Are you considering adding clinical supervision to your private practice services? Or maybe you’re looking to provide clinical supervision as a part-time side hustle outside of your 9-5 job?
From the benefits of becoming a clinical supervisor to the trainings to take to further your clinical supervision skills, this article answers the most frequently asked questions about becoming a clinical supervisor in psychotherapy.
What is clinical supervision in psychotherapy?
According to the Canadian Association of Social Work (CASW) there are two types of supervision: clinical supervision and reflective supervision. Clinical supervision is defined as supervision that “focuses attention on the client-practitioner relationship” whereas reflective supervision is supervision that “looks at the interaction between the client, the situation and the private practitioner as an individual with a history and specific vulnerabilities” (n.d). Clinical supervision may include “accountability, reflection, applying theory to practice, coaching, skill development and integration of evidence-based practice” (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 2008, p. x). Essentially, clinical supervision is a self-development tool for therapists to improve client outcomes and promote optimal client-care by accessing clinical knowledge, skills and resources of a seasoned colleague.
What is the role of a clinical supervisor?
Clinical supervision is a goal-oriented process with the clinical supervisor’s role being multifaceted when achieving these goals. According to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) (2013) there are three pillars to clinical supervision that often overlap in practice: administrative, educational and supportive supervision.
Administrative supervision focuses primarily on the administrative in either agency or business practices. For supervisees who work in agency settings this may include organizational policies and practices. Whereas for supervisees in private practice settings this may include teaching the administrative and business functions of opening and running a private practice.
Educational supervision is the most common type of supervision that focuses on providing professional advice with managing specific client cases, discussions regarding ethical dilemmas, and guidance with the application of standards of practice.
Finally, supportive supervision is a clinical outlet for supervisees to discuss, navigate and process challenges they face within their work and practice. It also provides the supervisee with “nurturing conditions that compliment their success and encourage self-efficacy” (NASW, 2013, p. 8).
Who can become a clinical supervisor for psychotherapy?
Who can become a clinical supervisor depends on the profession, jurisdiction, skills, experience, training and overall expertise of the prospective clinical supervisor. As clinical practice is often regulated by profession and by province or state, each regulatory body has their own rules, regulations and standards when it comes to credentialing clinical supervisors. Some regulatory bodies have a more autonomous approach to credentialing where the supervisor can assess their own scope of practice for providing clinical supervision. Whereas, other regulatory bodies have stricter criteria about who can become a clinical supervisor. Some regulatory bodies require clinical supervision training, others require an exam, while others require only a self-assessment of one’s skills and knowledge to become a clinical supervisor in psychotherapy. Generally, regulatory bodies encourage clinical supervisors to have extensive clinical knowledge and experience which may be obtained through trainings and/or years of experience as a clinician.
Who needs a for-fee clinical supervisor?
Really any therapist could benefit from receiving clinical supervision but for many therapists it is also an ethical obligation. While some therapists work in agencies and have access to regular clinical supervision in the workplace, others may not. And therapists who do not receive adequate clinical supervision in the workplace may find it necessary to seek out an out-of-agency clinical supervisor to fill professional gaps. In addition, therapists who work independently as private practitioners or independent contractors usually seek for-fee clinical supervisors to support them with their clinical practice. Finally, newly registered or licensed therapists may require a specific number of clinical supervision hours before obtaining full licensure and need a for-fee clinical supervisor to practice under until they meet the criteria.
As there are several paths to become a therapist such as being a psychotherapist, social worker, or psychologist, some clinical supervisors provide cross-profession clinical supervision. Providing cross-profession clinical supervision allows additional revenue opportunities. However, when providing cross-profession clinical supervision it’s important to determine if it falls within your scope of practice and your supervisees regulatory body accepts cross-profession supervision. Some regulatory bodies require clinical supervisors to be of the same profession or that they fulfill certain educational requirements, such as take a training or pass an exam, before becoming a qualified clinical supervisor. So, before providing cross-profession clinical supervision you may want to ensure that you can ethically provide clinical supervision to therapists within other professions.
What are the benefits of becoming a clinical supervisor?
There are several benefits of becoming a clinical supervisor that include but not limited to:
- Furthering your profession by training new therapists;
- Enhancing client-care through the provision of clinical supervision;
- Learning and building new skills through the process of providing clinical supervision;
- Obtaining continuing education credits (CECs) towards your annual registration or licensing renewal, if your regulatory accepts clinical supervision as an acceptable form of CEC attainment.
- Adding an additional income stream to your practice and increasing income.
How much do clinical supervisors make providing clinical supervision?
How much a clinical supervisor can make providing clinical supervision depends on several factors including how many supervisees a clinical supervisor supervises, how much they charge per session, the need for clinical supervisors, and whether or not a clinical supervisor works for themself or for someone else.
If you work for yourself, you have the autonomy to choose your own cost-per-session. However, if you’re hired as an independent contractor or you’re an employee you’ll be paid through a pay-split or hourly wage which is often lower than providing clinical supervision through your own business. In addition, how much you charge and how many supervisees you see will impact your earning potential. For example, clinical supervision can be provided in one-on-one, dyadic or group format (College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario, n.d.).
Also, in many areas there’s a shortage of for-fee clinical supervisors. But with the increase of therapists going into private practice the demand for for-fee clinical supervisors has risen. So, the need for clinical supervisors have never been greater.
Coming back to how much clinical supervisors make providing clinical supervision, let’s break it down with two examples:
Example 1: You have 4 hours per week to dedicate towards providing clinical supervision:
- If you provide 1-hour one-on-one clinical supervision and you charge $150 per session you can make $600 per week or
- If you provide 1-hour dyadic supervision and you charge $100 per person, per session you can make $800 per week or
- If you provide 2-hour group supervision for $80 per person, per session and you have 8 people in each group you can make $1280 per week.
Example 2: You have 10 hours per week to dedicate towards providing clinical supervision:
- If you provide 1-hour one-on-one clinical supervision and you charge $150 per session you can make $1500 per week or
- If you provide 1-hour dyadic supervision and you charge $100 per person, per session you can make $2000 per week or
- If you provide 2-hour group supervision for $80 per person, per session and you have 8 people in each group you can make $3200 per week.
So as a clinical supervisor you can make a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a week, even if you provide clinical supervision on a part-time basis.
Are there affordable clinical supervision trainings for clinical supervisors?
As we had already discussed, some regulatory boards require clinical supervisors to take clinical supervision training prior to becoming a clinical supervisor. However, others do not have the same requirement. Even if you’re not required to take a clinical supervision training, you may benefit from taking one to build your confidence with the supervisory process and the ethical dilemmas that may arise due to your role.
Fortunately, PESI offers an affordable clinical supervision training called Clinical Supervision Success: A Complete Course for More Effective, Ethical, and Inspiring Supervision that can help you build your clinical supervisory foundation and learn best practices. And best of all, you can earn up to 18 CECs towards your annual renewal, providing your regulatory body accepts PESI courses. If you’re interested in learning more about Clinical Supervision Success: A Complete Course for More Effective, Ethical, and Inspiring Supervision click here.
Conclusion
In essence, becoming a clinical supervisor in psychotherapy is a lucrative full-time career or part-time side gig to help further develop the therapy profession by training up-and-coming therapists while increasing your revenue potential. With a shortage of clinical supervisors in many jurisdictions it’s never been a better time to add clinical supervision to your roster of services.
And if you’re searching for an affordable clinical supervision training then PESI’s Clinical Supervision Success: A Complete Course for More Effective, Ethical, and Inspiring Supervision course is a great way to build your confidence and grow your clinical supervision skills.
If you want to learn more about how to become a clinical supervisor, then why stop reading here?
Check out this article: How to Become a Clinical Supervisor in Psychotherapy.
Disclaimer 1
Any links, referrals or promotional codes listed in this article may be affiliate links where Evaspare Inc. may receive monetary compensation, at no extra cost you, when you click or use links or promotional codes.
Disclaimer 2
Please be advised that this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to be professional advice.
References
Canadian Association of Social Work (n.d). 7.3 Clinical Supervision. Retrieved from https://www.casw-acts.ca/en/73-clinical-supervision
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. (2008). Clinical supervision handbook: A guide for clinical supervisors for addiction and mental health. Retrieved from https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/6331450/clinical-supervision-handbook-camh-knowledge-exchange-
College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario.(n.d.). Standard 4.1 Providing Clinical Supervision. Retrieved from https://www.crpo.ca/standard-4-1-providing-clinical-supervision/
National Association of Social Workers. (2013). Best Practice Standards in Social Work Supervision. Retrieved from https://www.socialworkers.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=GBrLbl4BuwI%3D&portalid=0
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