutely something that all supervisees in Colorado should try out. You get different benefits doing group supervision than individual supervision. You learn skills such as how to interact within a group of other professionals, and you become a part of the group stages of development which helps you become more comfortable and proficient with clinical groups that you may lead or facilitate in the future. You get many different perspectives on cases from the other group participants rather than just one when doing individual supervision. There are more options to role play different situations, and the learning that you get from the other participants, their job roles, and their different populations can be invaluable.
I suggest doing a mixture of both individual and group supervision because both are needed and the benefits of each are different. Group clinical supervision also tends to be less expensive than individual clinical supervision, and many supervisees choose to do primarily individual supervision supplemented by monthly group supervision. There are many options in Colorado for both individual and group clinical supervision due to the rise of online supervision, so you shouldn’t have any problems finding an individual supervisor and a supervision group to join.
Come Prepared for Supervision
Finally, my last tip for you to get the most out of your supervision in Colorado is to come prepared for supervision. You are paying your hard-earned money for a trained and experienced clinical supervisor, so it just makes sense to do as much preparation work ahead of time as you can. Come in with an agenda of things or cases to discuss, and make sure you are open to feedback from your supervisor or the group. This seems obvious, but you are a very busy person and taking time out of your schedule to prepare for clinical supervision can seem like just one more task for you to get done. If you come prepared, you will get so much more out of your session than if you just try to wing it.
These are my top three tips to get the most out of your clinical supervision in Colorado. Choose a good supervisor, try both individual clinical supervision and group clinical supervision, and come prepared to get the most out of your time and money. If you’re looking for an individual clinical supervisor or a supervision group to join, Catalyss Counseling offers both. Our trained and experienced clinical supervisors help you reach your professional learning goals for both pre-licensed counselors and social workers as well as licensed, experienced therapists. Check out our Clinical Supervision Services and contact us for a free consultation call today!
How We Can Help
We are currently offering clinical supervision!
For current therapists looking to learn and grow professionally! We can help support you in making good therapy choices for your clients. Finding everything that you want in one person can be quite challenging! At Catalyss Counseling, our experienced clinical supervisors offer all of this.
If you are looking for clinical supervision, or if you would like to talk to someone more about how we can help you, follow these simple steps:
Contact us today for a free 20-minute phone consultation
Or, you can book directly online with one of our clinical supervisors, Kristen Dammer or Shannon Heers
Continue your personal and professional development, learning new skills, and offering a place to explore parallel processes happening between supervisees and their clients.
Other Therapy Services Available at Catalyss Counseling:
Here at Catalyss Counseling, we want to meet all of your counseling needs in the Denver area. Our supportive therapists provide depression counseling, therapy for caregiver stress, grief and loss therapy, stress management counseling and more. We also have specialists in trauma and PTSD, women's issues, pregnancy and postpartum depression or anxiety, pregnancy loss and miscarriage, and birth trauma. For therapists, we can also provide clinical supervision! We look forward to connecting with you to help support your journey today.
Author Biography
Shannon Heers is a psychotherapist, guest blogger, and owner of Catalyss Counseling in Englewood, CO. Shannon helps adults in professional careers manage anxiety, depression, work-life balance, and grief and loss. Follow Catalyss Counseling on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.