This document discusses clinical supervision in substance abuse counseling. It defines clinical supervision as focusing on developing the counselor as an effective clinician through administrative, evaluative, clinical, and supportive functions. Good clinical supervision includes being available, accessible, able, and affable as a supervisor. It also requires sound clinical experience and a passion for counseling from the supervisor. The document contrasts clinical supervision with administrative supervision and discusses different models of supervision. Overall, it provides a framework for understanding clinical supervision.

2.  Based on the highly acclaimed author, David
J. Powell
 Originally printed in 1993 and revised in 2004
 Makes the case for substance abuse
counseling as a unique discipline with its own
model of supervision
 Disputes the notion that a good counselor
automatically makes a good supervisor

3.  Confusing clinical supervision with case
management, focusing on the client’s rather
than the counselor’s needs
 Counseling the counselors giving rise to role
confusion
 Taking a laissez-faire attitude
 Becoming judgmental, authoritarian, and
overly demanding

4.  Most counselors need a mentoring and
support system, which translates into a
coach, cheerleader, handholder, and wise
advisor
 According to studies, better clinical
supervision led to greater job satisfaction
and better retention rates
 Good clinical supervision improves client
outcomes

5. A good supervisory relationship is one of the
most satisfying aspects of the counselor’s work

6.  Openness to feedback (supv. & counselor)
 Supv.’s helping the counselor feel relaxed &
open to criticism
 Supv’s ability to listen to the counselor &
respect the counselor’s therapeutic style
 Consistency of therapeutic orientations
 Emotional support provided by supervisor
 Sharing clinical responsibilities

7.  Managers of tx facilities need to be trained
in the value of good clinical supervision
 Clinical supervisors need more thorough
training in how to supervise
 More sophisticated mechanisms are needed
for supervising counselors

8. Towards a Working Definition of Supervision

9.  Firstly, understanding the difference
between administrative and clinical
supervision.
 The administrative supervisor helps the
supervisee function more effectively within
the organization, with the overall intent of
helping the organization run smoothly
 Addresses areas such as case
records, referral procedures, continuity of
care, accountability, hiring/firing, and
performance evaluations.

10.  Clinical supervision focuses on the
development of the supervisee specifically as
an interpersonally effective clinician
(Hart, 1982)
 Clinical supervision attends to the
supervisee’s professional and personal needs
as they directly affect the welfare of the
client.

11.  Supervision as a Therapeutic Process –
becoming aware of one’s personal issues and
its impact on clients
 Supervision as Education – learning skills
and developing professional competence

12. “Clinical supervision is a disciplined, tutorial
process wherein principles are transformed
into practical skills, with four overlapping foci:
administrative, evaluative, clinical, and
supportive.”

13.  Disciplined – regularly scheduled, time
limited, specific agenda & expectations
 Tutorial – instruction and guidance with an
individualized training plan
 A Process – supervisor as
coach, cheerleader, mentor, friend, handhold
er, educator, and colleague
 Principles into practice – help counselor
identify what they did and why they did it

14.  Administrative – involves organizational
management issues
 Evaluative – assess counselor’s skills, clarify
performance standards, negotiate objectives
for learning, utilize sanctions for poor
performance. Involves goal setting &
feedback

15. Clinical – the clinical, educational, and
training functions of supervision include:
 Developing counseling knowledge & skills,
 Identifying learning issues & problems,
 Determining counselor strengths &
weaknesses,
 Promoting self-awareness & professional &
personal growth and,
 Transmitting knowledge for practical use.

16.  The best supervisor teaches by example – not
just instructing but modeling clinical
competencies
 The most effective way to teach: to let the
student watch you work

17.  Supportive – the supportive functions of
clinical supervision include
handholding, cheerleading, coaching, morale
building, burnout prevention, and
encouragement of personal growth
 When a counselor reveals a personal issue
that is impeding the clinical process, the
supervisor must see that he/she gets the
support needed to resolve the impasse

18.  Leadership is not the same as
management, and management is not the
same as supervision
 Leadership transforms people by raising their
sights & aspirations to a higher level, thereby
engendering a greater sense of purpose

19.  To establish trust with co-workers &
subordinates
 To serve as a team leader
 To define & set dept. & organizational goals
& communicate these goals companywide
 To inspire staff by encouragement &
motivation
 To communicate enthusiasm & capability
 To keep up staff morale, including one’s own
 To take appropriate risks & be decisive in
action

20.  To possess the ability to change in response
to needs
 To have vision, drive, clear
judgment, initiative, poise, and maturity of
character
 To command
enthusiasm, loyalty, sincerity, courtesy, and
confidence
 To exercise control through inspiration rather
than command

21.  get work done through staff
 make effective use of dept. resources
 get results in achieving goals & objectives
 control through command
 identify, analyze, and solve problems
 adapt to change & growing needs of org.
 organize work as needed to get the job done
 Intervene to bring about positive results
 See all aspects of operations

22.  Know the responsibilities of staff
 Clearly communicate these responsibilities
 Effectively utilize the performance appraisal
system to get max. productivity of staff
 Write clear job descriptions & quarterly &
annual goal & work statements for all staff
 Delegate responsibilities to all staff
 Promote staff’s professional development

23.  Take full responsibility for decisions you
make
 Always put the well-being of those reporting
to you above your personal well-being
 Give subordinates full credit for successes
 Don’t be afraid to take risks when they’re in
the best interest of the company or client
 Protect your supervisees to superiors when
they’re being unfairly attacked or punished

24. 6. Take a personal interest in the welfare of
your staff
7. Make decisions promptly even if, at
times, you don’t have full information
8. Be a teacher
9. Do not play favorites
10. Don’t give orders just to prove you’re the
boss

25.  Good supervision is largely a matter of caring
for staff
 Supervision is not about structures, but
about people: their needs, concerns &
growth
 The ultimate goal of leadership is to create a
sense of community at work

26.  The leader is a servant first. That’s the key
to the leader’s influence
 The power to lead comes from giving up
personal need for power in order to serve the
group
 “Leaders bear pain. They do not inflict it.”
 The servant leader cares for people
 The goal is to motivate people; tap into it

27.  Owners
 Employees
 Customers – most critical element of agency
 Vendors
 Competitors
 The Community at Large

28. “When organizations empower employees to
be part of the decision-making
process, establish a bottom-up management
structure, practice servant leadership, and
balance the needs of all stake-holders, they
become great places to work.”

29.  Camaraderie
 De-emphasis on Politics (through
trust, openness, & fairness throughout
company)
 Growth Values (employee empowerment)
 Family and Community (give a sense of
being part of a family)

30. The Four A’s of supervision
1. Available: open, receptive, trusting, non
threatening
2. Accessible: easy to approach and speak
freely with
3. Able: having real knowledge & skills to give
4. Affable: pleasant, friendly, reassuring

31. Two Essential Qualities
1. Sound Clinical Experience – must be a
good clinician
2. A Passion for Counseling – the source
being a desire to help others

32. Models of Supervision