This post was originally published in September 2021 and has been updated, to read the original version follow this link.
Are you a behavioral 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 s 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:
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.
To become certified as an Alcohol & Drug Counselor Internship Supervisor, the following requirements must be met:
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:
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:
Instructions to apply for an LCADC Supervisor license to supervise Certified Problem Gambling Interns:
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
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.
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.
CASAT Learning is offering a Clinical Supervision 2-day in-person class in Las Vegas on September 13 & 14, 2023 and in Reno on September 27 & 28, 2023. 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.
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.
Motivational Interviewing Assessment: Supervisory Tools for Enhancing Proficiency (MIA:STEP) (Developed by Global ATTC) The MIA:STEP Blending Team designed empirically supported mentoring products to enhance the MI skills of treatment providers, as well as supervisory tools to fortify a supervisor’s ability to provide structured, focused, and effective clinical supervision. MIA:STEP introduces an effective strategy for observation-based clinical supervision, the use of which has potential to improve counselor skills beyond MI.
Clinical Supervision Foundations This course consists of two interconnected components: an online course and a face-to-face training and is intended for supervisors in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and recovery settings. The course totals 30 contact hours and introduces clinical supervisors, along with persons preparing to become supervisors, to the knowledge and skills essential to the practice of supervision. The Clinical Supervision Foundations course is especially suited for: Beginning clinical supervisors; Clinical Supervisors who would like to enhance or review the fundamental skills needed to be a successful clinical supervisor; Counselors who are being groomed to become clinical supervisors; and Behavioral healthcare professionals who want to learn more about clinical supervision.
Additional ATTC products can be found in the Products & Resources Catalog.
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
