Not All Supervisors Are Created Equal
What Every New Therapist Should Know Before Picking Their Licensure Guide
Shout out to all of the brand-new therapists that are about to be released from their internship cohorts, wrap up their final grad school assignments, and graduate into the *real world,* armed with a heart full of goodwill, a dash of imposter syndrome, a splash of student debt, and a fresh DSM-V!
Anyways, welcome to the counseling field!
What I meant to say is that if you’re about to be a new counselor and you’re pursuing licensure, you have an exciting adventure ahead of you, and part of that quest might include picking a supervisor (if you haven’t already).
At this stage of my licensure process, I have about three years of counseling experience under my belt (wow, what a flex), and I’ve had seven different supervisors (including two supervisors during graduate school), so I consider myself a bit of an expert on the topic.1
This might be an obvious thing to say, but your licensure supervisor is a big part of your experience as a pre-licensed counselor. Depending on your state and board regulations, you usually need a supervisor for several thousand clinical hours, which usually ends up taking at least two years to complete.
Your supervisor will usually read your clinical notes and meet with you somewhat regularly to make sure that you are not completely bananas and that you’re not going to go to counselor jail. (They’re also theoretically available to answer questions and help you develop your clinical skills.)
The nitty gritty–your supervisor can make or break your whole counseling experience. Some folks get to pick their own supervisor, but others have a supervisor assigned to them as part of their employment, so not everyone gets the opportunity to really consider different options and prioritize their values in finding a supervisor.
However, for the purpose of this post, I’m going to throw out some of the different parameters that I’ve found helpful to consider while picking a supervisor. Essentially, here are the things that you might want to think about when you’re trying to decide who to hire as your therapy Yoda or your “licensure doula”—however you’d like to frame it. You do you.
Personal Demographics
This is a fairly simple place to start, and, much like the rest of the categories on this list, this probably varies in importance to each individual therapist. Do you prefer to meet with a supervisor that is similar to you or super different from you? Are you looking for a specific *vibe* in your supervisor?
Personally, I’ve worked with both male and female supervisors, and I’ve worked with folks that range in age and life experience. I’ve noticed that personality is the thing that I care about the most rather than specific demographics, but that’s just me.
Specialization & Training
If you’re trying to pursue a certain specialization or if you’re trying to get hours for a particular certification, this may be your primary focus as you identify a supervisor. Depending on your specialization (like somatic experiencing therapy, art therapy, or play therapy, for example) it may be a whole quest to find your perfect unicorn of a supervisor that can help you obtain that certification.
I picked both of my current licensure supervisors (I have one for my Missouri license and one for my North Carolina license) because I wanted supervisors who specialized in reproductive mental health and couples counseling. I found one through a counselor Facebook page, and I found the other through a colleague. They are both fabulous and I’ve been really thankful to learn from their expertise.
If you match with a supervisor who doesn’t align with your specialization, do not fear! You might just have to fill in those gaps with some extra consultation or research on your own time. It may be a bit of a pain in the ass, but it’s pretty standard to consult for a specific client topic that you aren’t familiar with. We can't be experts in everything.
On the other hand, it honestly might make you crazy to have a supervisor who uses an entirely different therapeutic modality or framework. One of my first supervisors was very CBT oriented and to be honest with you, it made my eye twitch a little bit. So, if you have the option to pick a supervisor, this might be a good thing to keep in mind.
Style of Supervision
Okay, so this might be one of the hardest things to figure out when you’re picking a supervisor. How do they do supervision? Do they offer direct feedback? Are they more of a “blank slate” supervisor? Do they prioritize training your clinical intuition and your ability to resource, or will they give you suggestions and resources? Are they well-networked and collaborative? Are they passionate about helping you become yourself in the counseling room, or are they trying to create supervisory “mini me’s”?
You probably have your own list of preferences for the style of supervision that you’re looking for, or you’ll certainly develop this over time (hopefully without needing to go through seven supervisors).
I’ve learned that I need a lot of warmth, kindness, mutual respect, practical suggestions and interventions, adept administrative skills, a willingness to call bullshit, and a good dose of some snarky and slightly dark humor. I really appreciate when supervisors can name when they don’t know something and can point me to a resource. I’m also really grateful for supervisors who check in with me about my wellness and how I’m experiencing both supervision and my sessions with clients. This makes me feel seen and cared for.
Supervision Logistics
Are you going to be meeting in-person for supervision or virtually? Will you have individual supervision or group? How often are you required to meet and for how long? What if you or your supervisor need to reschedule or go on vacation? Some of these questions might be pre-determined by your licensing board, but some may be up to your supervisor and your discretion.
Either way, it’s a good rule of thumb to have this figured out before you start supervision and maybe have it written down in a supervision contract. I have a colleague whose supervisor advertised individual supervision and then it turned out that it was group supervision once another therapist was brought on board at the practice. Not cool.
Expectations for You as a Supervisee
How does your supervisor expect you to engage in supervision or prepare for it? What kind of things do they expect you to know as a new counselor?
If it feels like your supervisor either expects too much of you or doesn’t believe in you enough, it can be frustrating and maybe even a little defeating. It might be a good idea to ask your supervisor how they perceive you in your development as a therapist, and how they plan to partner with you in your therapeutic development.
Ultimately, you’re paying them for their expertise and guidance, so it’s fair for you to ask what kind of expectations they have of you and how they’re going to help you meet and even exceed them.
Availability for Emergencies (aka. Their interest in helping you out in the middle of a crisis)
This is one of my top questions when I’m picking a supervisor. As I gain experience, I am more comfortable navigating crisis situations and documenting them appropriately, but I always want to know that if I need additional support or insight, I can have pretty immediate communication with my supervisor or another trusted licensed therapist. If a supervisor doesn’t have a plan in place for client emergencies (especially the ones that inevitably occur when the supervisor is technically off the clock!), I’d have a lot of follow up questions.
Further evidence that you need to ask about this: One of my colleagues asked her supervisor (during her grad school internship) how she should communicate with them about any client crises, and the supervisor said something along the lines of, “Oh, that really won’t happen.” She inevitably had clients during internship that required both mandated reporting and safety planning. Sigh.
Pricing (aka. Do I have to pay for this? Can my practice pay for it?)
Ah yes, the money question. Sometimes licensure supervision is a benefit of working for certain practices or agencies, either subsidized or completely paid for by your employer. Sometimes you have to use one of their in-house supervisors for them to pay for supervision, so then you have to decide if you would prefer to save money or if you would rather pick your own supervisor that might better align with your values or preferences.
The price of supervision profoundly varies based on location and the supervisor’s experience. I’ve seen some folks charge as much as $250 for supervision (their full therapy session rate) or as low as $50 for supervisees who have mostly sliding scale clients. If you go with a supervisor that offers group therapy, the supervision should be cheaper.
Their Motivation to be a Supervisor
This is another random question that I’ve discovered that I care about, and it overlaps with my previous point about pricing. If a therapist has decided to become a supervisor strictly as a money-making venture, I personally get a little cynical about it (but maybe this says more about me and my relationship with money?).
Anyways, I like asking supervisors about why they decided to offer supervision. Some of them are required to by their employers, some of them are practice owners and offer it to their employees as part of their benefits package, and others decide to go out of their way to be a supervisor because they consider it as a meaningful facet of their therapeutic practice.
And some of them decide to be supervisors because they’re egotistical assholes, and you probably don’t want to be their supervisee. Just saying.
Realistically, it’s probably some combination of all of this. It just might be a good idea to get a sense of why your supervisor specifically wants to be your supervisor.
A guiding light (if I may be so bold!)
My ultimate recommendation is that if you have the opportunity, interview your supervisor. You will want to get to know them before agreeing to be supervised by them, and vice versa. We’re looking for a lovely supervisory relationship for everyone involved.
Before you interview them, put together some of your top questions and concerns about supervision and ask them. You may want to even ask your supervisors about how they’d handle specific client situations.
If you are either currently a supervised licensee or have been previously, I’m so curious to know what primary preferences were when you picked your supervisor. What are the things that you wish you had asked or prioritized when you were looking for a supervisor? What do you wish that other pre-licensed therapists thought about when getting a supervisor?
Disclaimer: This essay is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Reading or engaging with this content does not constitute therapy, nor should it be considered professional advice or a substitute for therapy. Everyone’s experiences are unique, so what’s shared here may or may not resonate with you. For more details, please review the full disclaimer on my About page before reading. To learn more about my clinical work, please click here.
The correct response to this should be - “Good God! Seven supervisors in three years? Ginny, did you ever stop to think that maybe you’re the problem here?” And yes, of course, I obviously assume that I am the problem here, but I’ve also moved, pursued licensure in several states, and there was some *drama* that all contributed to this supervisor turnover.
Primarily, I wanted someone with 15+ years of experience counseling, had a similar world-life view and was dually licensed (in the state I live in and the state I went to school and have a lot of contacts in. This proved valuable when virtual appts became a common request. I think people could think more about their "non-specialty areas." They could ask how a supervisor's life experience and focus would intersect positively with their own areas of interest. (There is more connection in the nuances of counseling then we might acknowledge.)