counselling supervision case study

A Case Study Exploring Supervisee Experiences in Social Justice Supervision

Volume 12 - Issue 1

Clare Merlin-Knoblich, Jenna L. Taylor, Benjamin Newman

Social justice is a paramount concept in counseling and supervision, yet limited research exists examining this idea in practice. To fill this research gap, we conducted a qualitative case study exploring supervisee experiences in social justice supervision and identified three themes from the participants’ experiences: intersection of supervision experiences and external factors, feelings about social justice, and personal and professional growth. Two subthemes were also identified: increased understanding of privilege and increased understanding of clients. Given these findings, we present practical applications for supervisors to incorporate social justice into supervision.

Keywords: social justice, supervision, case study, personal growth, practical applications

Social justice is fundamental to the counseling profession, and, as such, scholars have called for an increase in social justice supervision (Ceballos et al., 2012; Chang et al., 2009; Collins et al., 2015; Dollarhide et al., 2018, 2021; Fickling et al., 2019; Glosoff & Durham, 2010). Although researchers have studied multicultural supervision in the counseling profession, to date, minimal research has been conducted on implementing social justice supervision in practice (Dollarhide et al., 2021; Fickling et al., 2019; Gentile et al., 2009; Glosoff & Durham, 2010). In this study, we sought to address this research gap with an exploration of master’s students’ experiences with social justice supervision.

Social Justice in Counseling      Counseling leaders have developed standards that reflect the profession’s commitment to social justice principles (Chang et al., 2009; Dollarhide et al., 2021; Fickling et al., 2019; Glosoff & Durham, 2010). For instance, the American Counseling Association’s ACA Code of Ethics (2014) highlights the need for multicultural and diversity competence in six of its nine sections, including Section F, Supervision, Training, and Teaching. Additionally, in 2015, the ACA Governing Council endorsed the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC), which provide a framework for counselors to use to implement multicultural and social justice competencies in practice (Fickling et al., 2019; Ratts et al., 2015). All of these standards reflect the importance of social justice in the counseling profession (Greene & Flasch, 2019).

Social Justice Supervision      Although much of the counseling profession’s focus on social justice emphasizes counseling practice, social justice principles benefit supervisors, counselors, and clients when they are also incorporated into clinical supervision. In social justice supervision, supervisors address levels of change that can occur through one’s community using organized interventions, modeling social justice in action, and employing community collaboration (Chang et al., 2009; Dollarhide et al., 2021; Fickling et al., 2019). These strategies introduce an exploration of culture, power, and privilege to challenge oppressive and dehumanizing political, economic, and social systems (Dollarhide et al., 2021; Fickling et al., 2019; Garcia et al., 2009; Glosoff & Durham, 2010; Pester et al., 2020). Moreover, participating in social justice supervision can assist counselors in developing empathy for clients and conceptualizing them from a systemic perspective (Ceballos et al., 2012; Fickling et al., 2019; Kiselica & Robinson, 2001). When a supervisory alliance addresses cultural issues, oppression, and privilege, supervisees are better able to do the same with clients (Chang et al., 2009; Dollarhide et al., 2021; Fickling et al., 2019; Glosoff & Durham, 2010). Thus, counselors become advocates for clients and the profession (Chang et al., 2009; Dollarhide et al., 2021; Gentile et al., 2009; Glosoff & Durham, 2010).

Chang and colleagues (2009) defined social justice counseling as considering “the impact of oppression, privilege, and discrimination on the mental health of the individual with the goal of establishing equitable distribution of power and resources” (p. 22). In this way, social justice supervision considers the impact of oppression, privilege, and discrimination on the supervisee and supervisor. Dollarhide and colleagues (2021) further simplified the definition of social justice supervision, stating that it is “supervision in which social justice is practiced, modeled, coached, and used as a metric throughout supervision” (p. 104). Supervision that incorporates a focus on intersectionality can further support supervisees’ growth in developing social justice competencies (Greene & Flasch, 2019).

Literature about social justice supervision often includes an emphasis on two concepts: structural change and individual care (Gentile et al., 2009; Lewis et al., 2003; Toporek & Daniels, 2018). Structural change is the process of examining, understanding, and addressing systemic factors in clients’ and counselors’ lives, such as identity markers and systems within family, community, school, work, and elsewhere. Individual care acknowledges each person within the counseling setting independent of their environment (Gentile et al., 2009; Roffman, 2002). Scholars advise incorporating both concepts to address power, privilege, and systemic factors through social justice supervision (Chang et al., 2009; Gentile et al., 2009; Glosoff & Durham, 2010; Greene & Flasch, 2019; Pester et al., 2020).

It is necessary to distinguish social justice supervision from previous literature on multicultural supervision. Although similar, these concepts are different in that multicultural supervision emphasizes cultural awareness and competence, whereas social justice supervision brings attention to sociocultural and systemic factors and advocacy (Dollarhide et al., 2021; Fickling et al., 2019; E. Lee & Kealy, 2018; Peters, 2017; Ratts et al., 2015). For instance, a supervisor practicing multicultural supervision would be aware of a supervisee’s identity markers, such as race, ethnicity, and culture, and address those components throughout the supervisory experience, whereas a supervisor practicing social justice supervision would also consider systemic factors that impact a supervisee, in addition to being culturally competent. The supervisor would use that knowledge in the supervisory alliance and act as a change agent at individual and community levels (Chang et al., 2009; Dollarhide et al., 2021; Fickling et al., 2019; Gentile et al., 2009; Glosoff & Durham, 2010; E. Lee & Kealy, 2018; Lewis et al., 2003; Peters, 2017; Ratts et al., 2015; Toporek & Daniels, 2018).

Researchers have found that multicultural supervision contributes to more positive outcomes than supervision without consideration for multicultural factors (Chopra, 2013; Inman, 2006; Ladany et al., 2005). For example, supervisees who participated in multicultural supervision reported that supervisors were more likely to engage in multicultural dialogue, show genuine disclosure of personal culture, and demonstrate knowledge of multiculturalism than supervisors who did not consider multicultural concepts in supervision (Ancis & Ladany, 2001; Ancis & Marshall, 2010; Chopra, 2013). Supervisees also reported that multicultural considerations led them to feel more comfortable, increased their self-awareness, and spurred them on to discuss multiculturalism with clients (Ancis & Ladany, 2001; Ancis & Marshall, 2010). Although parallel research on social justice supervision is lacking, findings on multicultural supervision are a promising indicator of the potential of social justice supervision.

Models      In recent years, scholars have called for social justice supervision models to integrate social justice into supervision (Baggerly, 2006; Ceballos et al., 2012; Chang et al., 2009; Collins et al., 2015; Glosoff & Durham, 2010; O’Connor, 2005). However, to date, only three formal models of social justice supervision have been published. Most recently, Dollarhide and colleagues (2021) recommended a social justice supervision model that can be used with any supervisory theory, developmental model, and process model. In this model, the MSJCC are integrated using four components. First, the intersectionality of identity constructs (i.e., gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, abilities, etc.) is identified as integral in the supervisory triad between supervisor, counselor, and client. Second, systemic perspectives of oppression and agency for each person in the supervisory triad are at the forefront. Third, supervision is transformed to facilitate the supervisee’s culturally informed counseling practices. Lastly, the supervisee and client experience validation and empowerment through the mutuality of influence and growth (Dollarhide et al., 2021).

Prior to Dollarhide and colleagues’ (2021) model for social justice supervision, Gentile and colleagues (2009) proposed a feminist ecological framework for social justice supervision. This model encouraged the understanding of a person at the individual level through interactions within the ecological system (Ballou et al., 2002; Gentile et al., 2009). The supervisor’s role is to model socially just thinking and behavior, create a climate of equality, and implement critical thinking about social justice (Gentile et al., 2009; Roffman, 2002).

Lastly, Chang and colleagues (2009) suggested a social constructivist framework to incorporate social justice issues in supervision via three delineated tiers (Chang et al., 2009; Lewis et al., 2003; Toporek & Daniels, 2018). In the first tier, self-awareness , supervisors assist supervisees to recognize privileges, understand oppression, and gain commitment to social justice action (Chang et al., 2009; C. C. Lee, 2007). In the second tier, client services , the supervisor understands the clients’ worldviews and recognizes the role of sociopolitical factors that can impact the developmental, emotional, and cognitive meaning-making system of the client (Chang et al., 2009). In the third tier, community collaboration , the supervisor guides the supervisee to advocate for changes on the group, organizational, and institutional levels. Supervisors can facilitate and model community collaboration interventions, such as providing clients easier access to resources, participating in lobbying efforts, and developing programs in communities (Chang et al., 2009; Dinsmore et al., 2002; Kiselica & Robinson, 2001).

Each of these supervision models serves as a relevant, accessible tool for counseling supervisors to use to incorporate social justice into supervision (Chang et al., 2009, Dollarhide et al., 2021; Gentile et al., 2009). However, researchers lack an empirical examination of any of the models. To address this research gap and begin understanding social justice supervision in practice, the present qualitative case study exploring master’s students’ experiences with social justice supervision was undertaken.

We selected Chang and colleagues’ (2009) three-tier social constructivist framework in supervision for several reasons. First, the social constructivist framework incorporates a tiered approach similar to the MSJCC (Ratts et al., 2015) and reflects social justice goals in the profession of counseling (Ceballos et al., 2012; Chang et al., 2009; Collins et al., 2015; Glosoff & Durham, 2010). Second, the model is comprehensive. In using three tiers to address social justice (self, client, and community), the model captures multiple layers of social justice influence for counselors. Finally, the model is simple and meets the developmental needs of novice counselors. By identifying three tiers of social justice work, Chang and colleagues (2009) crafted an accessible tool to help new and practicing school counselors infuse social justice into their practice. This high level of structure matches the initial developmental levels of new counselors, who typically benefit from high amounts of structure and low amounts of challenge in supervision (Foster & McAdams, 1998).

The research question guiding this study was: What are the experiences of master’s counseling students in individual social justice supervision? We used a social constructivist theoretical framework and presumed that knowledge would be gained about the participants’ experiences based on their social constructs (Hays & Singh, 2012). The ontological perspective reflected realism, or the belief that constructs exist in the world even if they cannot be fully measured (Yin, 2017).

We selected a qualitative case study methodology because it was the most appropriate approach to explore the experiences of a single group of supervisees supervised by the same supervisor in the same semester. In this approach, researchers examine one identified unit bounded by space, time, and persons (Hancock et al., 2021; Hays & Singh, 2012; Yin, 2017). Qualitative case study research allows researchers to deeply explore a single case, such as a group, person, or experience, and gain an in-depth understanding of that identified situation, as well as meaning for the people involved in it (Hancock et al., 2021; Prosek & Gibson, 2021).

In this study, we selected a case study methodology because the study’s participants engaged in the same supervisory experience at the same counseling program in the same semester, thus forming a case to be studied (Hancock et al., 2021). Given the research question, we specifically used a descriptive case study design, which reflected the study goals to describe participants’ experiences in a specific social justice supervision experience. Case study scholars (Hancock et al., 2021; Yin, 2017) have noted that identifying the boundaries of a case is an essential step in the study process. Thus, the boundaries for this study were: master’s-level school counseling students receiving social justice supervision from the same supervisor (persons) at a medium-sized public university on the East Coast (place) over the course of a 14-week semester (time).

Research Team      Our research team for this study consisted of our first and third authors, Clare Merlin-Knoblich and Benjamin Newman, both of whom received training and had experience in qualitative research. Merlin-Knoblich and Newman both identify as White, heterosexual, cisgender, middle-class, and trained counselor educators/supervisors. Merlin-Knoblich is a woman (pronouns: she/her/hers) and former school counselor, who completed master’s and doctoral coursework on social justice counseling and studied social justice supervision in a doctoral program. Newman is a man (pronouns: he/him/his) and clinical mental health/addictions counselor, who completed social justice counseling coursework in a master’s counseling program before completing a doctorate in counselor education and supervision. Our second author, Jenna L. Taylor, was not a part of the research team, but rather was a counseling student unaffiliated with the research participants who assisted in the preparation of the manuscript. Taylor identifies as a White, heterosexual, cisgender, and middle-class woman (pronouns: she/her/hers) with prior experience in research courses and on qualitative research teams. Merlin-Knoblich was familiar with all three participants given her role as the practicum supervisor. Taylor and Newman did not know the study participants beyond Newman’s interactions while recruiting and interviewing them for this study.

Participants and Context      Although some scholars of some qualitative research methodologies call for requisite minimum numbers of participants, in case study research, there is no minimum number of participants sufficient to study (Hays & Singh, 2012). Rather, in case study research, researchers are expected to study the number of participants needed to reflect the phenomenon being studied (Hancock et al., 2021). There were three participants in this study because the supervisory experience that comprised the case studied included three supervisees. Adding additional participants outside of the case would have conflicted with the boundaries of the case and potentially interfered with an understanding of the single, designated case in this study.

All study participants identified as White, heterosexual, cisgender, middle-class, and English-speaking women (pronouns: she/her/hers). Participants were 23, 24, and 26 years old. All the participants were students in the same CACREP-accredited school counseling program at a public liberal arts university on the East Coast of the United States. Prior to the study, the participants completed courses in techniques, group counseling, school counseling, ethics, and theories. While being supervised, participants also completed a practicum experience and coursework in multicultural counseling and career development.

All participants completed practicum at high schools near their university. One high school was urban, one was suburban, and one was rural. During the practicum experience, participants met with Merlin-Knoblich, their supervisor, for face-to-face individual supervision for 1 hour each week. They also submitted weekly journals to Merlin-Knoblich, written either freely or in response to a prompt, depending on their preference. Merlin-Knoblich then provided weekly written feedback to each participant’s journal entry, and, if relevant, the journal content was discussed during face-to-face supervision. Simultaneously, a university faculty member provided weekly face-to-face supervision-of-supervision to Merlin-Knoblich to monitor supervision skills and ensure adherence to the identified supervision model. The faculty member possessed more than 15 years of experience in supervision and was familiar with social justice supervision models.

Merlin-Knoblich applied Chang and colleagues’ (2009) social constructivist social justice supervision model in deliberate ways throughout the supervisees’ 14-week practicum experience. For example, in the initial supervision sessions, Merlin-Knoblich introduced the supervision model and explained how they would collaboratively explore ideas of social justice in counseling related to their practicum experiences. This included defining social justice, discussing supervisees’ previous background knowledge, and exploring their openness to the idea.

Throughout the first 5 weeks of supervision, Merlin-Knoblich used exploratory questions to build participants’ self-awareness (the first tier), particularly around their experiences with privilege and oppression. During the next 5 weeks of supervision, Merlin-Knoblich focused on the second tier, understanding clients’ worldviews. They discussed sociopolitical factors and examined how a client’s worldview impacts their experiences. For example, Merlin-Knoblich discussed how a client’s age, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, family structure, language, immigrant status, gender identity, sexual orientation, and other factors can influence their experiences. Lastly, in the final 4 weeks of supervision, Merlin-Knoblich focused on the third tier of social justice implications at the institutional level. For instance, Merlin-Knoblich initiated discussions about policies at participants’ practicum sites that hindered equity. Merlin-Knoblich also explored the role that participants could take in making resources available to clients, advocating in the community, and using leadership to support social justice. Table 1 summarizes how Merlin-Knoblich implemented Chang and colleagues’ (2009) social justice model.

Merlin-Knoblich addressed fidelity to the supervision model in two ways. First, in weekly supervision-of-supervision meetings with the faculty advisor, they discussed the supervision model and its use in sessions with participants. The faculty advisor regularly asked about the supervision model and how it manifested in sessions in an attempt to ensure that the model was being implemented recurrently. Secondly, engagement with Newman occurred in regular peer debriefing discussions about the use of the supervision model. Through these discussions, Newman monitored Merlin-Knoblich’s use of the social justice model throughout the 14-week supervisory experience.

Data Collection      We obtained IRB approval prior to initiating data collection. One month after the end of the semester and practicum supervision, Newman approached Merlin-Knoblich’s three supervisees about participation in the study. He explained that participation was an exploration of the supervisees’ experiences in supervision and not an evaluation of the supervisees or the supervisor. Newman also emphasized that participation in the study was confidential, entirely voluntary, and  would not affect participants’ evaluations or grades in the practicum course, which ended before the study took place. All supervisees agreed to participate.

Case study research is “grounded in deep and varied sources of information” (Hancock et al., 2021) and thus often incorporates multiple data sources (Prosek & Gibson, 2021). In the present study, we identified two data sources to reflect the need for varied information sources (Hancock et al., 2021). The first data source came from semistructured interviews with participants, a frequent data collection tool in case study research (Hancock et al., 2021). One month after the participants’ practicum experiences ended, Newman conducted and audio-recorded 45-minute individual in-person interviews with each participant using a prescribed interview protocol that explored participants’ experiences in social justice supervision. Newman exercised flexibility and asked follow-up questions as needed (Merriam, 1998).

The interview protocol contained 12 questions identified to gain insights into the case being studied (Hancock et al., 2021). Merlin-Knoblich and Newman designed the interview protocol by drafting questions and reflecting on three influences: (a) the overall research question guiding the study, (b) the social constructivist framework of the study, and (c) Chang and colleagues’ (2009) three-tier supervision model. Questions included “In what ways, if any, has the social justice emphasis in your supervision last semester influenced you as a counselor?” Questions also addressed whether or not the emphasis on social justice at each tier (i.e., self, client, institution) affected participants. Appendix A contains a list of all interview questions.

The second data source was participants’ practicum journals. In addition to interviewing the participants about experiences in supervision, we also asked participants if their practicum journals could be used for the study’s data analysis. The journals served as a valuable form of data to answer the research question, given their informative and non-prescriptive nature. That is to say, although participants knew during the study interviews that the interview data would be used for analysis for the present study, they wrote and submitted their journals before the study was conceptualized. Thus, the journals reflected in-the-moment ideas about participants’ practicum and social justice supervision. Furthermore, this emphasis on participant experiences during the supervisory experience aligned with the methodological emphasis on studying a case in its natural context (Hancock et al., 2021). All participants consented for their 14 practicum journal entries (each 1–2 pages in length) to be analyzed in the study, and they were added to the interview data to be analyzed together. Such convergent analysis of data is typical in case study research (Prosek & Gibson, 2021).

Data Analysis      We followed Yin’s (2017) case study research guidelines throughout the data analysis process. We transcribed all interviews, replaced participants’ names with pseudonyms, and sent participants the transcripts for member checking. Two participants approved their interview transcripts without objection. One participant approved the transcript but chose to share additional ideas about the supervisory experience via a brief email. This email was added to the data. The case study database was then formed with the compiled participants’ journal entries, the additional email, and the interview data (Yin, 2017).

Next, we read each interview transcript and journal entry twice in an attempt to become immersed in the data (Yin, 2017). We then independently open coded transcripts by identifying common words and phrases while maintaining a strong focus on the research question and codes that answered the question (Hancock et al., 2021). We compared initial codes and then collaboratively narrowed codes into cohesive categories representing participants’ experiences. This process generated a list of tentative categories across data sources (Yin, 2017). Throughout these initial processes, we attended to two of Yin’s (2017) four principles of high-quality data analysis: attend to all data and focus on the most significant elements of the case.

We then independently contrasted the tentative categories with the data to verify that they aligned accurately. We discussed the verifications until consensus was met on all categories. Lastly, we classified the categories into three themes and two subthemes found across all participants (Stake, 2005). During these later processes, we were mindful of Yin’s (2017) remaining two principles of high-quality data analysis: consider rival interpretations of data and use previous expertise when interpreting the case. Accordingly, we reflected on possible contrary explanations of the themes and considered the findings in light of previous literature on the topic.

Trustworthiness      We addressed trustworthiness in three ways in this study. First, before data collection, we engaged in reflexivity through acknowledging personal biases and assumptions with one another (Hays & Singh, 2012; Yin, 2017). For example, Merlin-Knoblich acknowledged that her lived experience supervising the participants might impact the interpretation of data during analysis and noted that these perceptions could potentially serve as biases during the study. Merlin-Knoblich perceived that the supervisees grew in their understanding of social justice, but also acknowledged doubt over whether the social justice supervision model impacted participants’ advocacy skills. She also noted her role as a supervisor evaluating the three participants prior to the study taking place. These power dynamics may have influenced her interpretations in the analysis process. Newman shared that his lack of familiarity with social justice supervision might impact perceptions and biases to question whether or not supervisees grew in their understanding of social justice. We agreed to challenge one another’s potential biases during data analysis in an attempt to prevent one another’s experiences from interfering with interpretations of the findings.

In addition, we acknowledged that our identities as White, English-speaking, educated, heterosexual, cisgender, middle-class researchers studying social justice inevitably was informing personal perceptions of the supervisees’ experiences. These privileged identities were likely blinding us to experiences with oppression that participants and their clients encountered and that we are not burdened with facing. Throughout the study, we discussed the complexity of studying social justice in light of such privileged identities. We spoke further about our identities and potential biases when interpreting the data.

Second, investigator triangulation was addressed by collaboratively analyzing the study’s data (Hays & Singh, 2012). Because data included both interview transcripts and journals, we confirmed that study findings were reflected in both data sources, rather than just one information source (Hancock et al., 2021). This process helped prevent real or potential biases from informing the analysis without constraint. We also were mindful of saturation of themes while comparing data across participants and sources during the analysis process. Lastly, an audit trail was created to further address credibility. The study recruitment, data collection, and data analysis were documented so that the research can be replicated (Hays & Singh, 2012; Roulston, 2010).

In case study research, researchers use key quotes and descriptions from participants to illuminate the case studied (Hancock et al., 2021). As such, we next describe the themes and subthemes identified in study data using participants’ journal and interview quotes to illustrate the findings. Three overarching themes were identified in the data: 1) intersection of supervision experiences and external factors, 2) feelings about social justice, and 3) personal and professional growth. Two subthemes, 3a) increased understanding of privilege and 3b) increased understanding of clients, further expand the third theme.

Intersection of Supervision Experiences and External Factors      One theme evident across the data was that participants’ experiences in social justice supervision did not occur in isolation from other experiences they encountered as counseling students. Coursework, overall program emphasis, and previous work experiences were external factors that created a compound influence on participants’ counselor development and intersected with their experiences of growth in supervision. Thus, external factors influenced participants’ understanding of and openness to a social justice framework. For example, concurrent with their practicum and supervision experiences, participants completed the course Theory and Practice of Multicultural Counseling. While discussing their experiences in supervision, all participants referenced this course. For example, Casey explained that exposure to social justice in the multicultural counseling course while discussing the topic in supervision made her more open and eager to learning about social justice overall.

Participants’ experiences prior to the counseling program also appeared to intersect with and influence their experiences in social justice supervision. Kallie, for instance, previously worked with African American and Latin American adolescents as a camp counselor at an urban Boys and Girls Club. She explained that social justice captured the essence of viewpoints formed in these experiences, saying, “I really like social justice because it kind of is like the title for the way I was looking at things already.” Casey grew up in California and reported that growing up on the West Coast also exposed her to a mindset parallel to social justice. Esther described that though she was not previously exposed to the term “social justice,” studying U.S., women’s, and African American history in college influenced her pursuit of a counseling career. This influence is evident in Esther’s third journal entry, in which she described noticing issues of power and oppression:

My own attention to an “arbitrarily awarded power” and personal questioning as to what to do with this consciousness has been at the forefront of my mind over the past two years. Ultimately this self-exploration led me to school counseling as a vehicle to advocate and raise consciousness in potentially disenfranchised groups.

This quote highlights how Esther’s previous studies in college may have primed her for the content she was exposed to in social justice supervision.

Feelings About Social Justice      The second theme was a change in participants’ feelings toward social justice over the course of the semester. Two of the participants expressed that their feelings toward social justice changed from intimidation and fear to comfort and enthusiasm. Initially, Casey explained that social justice supervision created feelings of intimidation. Casey felt fear that the supervisor would instruct her to be an advocate at the practicum site, and that in doing so, Casey would upset others. However, Casey reported that she realized during supervision that social justice advocacy does not necessarily look one specific way. Casey said, “I think a lot of that intimidation went away as I realized that I could have my own style integrated into social justice.” Kallie expressed a similar pattern of emotions, particularly regarding examining clients from a social justice perspective. When asked to explore clients through this lens in supervision, an initial uncomfortable feeling emerged, but over the course of practicum, Kallie reported an attitude change. In the sixth journal entry, Kallie explained that she was focusing on examining all clients through a social justice lens, and “found it to be significantly easier this week than last week.”

Esther also shared evidence of changed emotions during social justice supervision. Initially, Esther reported feeling excited, but later, she was confused as to how counselors could use social justice practically. Despite this confusion, Esther shared that she gained new awareness that social justice advocacy is not only found in individual situations with clients, but also in an overall mindset:

Something I will take from it [supervision] . . . is you incorporate that sort of thinking into your overall [approach]. You don’t necessarily wait for a specific event to happen, but once you know the culture of a place, you have lessons geared towards whatever the problem is there.

Despite these mixed feelings, Esther’s experience aligns with Casey’s and Kallie’s, as all reported experiencing a change in emotions toward social justice over the course of supervision.

Personal and Professional Growth      Participants also demonstrated changes in professional and personal growth throughout the supervision experiences, the third theme identified. In early journal entries, they reported nervousness, doubt, and insecurity regarding their counseling skills and knowledge. Over time, the tone shifted to increased comfort and confidence. This improvement appeared not only related to overall counseling abilities, but specifically to participants’ understanding of social justice in counseling. For example, in Esther’s second journal entry, she noted the influence that social justice supervision had on the ability to recognize oppression and bring awareness to it at practicum. Esther wrote, “Just having this concept be explicitly laid out in our plan has already caused me to be more attentive to such issues.”

Similarly, professional growth was evident in Kallie’s journal entries over time. In the fourth journal entry, Kallie described discomfort and nervousness when reflecting on clients’ sociopolitical contexts. However, in the ninth journal entry, Kallie described an experience in which she adapted her counseling to be more sensitive to the client’s multicultural background. Casey also highlighted growth with an anecdote about a small group she led. Casey explained that the group was for high-achieving, low-income juniors intending to go to college:

In the very beginning, I remember thinking—this sounds terrible now, but—“It’s kind of unfair to the other students that these kids get special privileges in that they get to meet with us and walk through the college planning process.” ’Cause I was thinking, “Wow, even kids who are high-achieving but are middle-class or upper-class, they could use this information, also. And it’s not really fair that just ’cause they’re lower class, they get their hand held during this.” But, throughout the semester, realizing that that’s not necessarily a bad thing for an institution to give another one a little extra help because they’re gonna have a deficit of help somewhere else in their life, and it really is fair. It’s more fair to give them more help ’cause they likely aren’t going to be getting it at home. . . . So, by having that group, it actually is making a greater degree of equity . . . through supervision and through processing all of that, [I learned] it was actually evening the board out more.

     Participants also expressed that their professional growth in social justice competencies was intertwined with personal growth. Casey reported that supervision increased her comfort when talking about social justice issues and led to the reevaluation of personal opinions. Similarly, Kallie summarized:

I am very thankful that I had that social justice–infused model because it changed the way I think about people. . . . It kinda opened my eyes in a way I had not anticipated practicum opening my eyes. I didn’t expect that—social justice. I didn’t realize how big of an impact it would actually have.

Increased Understanding of Privilege      Participants reported that understanding their privilege was one area of growth. During practicum, participants considered their areas of privilege and how these aligned or contrasted with those of clients. For example, in Esther’s third journal entry, she noted that interactions with clients made her more aware of personal privileges, which led her to create a list regarding gender identity, socioeconomic background, and sexual orientation. Casey and Kallie further described initially feeling resistant to the idea of White privilege. Casey explained:

I was a little resistant to the idea of White privilege originally, which I’ve since learned is a normal reaction. ’Cause I’ve kind of had the thought of “No! It’s America! All of us pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and everyone has the same opportunity,” which just isn’t the case. And so that definitely had a huge influence on me—realizing that I have huge privileges and powers that I did not, maybe didn’t want to, recognize before.

After initial resistance, participants reported that they transitioned from feeling shame about White privilege to an increased understanding and excitement to use privilege to create change.

Increased Understanding of Clients      Lastly, participants also reported specific growth in their understanding of the clients whom they counseled. Participants believed they were better able to understand clients’ backgrounds and experiences because of social justice supervision. Kallie described how reflecting on clients’ sociopolitical contexts helped her better understand clients. She noted that the practice became a habit, saying, “It just kinda invaded the way I look at different people and see their backgrounds.” Casey also described an increased understanding of clients by sharing an example of a client who was highly intelligent, low-income, and Mexican American. Casey learned that the client intended to go to trade school to become a mechanic and was not previously exposed to other postsecondary education options like college. Casey described this realization as “a big moment” and said, “My interaction with him, for sure, was influenced by recognizing that there was social injustice there.”

The purpose of this study was to explore counseling students’ experiences in social justice supervision. Findings indicated that participants had meaningful experiences in social justice supervision that impacted them as future counselors. Topics of privilege, oppression, clients’ sociopolitical contexts, and advocacy were reportedly prominent in the participants’ supervision and influenced their experiences.

Despite many calls for social justice supervision in the counseling profession (Baggerly, 2006; Ceballos et al., 2012; Chang et al., 2009; Collins et al., 2015; Glosoff & Durham, 2010; O’Connor, 2005), this is the first known study about supervisees’ experiences with social justice supervision. It represents a new line of inquiry to understand what social justice supervision may be like for supervisees. Findings indicate that participants wrestled with understanding social justice and viewed it as a complex topic. They also suggest that participants found value in making sense of social justice and using it as a tool to better support clients individually and systemically. Similar to research on multicultural supervision, participants indicated that receiving social justice supervision was a positive experience and impacted personal and professional growth (Ancis & Ladany, 2001; Ancis & Marshall, 2010; Chopra, 2013; Inman, 2006; Ladany et al., 2005).

Notably, findings align with some, though not all, of Chang and colleagues’ (2009) delineated tiers in the social justice supervision model. Some of the themes reflect the first tier, self-awareness. For example, participants’ feelings about social justice (Theme 2) and increased understanding of privilege (Theme 3a) highlight how the supervisory experience enhanced their self-awareness as counselors. As their feelings changed and knowledge of privilege grew, their self-awareness improved, a critical task in becoming a social justice–minded counselor (Chang et al., 2009; Dollarhide et al., 2021; Fickling et al., 2019; Glosoff & Durham, 2010). Participants’ increased understanding of clients (Theme 3b) reflects the second tier in Chang and colleagues’ (2009) model, client services. In demonstrating an enhanced understanding of clients and their world experiences, the participants reported thinking beyond themselves and into how power, privilege, and oppression affected those they counseled.

The final tier of the social justice supervision model, community collaboration, was not evident in participant data about their experiences. Despite the supervisor’s intent to address this tier through analyses of school and district policies, as well as community advocacy opportunities, themes about this topic did not manifest in the data. This theme’s absence may suggest that the supervisor’s efforts to address the third tier were not strong enough to impact participants. Alternatively, the absence may suggest that participants were not developmentally prepared to make sense of social justice at a systemic, community level. Instead, their development matched best with social justice ideas at the self and client levels.

Participant findings did align with previous research about supervision. For example, Collins and colleagues (2015) studied master’s-level counseling students and found that their lack of experience in social justice supervision led them to feel unprepared to meet the needs of diverse clients. In this study, the presence of social justice supervision helped participants feel more prepared to support clients, as evidenced in the subtheme of increased understanding of clients . Furthermore, this study reflects similar findings from multicultural supervision research. We found that multicultural supervision was associated with positive outcomes of being prepared to work with diverse clients and engaging in effective supervision (Chopra, 2013; Inman, 2006; Ladany et al., 2005). This pattern is reflected in the current study, as participants reported positive experiences in social justice supervision. Ancis and Ladany (2001) and Ancis and Marshall (2010) found that incorporating multicultural considerations into supervision increases supervisees’ self-awareness and encourages them to engage clients in multicultural discussions. These same results were evident in the present study, with participants reporting personal and professional growth, such as stronger awareness of White privilege and greater willingness to examine clients’ sociopolitical contexts. Findings also reflect general research on supervision, which indicates that supervisees typically experience personal and professional growth in the process (Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, 2011; Watkins et al., 2015; Young et al., 2011).

Furthermore, study findings also align with assertions from supervision scholars regarding the value of social justice supervision. They support Chang and colleagues’ (2009) claim that social justice supervision can increase counselor self-awareness and build an understanding of oppression. Additionally, the findings also reflect Glosoff and Durham’s (2010) assertion that social justice in supervision helps supervisees gain awareness of power differentials. Finally, Ceballos and colleagues (2012) posited that social justice supervision will help counselors develop empathy for clients as counselors conceptualize clients in a systemic perspective. The participants’ enhanced understanding of White privilege and their clients’ contexts supports each of these ideas. Though findings are not generalizable, they appear to confirm scholars’ ideas about social justice supervision and suggest that the approach can be a positive, beneficial experience for counselors-in-training.

Limitations      Study findings ought to be considered in light of the study’s limitations. First, although case study research focuses on a single identified case by definition and is not designed for generalization (Hays & Singh, 2012), the case in this study consisted of a demographically homogenous population of only three participants lacking racial, gender, and age diversity. This lack of diversity influenced participants’ experiences and study findings. Second, although the supervisor in this study did not conduct the semistructured interviews with participants in an attempt to prevent bias, participants were aware that Merlin-Knoblich was collaborating on the study, and this knowledge may have influenced their reported experiences. Merlin-Knoblich and Newman also began the study with acknowledged biases toward and against social justice supervision, and although they engaged in reflexivity and dialogue to prevent these biases from interfering with data analysis, there is no way to verify that this positionality did not influence the interpretation of findings. Lastly, our privileged identities served as a potential limitation while studying a topic like social justice supervision. Our racial, educational, class, language, and sexual identity privileges continually blind us to the experiences of oppression that others, including supervisees and clients, face. Seeking to know these perspectives better can increase our understanding of the implications of social injustices in society.

Implications for Counselor Educators and Supervisors      The positive participant experiences illuminated through this study suggest that supervision based on this model may yield positive experiences for counselors-in-training, such as supporting students in developing self-awareness, understanding of clients’ sociopolitical contexts, and advocacy skills (Chang et al., 2009). Although the supervisor in this study used social justice supervision in individual sessions with participants, counselor educators may choose to apply social justice supervision models to group or triadic supervision. Counseling supervisors in agency, private practice, and school settings may also want to consider using social justice supervision to support counselors and subsequently clients (Baggerly, 2006; Ceballos et al., 2012; O’Connor, 2005). Furthermore, counselor educators teaching doctoral students may want to incorporate social justice supervision models into introductory supervision courses. Including these models into course content may in itself increase student interest in social justice (Swartz et al., 2018).

Regardless of the setting in which supervisors implement social justice supervision, the findings suggest practical implications that supervisors can consider. First, supervisors appear to benefit from considering social justice supervision models in their work (Chang et al., 2009; Dollarhide et al., 2021; Gentile et al., 2009). The findings in this study, plus previous research indicating positive outcomes for multicultural supervision (Chopra, 2013; Inman, 2006; Ladany et al., 2005), suggest that social justice supervision may potentially benefit counseling. Second, supervisors using social justice supervision may encounter supervisee confusion, discomfort, and/or enthusiasm when introduced to social justice supervision. These feelings also may change over the course of the supervisory relationship when learning about social justice. Third, supervisors ought to be mindful of all three tiers of Chang and colleagues’ (2009) social justice supervision model and a supervisee’s developmental match with each tier. As seen in this study, supervisees may be best matched for the first and second tiers of the model (self-awareness and client services), but not the third tier (community collaboration). Supervisors would benefit from assessing a supervisee’s potential for understanding community collaboration before deciding to infuse its focus in supervision.

More research is needed to understand social justice supervision. A variety of future studies, including different models, methods, and settings, would benefit the counseling profession. For example, a study implementing the social justice supervision model proposed by Dollarhide and colleagues (2021) can add to the needed research in this field. Additional qualitative studies with diverse supervisees in different counseling settings would be helpful in understanding if the experiences participants reported encountering in this study are common in social justice supervision. Quantitative studies on social justice supervision interventions would also add to the profession’s knowledge on the value of social justice supervision. Lastly, studies on supervisees’ experiences in social justice supervision compared to other models would highlight benefits and drawbacks of multiple supervision models (Baggerly, 2006; Chang et al., 2009; Glosoff & Durham, 2010).

In this article, we explored master’s-level counseling students’ experiences in social justice supervision via a qualitative case study. Through this exploration, we identified three themes reflecting participants’ experiences in social justice supervision: intersection of supervision experiences and external factors, feelings about social justice, and personal and professional growth, as well as two subthemes: increased understanding of privilege and increased understanding of clients. Findings suggest that social justice supervision may be a beneficial practice for supervisors and counselor educators to consider integrating in their work (Chang et al., 2009; Dollarhide et al., 2021; Gentile et al., 2009; Pester et al., 2020). Further research across contexts and with a range of methodologies is needed to better understand social justice supervision in practice.

Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure The authors reported no conflict of interest or funding contributions for the development of this manuscript.

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Semistructured Interview Questions

• What brought you to this counseling program?
• Where did you complete your practicum?
• How would you describe the population you worked with at your practicum?
• What previous experience, if any, did you have with social justice prior to individual practicum supervision?
• During individual practicum supervision on campus last semester, what were some of your initial thoughts and feelings about a social justice–infused supervision model?
• In what ways, if any, did those thoughts and feelings about social justice change throughout your supervision experience?

These next three questions address three areas of social justice that were incorporated into your individual practicum supervision model: self, students (clients), and institution (school or school districts).

6. Do you think that the emphasis on social justice related to self (i.e., your power, privileges, and experience with oppression) in individual practicum supervision on campus had any influence on you?

• If yes, what influence did this emphasis have on you?
• If no, why do you think that’s the case?

7. Do you think that the emphasis on social justice related to others (i.e., the sociopolitical context of students, staff, etc.) in individual practicum supervision on campus had any influence on you?

8. Do you think that the emphasis on social justice related to institution (i.e., your practicum site, school district) in individual practicum supervision on campus had any influence on you?

• In what ways, if any, has the social justice emphasis in your individual practicum supervision influenced you as a counselor?
• In what ways, if any, has the social justice emphasis in your individual practicum supervision influenced your development as a person?
• How would you define social justice?
• Is there anything else you would like to add regarding your experience in a social justice–infused model of supervision last semester?
• Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Clare Merlin-Knoblich , PhD, NCC, is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Jenna L. Taylor, MA, NCC, LPC-A, is a doctoral student at the University of North Texas. Benjamin Newman, PhD, MAC, ACS, LPC, CSAC, CSOTP, is a professional counselor at Artisan Counseling in Newport News, VA. Correspondence may be addressed to Clare Merlin-Knoblich, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28211, [email protected].

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Reflecting Through Counselling Supervision

Such preparation includes the asking of such questions as: I f I could risk telling my supervisor what really concerns me in my counselling work, what would that be?, What is my particular difficulty or problem in working with this client?, Is there anything I want to celebrate or feed back to my supervisor? (Page, Wosket, 1994) .  Exploration of the work undertaken with clients enables the counsellor to explore their practice, identify their strengths, weaknesses, personal blocks, skills deficits and areas of expertise.

Apart from discussing the work the supervisee is undertaking the supervisor may use a variety of techniques to help the supervisee reflect upon their work.  For example, listening to tapes of client work so that interventions can be evaluated at the micro-skills level, using adaptations of the IPR method mentioned above, asking the supervisee to ‘role-play’ particular situations that they may be finding difficult.

Some counselling supervisors encourage their supervisees to write a case study as part of on-going professional development (Parker, 1995) .  Writing a case study provides the counsellor with an opportunity to view their work in a more formal way focusing on aspects of the work the counsellor found difficult, what learning took place, the counsellor’s internal world and what skills expertise or deficit were highlighted.  The use of case-series studies may also be employed.  Here, the counsellor combines into one case study several clients with common clinically relevant features.  For example, a counsellor may wish to consider their approach to working with clients who share the characteristics of excessive or unhealthy emotional dependency, resistence or anger.

Previous posts in this series:

Reflective Practice and Self-Evaluation Keeping a Professional Development Log

Next in the series:

Monitoring Effectiveness

References:

Carroll, M (1996), Counselling Supervision – Theory, Skills and Practice, London: Cassell Feltham, C, Dryden, W (1994), Developing Counsellor Supervision, Dryden, W (ed) Developing Counselling Series, London: Sage Page, S, Wosket, V (1994) Supervising The Counsellor – a cyclical model, London: Routledge Parker, M (1995) ‘Practical Approaches : Case Study Writing’ in Counselling, p19-21, Volume 6, No 1, Rugby: British Association for Counselling.

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Supervision case studies and templates

How you approach your supervision will be individual to you.

This flexibility can make it challenging to know where to begin or how best to approach your supervision.

Our supervision case studies aim to help you approach your supervision effectively, by providing some examples of the different types of supervision in practice and the different scenarios you could experience.

Our supervision templates also provide some examples of how you might want to structure your supervision sessions and the types of conversations you could have.

Level of supervision

Case study : Ameena is a registered Band 7 Physiotherapist at an NHS Trust. Ameena has recently been asked by her employer to supervise Marianne, who has recently qualified as a Band 5 physiotherapist.

Remote supervision

Case study : Raff is a hearing aid dispenser working in independent practice. He has just started running his own business as a sole practitioner in a remote location in the Scottish Highlands.

Cross-profession supervision and multiple supervisors

Case study : Ellie is a registered Operating Department Practitioner (ODP), who recently started a new job at an NHS Trust. As part of her contract of employment, Ellie is expected to administer drugs intravenously.

Student supervision

Case study : Lilly is a Band 5 registered dietician who works in a community healthcare centre. Lilly has recently been asked by her employer to supervise Isaac, a second-year student dietician, during his practice-based learning.

Supervision templates

Our supervision templates provide some examples of how you might want to structure your supervision sessions and the types of conversations you could have.

Best Practices in Clinical Supervision: Another Step in Delineating Effective Supervision Practice

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Case conceptualization: Key to highly effective counseling

By Jon Sperry and Len Sperry

December 2020

I n their first session, the counseling intern learned that Jane’s son had been diagnosed with brain cancer. The therapist then elicited the client’s thoughts and feelings about her son’s diagnosis. Jane expressed feelings of guilt and the thought that if she had done more about the early symptoms, this never would have happened to her son. Hearing this guilt producing thought, the intern spent much of the remaining session disputing it. As the session ended, the client was more despondent.  

After processing this session in supervision, the intern was no longer surprised that Jane had not kept a follow-up appointment. The initial session had occurred near the end of the intern’s second week, and she had been eager to practice cognitive disputation, which she believed was appropriate in this case. In answer to the supervisor’s question of why she had concluded this, the intern responded that “it felt right.”

The supervisor was not surprised by this response because the intern had not developed a case conceptualization. With one, the intern could have anticipated the importance of immediately establishing an effective and collaborative therapeutic alliance and gently processing Jane’s emotional distress sufficiently before dealing with her guilt-producing thought.

This failure to develop an adequate and appropriate case conceptualization is not just a shortcoming of trainees, however. It is also common enough among experienced counselors.

What is case conceptualization?

Basically, a case conceptualization is a process and cognitive map for understanding and explaining a client’s presenting issues and for guiding the counseling process. Case conceptualizations provide counselors with a coherent plan for focusing treatment interventions, including the therapeutic alliance, to increase the likelihood of achieving treatment goals.

We will use the definition from our integrated case conceptualization model to operationalize the term for the purposes of explaining how to utilize this process. Case conceptualization is a method and clinical strategy for obtaining and organizing information about a client, understanding and explaining the client’s situation and maladaptive patterns, guiding and focusing treatment, anticipating challenges and roadblocks, and preparing for successful termination.

We believe that case conceptualization is the most important counseling competency besides developing a strong therapeutic alliance. If our belief is correct, why is this competency taught so infrequently in graduate training programs, and why do counselors-in-training struggle to develop this skill? We think that case conceptualization can be taught in graduate training programs and that counselors in the field can develop this competency through ongoing training and deliberate practice.

This article will articulate one method for practicing case conceptualization.

The eight P’s

We use and teach the eight P’s format of case conceptualization because it is brief, quick to learn and easy to use. Students and counselors in the community who have taken our workshops say that the step-by-step format helps guide them in forming a mental picture — a cognitive map — of the client. They say that it also aids them in making decisions about treatment and writing an initial evaluation report.

The format is based on eight elements for articulating and explaining the nature and origins of the client’s presentation and subsequent treatment. These elements are described in terms of eight P’s: presentation, predisposition (including culture), precipitants, protective factors and strengths, pattern, perpetuants, (treatment) plan, and prognosis.

Presentation

Presentation refers to a description of the nature and severity of the client’s clinical presentation. Typically, this includes symptoms, personal concerns and interpersonal conflicts.

Four of the P’s — predisposition, precipitants, pattern and perpetuants — provide a clinically useful explanation for the client’s presenting concern.

Predisposition

Predisposition refers to all factors that render an individual vulnerable to a clinical condition. Predisposing factors usually involve biological, psychological, social and cultural factors.

This statement is influenced by the counselor’s theoretical orientation. The theoretical model espouses a system for understanding the cause of suffering, the development of personality traits, and a process for how change and healing can occur in counseling. We will use a biopsychosocial model in this article because it is the most common model used by mental health providers. The model incorporates a holistic understanding of the client.

Biological: Biological factors include genetic, familial, temperament and medical factors, such as family history of a mental or substance disorder, or a cardiovascular condition such as hypertension.

Psychological: Psychological factors might include dysfunctional beliefs involving inadequacy, perfectionism or overdependence, which further predispose the individual to a medical condition such as coronary artery disease. Psychological factors might also involve limited or exaggerated social skills such as a lack of friendship skills, unassertiveness or overaggressiveness.

Social: Social factors could include early childhood losses, inconsistent parenting style, an overly enmeshed or disengaged family environment, and family values such as competitiveness or criticalness. Financial stressors can further exacerbate a client’s clinical presentations. The “social” element in the biopsychosocial model includes cultural factors. We separate these factors out, however.

Cultural: Of the many cultural factors, three are particularly important in developing effective case conceptualizations: level of acculturation, acculturative stress and acculturation-specific stress. Acculturation is the process of adapting to a culture different from one’s initial culture. Adapting to another culture tends to be stressful, and this is called acculturative stress. Such adaptation is reflected in levels of acculturation that range from low to high.

Generally, clients with a lower level of acculturation experience more distress than those with a higher level of acculturation. Disparity in acculturation levels within a family is noted in conflicts over expectations for language usage, career plans, and adherence to the family’s food choices and rituals. Acculturative stress differs from acculturation-specific stresses such as discrimination, second-language competence and microaggressions.

Precipitants

Precipitants refer to physical, psychological and social stressors that may be causative or coincide with the onset of symptoms or relational conflict. These may include physical stressors such as trauma, pain, medication side effects or withdrawal from an addictive substance. Common psychological stressors involve losses, rejections or disappointments that undermine a sense of personal competence. Social stressors may involve losses or rejections that undermine an individual’s social support and status. Included are the illness, death or hospitalization of a significant other, job demotion, the loss of Social Security disability payments and so on.

Protective factors and strengths

Protective factors are factors that decrease the likelihood of developing a clinical condition. Examples include coping skills, a positive support system, a secure attachment style and the experience of leaving an abusive relationship. It is useful to think of protective factors as being the mirror opposite of risk factors (i.e., factors that increase the likelihood of developing a clinical condition). Some examples of risk factors are early trauma, self-defeating beliefs, abusive relationships, self-harm and suicidal ideation.

Related to protective factors are strengths. These are psychological processes that consistently enable individuals to think and act in ways that benefit themselves and others. Examples of strengths include mindfulness, self-control, resilience and self-confidence. Because professional counseling emphasizes strengths and protective factors, counselors should feel supported in identifying and incorporating these elements in their case conceptualizations.

Pattern (maladaptive)

Pattern refers to the predictable and consistent style or manner in which an individual thinks, feels, acts, copes, and defends the self both in stressful and nonstressful circumstances. It reflects the individual’s baseline functioning. Pattern has physical (e.g., a sedentary and coronary-prone lifestyle), psychological (e.g., dependent personality style or disorder) and social features (e.g., collusion in a relative’s marital problems). Pattern also includes the individual’s functional strengths, which counterbalance dysfunction.

Perpetuants

Perpetuants refer to processes through which an individual’s pattern is reinforced and confirmed by both the individual and the individual’s environment. These processes may be physical, such as impaired immunity or habituation to an addictive substance; psychological, such as losing hope or fearing the consequences of getting well; or social, such as colluding family members or agencies that foster constrained dysfunctional behavior rather than recovery and growth. Sometimes precipitating factors continue and become perpetuants.

Plan (treatment)

Plan refers to a planned treatment intervention, including treatment goals, strategy and methods. It includes clinical decision-making considerations and ethical considerations.

Prognosis refers to the individual’s expected response to treatment. This forecast is based on the mix of risk factors and protective factors, client strengths and readiness for change, and the counselor’s experience and expertise in effecting therapeutic change.  

Case example

To illustrate this process, we will provide a case vignette to help you practice and then apply the case to our eight P’s format. Ready? Let’s give it a shot.

Joyce is a 35-year-old Ph.D. student at an online university. She is white, identifies as heterosexual and reports that she has never been in a love relationship. She is self-referred and is seeking counseling to reduce her chronic anxiety and social anxiety. She recently started a new job at a bookstore — a stressor that brought her to counseling. She reports feeling very anxious when speaking in her online classes and in social settings. She is worried that she will not be able to manage her anxiety at her new job because she will be in a managerial role.

Joyce reports that she has been highly anxious since childhood. She denies past psychological or psychiatric treatment of any kind but reports that she has recently read several self-help books on anxiety. She also manages her stress by spending time with her close friend from class, spending time with her two dogs, drawing and painting. She appears to be highly motivated for counseling and states that her goals for therapy are “to manage and reduce my anxiety, increase my confidence and eventually get in a romantic relationship.”

Joyce describes her childhood as lonely and herself as “an introvert seeking to be an extrovert.” She states that her parents were successful lawyers who valued success, achievement and public recognition. They were highly critical of Joyce when she would struggle with academics or act shy in social situations. As an only child, she often played alone and would spend her free time reading or drawing by herself.

When asked how she views herself and others, Joyce says, “I often don’t feel like I’m good enough and don’t belong. I usually expect people to be self-centered, critical and judgmental.”

Case conceptualization outline

We suggest developing a case conceptualization with an outline of key phrases for each of the eight P’s. Here is what these phrases might look like for Joyce’s case. These phrases are then woven together into sentences that make up a case conceptualization statement that can be imported into your initial evaluation report.

Presentation: Generalized anxiety symptoms and social anxiety

Precipitant: New job and concerns about managing her anxiety

Pattern (maladaptive): Avoids cl oseness to avoid perceived harm

Predisposition:

• Biological: Paternal history of anxiety
• Psychological: Views herself as inadequate and others as critical; deficits in assertiveness skills, self-soothing skills and relational skills
• Social: Few friends, a history of social anxiety, and parents who were highly successful and critical
• Cultural: No acculturative stress or cultural stressors but from upper-middle-class socioeconomic status, so from privileged background — access to services and resources

Perpetuants: Small support system; believes that she is not competent at work

Protective factors/strengths: Compassionate, creative coping, determined, hardworking, has access to various resources, motivated for counseling

Plan (treatment): Supportive and strengths-based counseling, thought testing, self-monitoring, mindfulness practice, downward arrow technique, coping and relationship skills training, referral for group counseling

Prognosis: Good, given her motivation for treatment and the extent to which her strengths and protective factors are integrated into treatment

Case conceptualization statement

Joyce presents with generalized anxiety symptoms and social anxiety (presentation) . A recent triggering event includes her new job at a local bookstore — she is concerned that she will make errors and will have high levels of anxiety (precipitant) . She presents with an avoidant personality — or attachment — style and typically avoids close relationships. She has one close friend and has never been in a love relationship. She typically moves away from others to avoid being criticized, judged or rejected (pattern) . Some perpetuating factors include her small support system and her belief that she is not competent at work (perpetuants) .

Some of her protective factors and strengths include that she is compassionate, uses art and music to cope with stress, is determined and hardworking, and is collaborative in the therapeutic relationship. Protective factors include that she has a close friend from school, has access to university services such as counseling services and student clubs and organizations, is motivated to engage in counseling, and has health insurance (strengths & protective factors) .

The following biopsychosocial factors attempt to explain Joyce’s anxiety symptoms and avoidant personality style: a paternal history of anxiety (biological) ; she views herself as inadequate and others as critical and judgmental, and she struggles with deficits in assertiveness skills, self-soothing skills and relational skills (psychological) ; she has few friends, a history of social anxiety and parents who were highly successful and critical toward her (social) . Given Joyce’s upper-middle-class upbringing, she was born into a life of opportunity and privilege, so her entitlement of life going in a preferred and comfortable path may also explain her challenges with managing life stress (cultural) .

Besides facilitating a highly supportive, empathic and encouraging counseling relationship, treatment will include psychoeducation skills training to develop assertiveness skills, self-soothing skills and relational skills. These skills will be implemented through modeling, in-session rehearsal and role-play. Her challenges with relationship skills and interpersonal patterns will also be addressed with a referral to a therapy group at the university counseling center. Joyce’s negative self-talk, interpersonal avoidance and anxiety symptoms will be addressed with Socratic questioning, thought testing, self-monitoring, mindfulness practice and the downward arrow technique (plan-treatment) .

The outcome of therapy with Joyce is judged to be good, given her motivation for treatment, if her strengths and protective factors are integrated into the treatment process (prognosis) .

Notice how the treatment plan is targeted at the presenting symptoms and pattern dynamics of Joyce’s case. Each of the eight P’s was identified in the case conceptualization, and you can see the flow of each element and its interconnections to the other elements.

Tips for writing effective case conceptualizations

1) Seek consultation or supervision with a peer or supervisor for feedback on your case conceptualizations. Often, another perspective will help you understand the various elements (eight P’s) that you are trying to conceptualize.

2) Be flexible with your hypotheses and therapeutic guesses when piecing together case conceptualizations. Sometimes your hunches will be accurate, and sometimes you will be way off the mark.

3) Consider asking the client how they would explain their presenting problem. We begin with a question such as, “How might you explain the (symptoms, conflict, etc.) you are experiencing?” The client’s perspective may reveal important predisposing factors and cultural influences as well as their expectations for treatment.

4) Be OK with being imperfect or being completely wrong. This process takes practice, feedback and supervision.

5) After each initial intake or assessment, jot down the presenting dynamics and make some guesses of the cause or etiology of them.

6) Have a solid understanding of at least one theoretical model. Read some of the seminal textbooks or watch counseling theory videos to help you gain a comprehensive assessment of a specific theory. Knowing the foundational ideas of at least one theory will help with your conceptual map of piecing together the information that you’ve gathered about a client.

We realize that putting together case conceptualizations can be a challenge, particularly in the beginning. We hope you will find that this approach works for you. Best wishes!

For more information and ways of learning and using this approach to case conceptualization, check out the recently published second edition of our book, Case Conceptualization: Mastering This Competency With Ease and Confidence .

Jon Sperry is an associate professor of clinical mental health counseling at Lynn University in Florida. He teaches, writes about and researches case conceptualization and conducts workshops on it worldwide. Contact him at [email protected] or visit his website at drjonsperry.com .

Len Sperry is a professor of counselor education at Florida Atlantic University and a fellow of the American Counseling Association. He has long advocated for counselors learning and using case conceptualization, and his research team has completed eight studies on it. Contact him at [email protected] .

Knowledge Share articles are developed from sessions presented at American Counseling Association conferences.

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The impact of clinical supervision on counsellors and therapists, their practice and their clients A systematic review of the literature

Sue Wheeler and Kay Richards

BACP commissioned a systematic review to locate, appraise and synthesise evidence from research studies to obtain a reliable overview of the impact of clinical supervision.

This paper reports on the findings from articles published in this area since 1980, and reviews 25 individual published studies. The quality of evidence is variable, but supervision is consistently demonstrated to have some positive impacts on the supervisee.

The systematic review found limited evidence that:

• supervision can enhance the self-efficacy of the supervisee
• supervision has a beneficial effect on the supervisees, the client and the outcome of therapy
• supervision that focuses on the working alliance can influence client perception and enhance outcome in the treatment of depression
• clients treated by supervised therapists are more satisfied than those treated by unsupervised therapists
• skill and process supervision have the same positive impact on client outcome
• counselling and psychotherapeutic skills develop through supervision

Supervision

Information and resources for practitioners and supervisors

Supervision resources

Videos, FAQs and resources to support members in working with this section of the Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions

Home > JCPS > Vol. 14 (2021) > No. 4

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

In-home counseling clinical supervision: a multiple-case study analysis.

Janelle M. Cox , Bowie State University Follow Connie T. Jones , The University of North Carolina, Greensboro Follow Stephanie F. Dailey , George Mason University Follow

Document Type

Empirical Research Article

clinical supervision, in-home counseling, counselor education, multiple-case study

Subject Area

Clinical Supervision, Counseling, Counselor Education

An understanding of the knowledge and skills necessary for clinical supervision of in-home counselors is scarce in counseling. To address this gap, the authors conducted a multiple-case study with three clinical supervisors from two in-home counseling agencies in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Data was collected through multiple sources: individual interviews, clinical supervisors contracts, and philosophies. Within-case and cross-case analysis resulted in four themes: clinical supervision practices, training and evaluation, ethical dilemmas, and boundary setting. Implications of these findings suggest clinical supervisors at in-home agencies are not receiving formal training and rely heavily on previous experience to guide their clinical supervision practice, conflicting with best practices. The challenges faced by in-home clinical supervisors, and recommendations for clinical supervisors and counselor educators are discussed.

Recommended Citation

Cox, J. M., Jones, C. T., & Dailey, S. F. (2021). In-Home Counseling Clinical Supervision: A Multiple-Case Study Analysis. Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision, 14 (4). Retrieved from https://research.library.kutztown.edu/jcps/vol14/iss4/3

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192 – The Supervision Triangle

192 - The Supervision Triangle

Key theory in counselling – creative arts therapy.

In episode 192 of the Counselling Tutor Podcast, presenters Rory Lees-Oakes and Ken Kelly talk in ‘Student Check-In’ about key theory in counselling. Then – in the first instalment of ‘Focus on Supervision’ – Ken and Rory talk about the supervision triangle. To end, in ‘Practice Matters’, Rory talks to counsellor and trainer Ani de la Prida about working with creative arts therapy.

Key Theory in Counselling (starts at 1.30 mins)

Understanding counselling theory can be tricky, coming as it does with a whole new language. And as a student of counselling or psychotherapy, you need to be able not only to understand the theory but also to write about it in assignments and apply it to practice.

Different modalities are based on different theories, and some take longer to train in than others. But, as Ken points out, there is – despite these different theoretical underpinnings – some commonality between modalities, with different words sometimes representing similar concepts across modalities. Thus, while the words may differ, the ideas behind them may well overlap.

Rory has prepared a handout for you on this important area of counselling training. Entitled ‘Counselling Theory – Trigger Vocabulary: Cheat Sheet’ (though there’s no actual cheating involved in using a plain-English summary of keywords of counselling-speak!), you can download this here.

The Supervision Triangle (starts at 16.05 mins)

Watch this lecture + access hundreds of hours of cpd, certified cpd for qualified counsellors.

• Hundreds of hours of on-demand CPD lectures to help you stay current with your CPD ethical requirements
• Support, and be supported , by thousands of other counsellors as a member of the exclusive online community.
• Access your learning anytime you want ... anywhere you choose ... using any device type — desktop or mobile.

If you are already a qualified supervisor, do you need any additional training to be able to supervise counsellors who are working online? Ken and Rory’s answer is a resounding ‘Yes!’ from a professional and ethical standpoint.

In ‘Focus on Supervision’, this new regular slot in the Counselling Tutor Podcast, Ken and Rory begin by talking about the supervision triangle.

The supervision ‘triangle’ refers to the three cornerstones of clinical supervision:

• normative – ensuring that the practitioner (supervisee) is practising in line with the ethical standards of their professional body
• formative – looking at the learning and development of the supervisee, identifying any needs in this respect and encouraging the supervisee to fill them
• restorative – supporting the supervisee to look after themselves in a way that fosters their own wellbeing and personal development

Ken and Rory talk through each of these three cornerstones, providing examples to illustrate them. While they may not be obvious to the supervisee, the skilled supervisor is constantly reviewing and balancing these three areas of focus.

And in the very middle of this triangle stands ethics , reflecting the whole raison d’etre of clinical supervision.

Counselling Tutor has been working hard over the last year – led on this project by Rory – to develop a level 6 certificate in online supervision.

This will allow:

• qualified counsellors to upgrade to online working
• counsellors who are ready to train as supervisors to do so with a specialisation in online working

The course is mapped to the supervision competences set by ACTO, the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and the National Counselling Society (NCS). You can read more about it on the Counselling Tutor website .

Creative Arts Therapy (starts at 28.45 mins)

Using creative arts in counselling is a topic that arises often in the Counselling Tutor Facebook group . If you aren’t already a member, do come along and join over 37,000 students, qualified practitioners, tutors and supervisors interested in the world of counselling and psychotherapy.

Rory talks with Ani de la Prida, who is a psychotherapist, creative arts counsellor, and lecturer at the University of East London. She also founded the Association for Person Centred Creative Arts.

Their conversation covers a range of points regarding this interesting way of working, including:

• the difference between person-centred art therapy and using creative arts in a therapeutic setting
• protected titles and associated restrictions
• how creative arts can enhance therapeutic effectiveness
• the impact of creative arts on relationship development
• the importance of sensitivity
• non-directivity in creative arts, and the risk of harm to clients through directivity
• what types and presentations of the client might particularly benefit from creative arts therapy

If you would like to learn more about this fascinating topic, you can watch Ani’s lecture in Counsellor CPD , our online CPD.

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Spotted out-of-date info or broken links? Kindly let us know the page where you found them. Email: [email protected]

• Heather Haslem
• August 22, 2024
• Behavioral Health , Clinical Supervision , Continuing Education , Couples and Family Therapy , Mental Health , Professional Development , Psychotherapy , Substance Use Disorder

Building Stronger Therapists: The Impact of Skillful Clinical Supervision

This post was previously published in August 2023 and has been updated to reflect current trainings.

Are you a mental health provider considering the rewarding path of becoming a clinical supervisor? If the answer is POSSIBLY or YES, then this post is for you! In addition, we have new updates and training opportunities for existing clinical supervisors. We’ll also share the requirements for becoming a supervisor in Nevada and pathways to licensure and certification, training opportunities, and a plethora of resources.

Supervision is important aspect of on-going support for new counselors. It provides a safe place for new counselors to develop their skills, receive ethical guidance, self-reflect, discuss treatment plans, uphold accountability, prevent burnout, continue learning, develop cultural competence, build confidence and manage risk. Let’s take a look at each of these aspects and it’s importance in developing competence as a counselor.

Skill Development:  Supervision provides counselors with the opportunity to enhance their clinical skills. Through regular discussions with a more experienced supervisor, counselors can receive feedback on their techniques, interventions, and approaches. This feedback helps counselors refine their skills and become more effective in their work.

Ethical Guidance:  Counselors often encounter complex ethical dilemmas in their practice. Supervision allows them to discuss these dilemmas with a seasoned professional who can provide guidance based on ethical principles and guidelines. This helps counselors make informed decisions that prioritize the well-being of their clients.

Self-Reflection:  Effective counseling requires self-awareness and introspection. Supervision encourages counselors to reflect on their own feelings, biases, and reactions to clients. This self-awareness can lead to better understanding and management of countertransference and other personal factors that may impact the therapeutic relationship.

Client Welfare:  Supervision ensures that counselors are providing the best possible care to their clients. By reviewing cases and treatment plans with a supervisor, counselors can identify potential blind spots, consider alternative interventions, and ensure that their clients’ needs are being met appropriately.

Accountability:  Supervision holds counselors accountable for their work. Knowing that their actions and decisions will be reviewed by a supervisor encourages counselors to uphold professional standards and engage in ethical practices.

Burnout Prevention:  The counseling profession can be emotionally demanding, and counselors are at risk of burnout. Regular supervision provides a safe space for counselors to discuss their own emotional reactions to clients, manage stress, and receive support to prevent burnout.

Continuous Learning:  The field of mental health is constantly evolving, with new research, interventions, and techniques emerging over time. Supervision allows counselors to stay updated on the latest developments and integrate evidence-based practices into their work.

Cultural Competence:  Counselors work with diverse populations, and cultural competence is essential for providing effective therapy. Supervision facilitates discussions about cultural factors, biases, and sensitivities, helping counselors become more attuned to their clients’ unique backgrounds and needs.

Confidence Building:  Supervision boosts counselors’ confidence by validating their strengths and helping them address areas for growth. Feeling supported and validated by a supervisor can enhance a counselor’s self-assurance in their abilities.

Risk Management:  Supervision helps counselors identify and manage potential risks in their practice, such as dealing with high-risk clients or situations. By discussing challenging cases and potential issues, counselors can develop strategies to mitigate risks and ensure client safety.

Supervision is a vital component of a counselor’s professional development, ensuring they provide high-quality, ethical, and effective care to their clients while maintaining their own well-being. Being a supervisor is an opportunity to share your knowledge and expertise with the up and coming professionals in the field. In addition, it has benefits for the supervisor themselves and the profession as a whole which include the following:

• Professional Growth:  Serving as a supervisor allows experienced counselors to further develop their own clinical and supervisory skills. Through the process of guiding and mentoring new counselors, supervisors deepen their understanding of various therapeutic approaches, ethical considerations, and the complexities of client cases.
• Expertise Recognition:  Being selected as a supervisor is often a recognition of a counselor’s expertise and contributions to the field. It highlights their advanced knowledge and ability to guide and mentor less experienced professionals.
• Contribution to the Field:  Supervisors play a crucial role in shaping the next generation of counselors. By sharing their knowledge, insights, and experiences, they contribute to the overall growth and advancement of the counseling profession.
• Personal Fulfillment:  Many supervisors find personal satisfaction in helping new counselors develop their skills and succeed in their careers. Witnessing the growth and progress of their supervisees can be deeply rewarding.
• Enhanced Communication Skills:  Effective supervision requires clear communication and active listening. Serving as a supervisor hones these important communication skills, which can be valuable in various professional and personal contexts.
• Reflective Practice:  Supervisors often engage in discussions about cases and interventions with their supervisees. This reflective process encourages supervisors to critically evaluate their own approaches, leading to ongoing self-improvement and refinement of their counseling techniques.
• Networking and Collaboration:  Supervisors often interact with other professionals, including colleagues, other supervisors, and educators. This networking can lead to collaborations, research opportunities, and the sharing of best practices within the counseling community.
• Continued Learning:  The counseling field is constantly evolving, and serving as a supervisor necessitates staying updated on the latest research, interventions, and therapeutic modalities. This commitment to continuous learning benefits both supervisors and their supervisees.
• Leadership Development:  Supervisors assume a leadership role in guiding and supporting new counselors. This experience can enhance their leadership skills and potentially open up opportunities for leadership positions within organizations or the broader field.
• Contributing to Quality Care:  By ensuring that new counselors are well-trained and competent, supervisors contribute to the delivery of high-quality mental health services. This ultimately benefits clients and the community by promoting effective and ethical counseling practices.
• Elevating the Profession:  Effective supervision helps raise the standards of the counseling profession by fostering a culture of ongoing learning, accountability, and ethical practice. Well-trained and supported counselors contribute to the overall credibility and reputation of the field.

In essence, being a supervisor for new counselors is a multifaceted role that offers personal and professional growth opportunities, while also positively impacting the development of the counseling profession as a whole.

Requirements In Nevada For Becoming A Clinical Supervisor with the Board of Alcohol, Drug and Gambling Counselors

To become a licensed or certified as an Alcohol & Drug Counselor or Problem Gambling Internship Supervisor, the following requirements must be met:

• An LADC/LCADC must be licensed for two years and a CADC/CPGC must be certified for three years prior to applying to become a clinical supervisor.
• Complete the  Clinical Supervision for Alcohol and Drug Counselors 12 hour course with  CASAT Learning . This course is offered twice per year alternating between online and in-person.
• Submit your application for Supervisor Certification, along with you certificates of completion from the above trainings, to the Board of Examiners for Alcohol, Drug and Gambling Counselors office via your  LICENSEE portal . There is a $60.00 processing fee for the application.

Requirements In Nevada For Renewing A Clinical Supervisor Licensure or Certification

For existing Clinical Supervisors seeking to renew your certification with Board of Examiners for Alcohol, Drug and Gambling Counselors, the following requirements must be met:

• Complete the Clinical Supervision Refresher 6 hour course with  CASAT Learning . This course is offered twice per year alternating between live webinar and in-person. CASAT Learning now offers a self-paced, online Clinical Supervision Refresher course .
• Submit your renewal application, along with your certificate of completion from the above training, to the Board of Examiners for Alcohol, Drug and Gambling Counselors office via your  LICENSEE portal .

New Information For Alcohol And Drug Counselors

Effective July 1, 2023, the following revisions to NRS 641C will be implemented:

Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor Supervisors (LCADC-S) may supervise problem gambling counselor interns, provided that the licensed clinical alcohol and drug counselor fulfills the following criteria and submits an application to the Nevada Board of Examiners for Alcohol, Drug and Gambling Counselors to become an approved Supervisor for Certified Problem Gambling Interns:

• The LCADC must be approved by the Board to engage in supervision.
• LCADC candidates are required to complete a minimum of 12 hours of Supervision/Coursework, to include topics relevant to the supervision of CPCG-I’s.
• Successfully complete a minimum of 30 hours of instruction specific to problem gambling

Instructions to apply for an LCADC Supervisor license to supervise Certified Problem Gambling Interns:

• Complete 12 hours of the required Clinical Supervision Coursework and be a supervisor in good standing with the Nevada Board of Examiners for Alcohol, Drug and Gambling Interns.
• Complete CASAT 30-hour self-paced Problem Gambling Counselor Foundations course no more than 6 months prior to submitting an application.
• Login to Licensee Portal (NOT Application Portal). This is the one application that is in the Licensee Portal since only current licensees can apply.
• On the left-hand side of the page click Supervisor Application.
• Upload Initial Clinical Supervisor Training certificate(s).
• Pay $60 fee and submit.

Pathways To Licensure And Certification

In the Catalyst blog post from November 18, 2020:  Choose Your Pathway To An LADC, LCADC, CADC, or CADC-I in Nevada: Featuring Brand-New Flowcharts for Each!  The pathways are clearly outlined in flowcharts that were developed by CASAT for   LADC ,  LCADC ,  CADC ,  CADC-I , and  Nevada Certified Problem Gambling Counselor . Alcohol & Drug General Information and all of the flowcharts may also be downloaded from the  State of Nevada Alcohol & Drug Abuse Counselors website .

To learn about obtaining a Certified Prevention Specialist (CPS) certification in Nevada, first read the Catalyst blog post  Prevention Specialist Certification: What Is It and Why Do I Need It? 10 Reasons to Become a Certified Prevention Specialist

A Great Resource For Additional Information

One excellent way to find out more about clinical supervision is to access the  National Frontier and Rural Telehealth Education Center (NFARtec) . The NFARtec techies people how to use telehealth technologies to deliver addiction treatment and recovery services, and that includes clinical supervision. The Technology-Based Clinical Supervision Guidelines are downloadable from the NFARtec website or by using this  link  (Barton et al., 2016). The document provides background and history of technology-based clinical supervision, the many benefits of using technology to deliver it, and clearly outlines the support and infrastructure needed to deliver clinical supervision through the use of technology.

Applicable Board Meetings And Regulations

All Nevada Board meeting scan be found on the  Board Meetings page  of the Nevada State Board of Examiners for Alcohol, Drug and Gambling Counselors website.

Applicable regulations can also be found on the  Regulations page  of the Nevada State Board of Examiners for Alcohol, Drug and Gambling Counselors website. Please note that the Board voted to adopt a temporary regulation allowing clinical supervisors to electronically supervise their interns due to the pandemic. The Board voted to make the temporary regulation permanent on August 31, 2021. Please be aware that follow-up workshops will be coordinated by the Board prior to November 2021, so watch for notice of those tentative workshops. The temporary regulation can be viewed on the  Nevada State legislature Register . Note that since the new telehealth regulation does not currently include being able to use telehealth supervision for employees who are not employed at the same agency as the supervisor, there is some confusion and clarification should be forthcoming in announcements of upcoming Clinical Supervision trainings sponsored by CASAT Learning.

Training Opportunities

CASAT Learning is offering a Clinical Supervision 2-day in-person class in Reno on September 18-19, 2024 and in  Las Vegas  on October 30-31, 2024 and in . The objectives of the training are to facilitate development of a personal model of supervision and practice skills to deliver high quality, effective clinical services to those seeking assistance for substance use disorders. This training prepares clinical supervisors to observe job performance, provide feedback and coaching, prioritize learning needs, develop achievable learning objectives, and continue monitoring performance to assess effectiveness. For more information about key topics/concepts and to register, please visit the  CASAT Learning Website .

For existing Clinical Supervisors in Nevada seeking to renew their license, checkout CASAT Learning’s 6 CEU, self-paced online course,  Clinical Supervision Refresher . You can also attend our  monthly consultation group  which is held on the second Tuesday of every month.

NEW! Clinical Supervision Coaching Academy

The Clinical Supervision for Alcohol, Drug, and Problem Gambling Counselors Coaching Academy is brought to you by the Accelerate Career Pathways for Substance Use, Problem Gambling Treatment, and Recovery Services Project (ACP) with funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) – Available Fall 2024 – Fall 2026 Details below.

The Clinical Supervision Coaching Academy is being offered at no cost to qualified applicants who are interested in becoming an approved supervisor by the Nevada State Board of Examiners for Alcohol, Drug, and Gambling Counselors.

The Coaching Academy content will be offered in-person and virtually (via Zoom). Participants will engage in virtual communities of practice throughout the project upon completion of the supervision content, all provided at no cost to participants. Virtual communities of practice will offer a platform for participants to come together after the initial in-person training to further practice supervision skills and review real-life case examples that they may be facing in their own practice. Communities of practice led by an experienced supervisor will further strengthen skills learned during the initial clinical supervision in-person or virtual training series to enhance the quality of supervision being provided through continuous collaborative learning.

To be accepted into the academy, participants must meet the following requirements:

• Be in good standing with the Nevada State Board of Examiners for Alcohol, Drug, and Gambling Counselors.
• LADC/LCADC need to have been licensed for (2) years
• CADC/CPGC need to have been certified in Nevada for three (3) years before applying to become a clinical supervisor.
• September 18-19, 2024 from 9:00 AM-4:30 PM in Reno, Nevada
• October 30-31, 2024 from 9:00 AM-4:30 PM in Las Vegas, Nevada
• Commit to attending three (3), out of five (5) offered, 1-2 hour Supervision Virtual consultation groups, dates pending.

JOIN THE WAITLIST FOR SPRING 2025  * This form is an application to register for the 2024 Supervision Coaching Academy, BUT YOU CAN COMPLETE IT NOW TO BE ADDED TO THE WAITLIST. If your application is approved, you will be contacted by email with further registration instructions.

Clinical Supervision Resources And References

TAP 21-A: Competencies for Substance Abuse Treatment Clinical Supervisors  lists competencies for effective supervision in substance use disorder treatment programs. It provides step-by-step guidance for implementing comprehensive supervisory training and workforce development.

Performance Assessment Rubrics  Developed as a companion product to TAP 21. It describes counselor/clinician proficiency along a continuum marked by four distinct benchmark descriptions of counselor ability for each of the competencies. Such a continuum is referred to as a rubric. More will be said about the continuum later.

TIP 52: Clinical Supervision and Professional Development of the Substance Abuse Counselor  offers tips for clinical supervisors in the substance use disorder treatment field. It covers functions of a clinical supervisor, and highlights stages of professional development for counselors and clinical supervisors.

TIP 61: Behavioral Health Services for American Indians and Alaska Natives  provides behavioral health professionals with practical guidance about Native American history, historical trauma, and critical cultural perspectives in their work with American Indian and Alaska Native clients. The TIP discusses the demographics, social challenges, and behavioral health concerns of Native Americans. It highlights the importance of providers’ cultural awareness, cultural competence, and culture-specific knowledge. The TIP also helps administrators, program managers, and  clinical supervisors  foster a culturally responsive environment for American Indian and Alaska Native clients. Specific topic areas include workforce development strategies, program and professional development considerations, and culturally responsive policies and procedures.

ATTC Resources

Supervision & Leadership Enhanced Professional Learning Series: Clinical Supervision and Leadership  every Thursday from August 22 to September 26, 2024, from 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM CT. This interactive series, led by Amy Shanahan, MS, CADC, will focus on enhancing clinical supervision skills through deliberate practice, feedback, and real-world case examples. Ideal for Behavioral Health Professionals in Region 6 with at least 2 years of supervision experience. No cost to attend. If outside Region 6, contact [email protected] to join the waitlist.

Enhance your Clinical Supervision skills by joining the  Monthly Clinical Supervision Consultation Call  with the Northwest ATTC. Held every 1st Tuesday of the month (9am PT, 8am AKT, 10am MT), these sessions offer an opportunity to learn from experienced professionals Paul Hunziker, MA, LMFT, SUDP, and Lynsey Parrish (Northern Cheyenne, Crow, Turtle Mountain Chippewa), MSW, LICSW. Open to Region 10 workforce members (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington) who have completed the Northwest ATTC Clinical Supervision training, these calls provide a space to discuss the implementation of the Clinical Supervision model, share successes, and address challenges.

Additional ATTC products can be found in the  Products & Resources Catalog .

Books And Articles For Further Reading On Clinical Supervision:

Barton, T., Roget, N. A., & Hartje, J. (2016). Technology-Based Clinical Supervision: Guidelines for Licensing and Certification Boards. Reno, Nevada: National Frontier and Rural Addiction Technology Transfer Center, University of Nevada, Reno.

Bernard & Goodyear, B. (1998). Fundamentals of Clinical Supervision. (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Gallon, S. (2002) Clinical Supervision: Building Chemical Dependency Counselor Skills. Portland, OR: Northwest Frontier.

Powell, D. & Brodsky, A. (2004). Clinical Supervision in Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counseling: Principles, Models, Methods. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Stoltenberg, C. D., & Delworth, U. (1987) Supervising Counselors and Therapists. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Stoltenberg, C. D., McNeil, B., & Delworth, U. (1998). IDM Supervision: An Integrated Developmental Model for Supervising Counselors and Therapists. Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco, CA.

Models of Supervision. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on September 22, 2005:  http://soeweb.syr.edu/chs/OnlineField.supervision/models.htm

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Case scenarios about holding funds

Publication date: August 21, 2024

The following fictional case scenarios provide examples to help providers identify whether they perform the payment function of holding funds.

These examples are intended to demonstrate when a payment service provider (PSP ) is performing the payment function of “holding funds on behalf of an end user until they are withdrawn by the end user or transferred to another individual or entity” (“holding funds”). Certain requirements under the Retail Payment Activities Act (RPAA ) relate only to PSPs that hold end-user funds, such as the requirement to safeguard those funds in accordance with section 20 of the RPAA . For information on the requirement to safeguard end-user funds, please consult the Bank’s guideline: Safeguarding end-user funds .

Note that even if an entity is not holding funds, it may still perform other payment functions as defined in the RPAA and need to register with the Bank of Canada, assuming it meets the other registration criteria.

Case scenario: Electronic money wallet and holding funds

Company A is a payment service provider (PSP ) offering an electronic wallet (“e-wallet”) that its customers can use to load and store funds using an online application. Once this is done, the customer can use the e-wallet to make purchases at online retailers that accept the e-wallet as a means of payment. Customers can also transfer funds to other individuals that use Company A’s e-wallet.

Customers can load funds into their Company A e-wallet, for example, by using a debit card or by linking a bank account with the e-wallet application. In these instances, customers load their e-wallets by transferring funds from their bank accounts into Company A’s bank account at its financial institution, and Company A then credits the funds balance on the e-wallet application.

In this example, Company A is considered to be holding funds as defined in the RPAA , because it offers e-wallets that enable customers to keep funds at rest in Company A’s possession and control. The funds remain available to the customer until they request a future transfer or withdrawal.

Company A begins holding funds as soon as it receives them from an end user. It stops holding funds on behalf of that end user when it receives an instruction to transfer all of these held funds to one or more end users. Even though the funds may be held in a bank account at Company A’s financial institution, the account is in Company A’s name and it is Company A that is indebted to its customers for those funds. As a result, it is Company A, not its financial institution, that performs the payment function of holding funds.

Accordingly, Company A must comply with the end-user funds safeguarding requirements in the RPAA , as described in the Bank’s Safeguarding end-user funds guideline.

Case scenario: Money transfer business and holding funds

Company B is a PSP that specializes in making domestic and cross-border funds transfers for individuals and businesses. Company B permits its customers to make only immediate transfers and does not allow customers to maintain a balance to fund future transfers.

When carrying out a cross-border transfer, Company B must complete several steps, including regulatory and compliance checks (e.g., for fraud or anti-money laundering purposes), and coordinate with its partners in the country where the funds are being transferred. These steps are necessary for payees to receive funds in their local currency deposited directly into their bank accounts. Given differing time zones and the number of parties involved in this process, once Company B receives funds from a customer, it typically takes 48 to 72 hours before those funds become available in the payee’s account abroad.

In this example, Company B is not holding funds as defined in the RPAA . To be holding funds, the funds must be at rest with the PSP and available for future transfer or withdrawal. In this case, Company B may be in possession of end-user funds for multiple days while it processes a transfer; however, the funds are not available for a separate transfer or withdrawal. Rather, the funds are subject to an instruction for immediate transfer for the entire time they are in Company B’s possession.

Case scenario: Money transfer business and holding funds before a transfer

Company B has launched a new product, which introduces the ability for customers to pre-fund their planned money transfers. In effect, Company B customers can opt to have an account that maintains a balance and allows them to schedule transfers at a future date. As such, instead of funds transfers taking place immediately, a customer can now, for example, instruct Company B to transfer the funds 10 days in the future. These transfers can be modified until the date the transfer is scheduled to take place, and customers have the option to retrieve their funds if they decide the transfer should not proceed. To make the transfer, the customer credits Company B with the funds using a debit card, along with the transfer instruction.

In this example, Company B is holding funds as defined in the RPAA . When transfers are future-dated the funds are at rest and can be transferred or withdrawn by the customer until the time of the future-dated transfer. Company B begins holding funds as soon as it receives the funds. The holding of funds continues until the date of the transfer, as the funds are not in transit until Company B begins processing the transfer.

Accordingly, Company B must comply with the end-user funds safeguarding requirements in the RPAA , as described in the Bank’s Safeguarding end-user funds guideline.

Case scenario: Intermediary PSP and holding funds

A Company B customer wishes to send money to a friend in Country X. The customer goes on Company B’s website and requests an immediate transfer of funds to be sent to their friend. However, Company B does not itself have the presence nor the payment infrastructure to send funds to Country X. To fill this gap, Company B has a business relationship with PSP C to be able to offer services to users that need to send funds to Country X.

Upon receipt of the transfer request and the corresponding funds from their customer, Company B instructs PSP C to take the next steps required to move forward with the international money transfer. In particular, PSP C must ensure it has sufficient funds available in the local currency of the foreign jurisdiction. In addition, it needs to exchange payment instructions with PSP D, a PSP located in Country X with which the recipient has an existing account, so the funds can be credited to the recipient. While those steps are automated, they involve some processing time, and the funds ultimately take three days after the date of the transfer request to reach the recipient account.

In this example, Company B is not holding funds on behalf of its customer by virtue of the immediate transfer. The funds are not held at rest with Company B since they are immediately processed for transfer by instructing PSP C to carry out the international transfer.

Similarly, the funds are not at rest and available for future transfer or withdrawal while in PSP C’s possession. Additionally, PSP C in this example is an intermediary party whose only role in the transaction is to support the flow of funds from one PSP to another. Consequently, PSP C could not be considered to be holding funds for the end user, such as Company A’s client, as it does not have any contractual relationship with them to hold their funds on their behalf. In this example, PSP C has a contractual relationship with only Company B and does not have a direct relationship with the payer or payee to hold funds on their behalf.

As a result, neither Company B nor PSP C hold funds in this example.

The case scenarios are illustrative examples reflecting the Bank of Canada’s interpretation of certain requirements set out in the Retail Payment Activities Act (RPAA) . All names, facts and descriptions in these scenarios are entirely fictitious and do not reflect any real or actual individuals or entities.

Additionally, they do not represent legal advice and should not be used as a replacement for seeking such advice if an individual or entity is unsure about whether they are required to register with the Bank of Canada as a payment service provider. The nature of the products and services offered by each individual or entity will vary, as will the circumstances around offering these products and services. Therefore, any individual or entity that may be subject to the RPAA should assess their own situation on a case-by-case basis according to their own facts and circumstances. Any entity or individual that may be subject to the RPAA is ultimately responsible for determining whether they are required to register with the Bank.

The examples provided are not a replacement for the Criteria for registering payment service providers supervisory policy, but rather they are meant to complement the policy. They should be read in conjunction with the policy.

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