What to Look for in a Supervisor

When I first entered the mental health field five years ago, I worked as an employment specialist for a community mental health center. 

I figured this position would give me exposure to the clinical space, while also providing me opportunities to learn from other therapists on the team. 

The position delivered on all of this and more. As part of an intensive team supporting young adults with psychosis, I received weekly supervision from our team lead. 

I will never forget walking to his office for our first meeting. 

Thoughts were racing through my head: “What do I say? What questions do I ask? Do I bring clients to talk about?” 

It was the first time I ever engaged in a clinical supervisory relationship and, truth be told, I had no idea what I was doing.

Since then, I have worked in a group practice, a queer-centered clinic, and additional community mental health spaces. 

Along the way, I’ve learned a lot about supervision and how it can amplify, support, and contribute to the growth of burgeoning clinicians. 

When I started clinical work, there wasn’t a handy guidebook available for all the considerations that go into supervision. 

In writing this article, my hope is that new therapists won’t have to keep reinventing our understanding of how supervision works. Instead, we can apply the learnings, stories, and wisdom of therapists who have come before.

The need for supervision

Pre-licensed therapists have to track many aspects of their work. We need to count our clinical hours, review regulatory standards for licensing, apply for the right certifications, go through training, and above all, learn how to be effective therapists. 

Although pre-licensed therapists are required to obtain a certain number of supervision hours to obtain licensure, there’s much more to be gained from supervision. 

Supervision is one of the few places where we can legally confide in another person about our clinical work. Moreover, it’s a sacred space where, when working well, we can be vulnerable about our struggles, pain points, or uncertainties. 

So much of the work of the therapy profession happens in session behind closed doors. Supervision seeks to elucidate the various methodologies and practices of clinical work, at the nascence of a therapist’s career . 

Effective supervision enables us to not just grow as a therapist, but to be challenged, supported, held, and seen. It could be the difference between digging deeper into this career and feeling burnt out and walking away.

Finding a supervisor who is the right fit for your needs

Finding the right supervisor takes time. (And there are some red flags for pre-licensed therapists to be aware of.) 

The process can look quite different depending on a variety of factors: your geographic location, field of study, background, professional connections, and employment status as a clinician.

For pre-licensed therapists working in an agency setting (like community mental health), supervision is often included as an added benefit in the employment package. 

Alyssa Havens, Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), has worked at a community agency in Connecticut for several years. 

She was able to see the same supervisor at her agency for the 3,000 hours required for her licensure, at no cost. 

Havens speaks highly of her experience. “[My supervisor] aided me in forming my identity as a therapist,” she says. 

Furthermore, Havens credits her supervisor for inspiring her to pay it forward and become a supervisor herself. 

According to Havens, her supervision experience provided her with “knowledge of how I want to be as a supervisor and how to support the clinicians I now supervise.”

As a larger group, organizations that operate within a community often have plenty of  licensed therapists who can supervise newer clinicians. 

However, it’s worth noting that this is not always the case for certain license designations. For example, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFTs) in agency settings are harder to come by. 

For that reason, it can be more difficult to match a Marriage and Family Therapist Candidate (MFTC) with a supervisor who can actually supervise them, since MFTC therapists must be supervised by an LMFT. 

So, it is necessary to always be sure of what supervision requirements your specific licensing body designates, as well as any parameters that your state board follows.

Pre-licensed therapists who enter group practices or private practices may have to explore other options available to them. Some therapists secure supervision from a graduate school mentor, an internship supervisor, or someone they’ve been connected to. 

River Martone, a Licensed Counselor Candidate (LPCC), met their supervisor through a certification training for Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). 

Martone had a strong preference to find someone who was “queering EFT” and practicing the model in a way that integrated more expansiveness for genderqueer, polyamorous, and queer relationships.

If you are actively searching for a supervisor, you can explore your options by:

• Asking colleagues for referrals
• Attending mental health networking events
• Inquiring at local agencies or education institutions
• Searching mental health directories online

A newer option is the Clinical Supervision Directory, which exists to connect supervisees with established supervisors.

Consultation to find alignment

Just as our clients have a consultation with us to ensure a good therapeutic match, the same process can occur with a potential supervisor. 

Once you’ve identified some of your top choices for a supervisor, inquire about scheduling a consultation to discuss the potential supervision opportunity. 

During the actual consultation, you will want to explore the following areas: 

• Their experience as a therapist and supervisor
• Their clinical values (such as compassion, cultural humility, or collaboration)
• The models or approaches they use in supervision
• Your expectations from supervision

It is essential to find a supervisor whose clinical experience matches an area in which you want to grow. 

Moreover, you want to make sure that your practice values align. For example, if anti-oppression work is significant to your therapist identity, it is helpful to find a supervisor that also holds this as important to their work. 

Rachel Bornstein, an LPCC who specializes in maternal mental health, found her supervisor in a non-traditional way—on social media. 

From there, the two met for coffee and discussed their clinical interests and goals, many of which they shared. Bornstein reflected that their shared specialties of supporting mothers stood out initially, but that there were “less apparent things that [took] longer to realize” about why they were a good fit, such as similar personalities and being able to “know each other on a human level, rather than just professionally.”

Another critical piece of the consultation is to get a sense of what type of expectations the supervisor would hold for the process. 

This could include how often you are meeting, the fee structure, the length of meetings, and how you would report on critical incidents that take place with clients. 

Additionally, you want to inquire about how you can submit hours for your supervisor to review and sign, since tracking hours is a necessary part of working towards licensure.

What to bring to supervision

After you have found a supervisor and are starting to engage in supervision, it’s imperative you feel you can bring all aspects of your work to discuss in supervision. 

For example, regarding your clients, feel free to discuss  success stories, breakthroughs, challenges, and learning experiences. 

Your supervisor is not only there to work through your mistakes or learning curves—they are also there to celebrate the growth you experience as a budding clinician.

Bornstein notes that the most helpful aspect of supervision for her is “the space [my supervisor] gives me to process my work.” She adds that having “someone who knows you and is willing to listen to you explore and give you different perspectives to consider is an incredibly important tool” to have in your toolbox.

You can also discuss challenging cases with your supervisor, including clients that have acute needs or complex presentations. 

Furthermore, you can consider outlining your case conceptualization with your supervisor to make sure you are tracking and assessing all parts of a client’s presentation to therapy. This is a space where you can solidify the goals that you have established with clients, as well as ensure that your theory and interventions are all tying together cohesively.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, you can bring issues of self-care or countertransference that may be showing up in your work. 

Havens reflects that her supervisory discussions don’t “center around just me as a therapist, but how other aspects of my life impact my role.”

”There is always time to discuss how I am feeling and how I am taking care of my own mental health to decrease the likelihood of burnout,” she says.

Supervision through an attachment lens

When looking for a supervisor who is able to support your work, it’s crucial to have space to critically think through the concerns you present during supervision. 

Does your supervisor ask thoughtful questions? 

Does your supervisor reflect back what you are sharing, noting what may be working and what may need to be addressed? 

Does your supervisor clarify what you need support with? 

A supervisor that can ask the right kinds of questions is the type of supervisor you will be able to trust and grow with.

Martone identified a crucial point, related to attachment, when processing their experiences in supervision. Specifically, they mentioned how helpful it was for their supervisor to show up for them in a way that was supportive and caring in a tough situation. 

Martone recalled an instance of feeling worried about “making a mistake for something out of my control,” but feeling reassured when their supervisor reminded them that “you’re allowed to ask for help.” 

A supervisor’s response is always relational, since the process of supervision is a relationship that is strengthened with trust and cooperation over time. As such, when supervisors can show up as sources of accessibility and responsiveness, supervisees are more likely to feel secure in this relationship.

Because supervision is a relational process, there may be times when you are working with a supervisor that doesn’t feel like a good match. 

One sign that a supervisory relationship may need to be reevaluated is if you feel like you are holding back during your supervision.

Reflect on what is coming up for you and the reasons you are holding back—is there something about the topic that makes it difficult to share? Or, is the supervisory relationship lacking in safety and assurance that creates a barrier for vulnerability?

Other signs of supervisory mismatches may be indicated by a lack of focus on the impact of treatment for the client, an overemphasis on theory, or a lack of critical discussion on clinical objectives. 

In these cases, it may be best to be honest about your experience and consider alternative options for supervision. If you work for a group practice or larger organization, one therapist recommended having a supervisor external from the clinic, group practice, or organization as a way to have multiple perspectives and avoid dual relationships.

Tracking progress and sharing feedback

The way you track progress is customizable for supervisors and therapists, though it is common for supervisors to have established systems for how they evaluate their supervisees.

Some supervisors may have formal evaluations with their supervisees, while others may leave space to discuss various areas of growth (such as documentation, counseling skills, care coordination, etc.). 

Whether formal or informal, receiving feedback is a key part of the process—ensuring supervision and client care continue effectively and ethically. 

Martone mentioned that feedback was something they discussed early in their supervisor-supervisee relationship. 

Martone reflected that because the relationship felt “safe,” they have been able to take in critiques as “opportunities to grow.” They added that the  supervisory relationship reflects a new way of looking at yourself  as a clinician, saying it’s like “holding up a mirror to see things about myself … supervision gives me a chance to learn things I would never have known about myself.”

Havens recalled that tracking progress was an essential part of her learning the ins and outs of therapy. 

Without measuring growth, it becomes difficult to see how far a person has come in their clinical knowledge, skill sets, and abilities. Havens shared that she often leaves supervision with “new ideas, a new perspective, and a confidence that

allows me to meet the needs of my clients.”

Supervision with honest feedback can also help clinicians embrace the beauty of being honest and direct with themselves, and in turn, with clients. 

Bornstein shared that her relationship with her supervisor is built on “honest communication and mutual respect” that enables feedback to be “received in a way that doesn’t feel threatening.” She believes that her supervisor has her “best interests at heart” and that feedback is “processed as part of the learning experience rather than a criticism.”

Effective supervision supports effective therapy

As with your clients, your personal growth and development with a supervisor often

happens in a parallel process. You gain confidence, knowledge, and experience, while your supervisor may gain perspective, insight, and clarity. 

Ultimately, supervision should be a relational experience that works best when there is respect, mutuality, and a genuine care for the work. 

When there is a balanced mix of these ingredients, supervision becomes a place where everyone stands to benefit: supervisees, supervisors, clients, and the counseling field at large.

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