Becoming a Clinical Supervisor in Nevada: New Information You Need to Know

Newly Revised Content!

If you are a behavioral health provider who has ever thought about becoming a clinical supervisor for substance abuse counselors, this post should have some great information about what clinical supervision is, the purpose of clinical supervision, some of the goals of clinical supervision, and some of the roles and responsibilities of a clinical supervisor. In addition, you will learn about recent changes in Nevada laws, changes to the Licensed Alcohol and Drug Certification (LADC) Board website and regulations, and several resources and training opportunities for becoming a clinical supervisor.

New Requirements in Nevada for Becoming a Clinical Supervisor

To become certified as an Alcohol & Drug Counselor Internship Supervisor, the following requirements must be met:

• • An LADC/LCADC must be licensed for two years and a CADC must be licensed for three years prior to applying to become a clinical supervisor.
  • Complete both classes in the following Clinical Supervision training series:
    1. 14-hour online Clinical Supervision Foundations Course hosted on the Healthy Knowledge Website.
       Note: this course is not hosted by CASAT. Questions about this course can be directed to 1-844-284-9616.
    2. 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 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

Last year, the Board of Examiners for Alcohol, Drug, and Gambling Counselors moved to a new online portal for all business related to applications and licensing and you should have received an email from nvadg@thentiacloud.net with instructions to activate your account. For current licensees and interns, the LICENSEE portal will allow you to update your contact information, place of practice, supervision agreements, as well as renewals. If you have not done so already, please click ‘activate now’ using the email address on file with the Board. Note: If you are unsure which email address is on file, please email Paula at licensingspecialist@adgc.nv.gov for assistance as you will not be able to login with any other email address.

• For those wishing to test for certification/licensure, please navigate to the APPLICATION portal and login with the same login information you use for the Licensee Portal as they care separate, but connected.
• For prospective interns or licensees, please create an account in the Application portal in order to begin the application process. Also note the flowcharts here to better understand the requirements for each credential.

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 webinar series starting on March 2, 2022.  Clinical Supervision for Alcohol and Drug Counselors will be a 6-week live webinar series from March 2 – April 6, 2022, every Wednesday from 10:00 am – 11:30 am PST. This 12 CEU course will be presented by Amanda Hankins, CADC-S and Nick Tangeman, MSW LADC-S. 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.

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 Products

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.

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

Links to New Nevada Legislation

SB 181 – Senate Bill No. 181 and Guide to Changes for SB 181

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