Graduate Student Clinicians Program
Supervision
High quality competency-based supervision is at the core of the Graduate Student Clinicians (GSC) training program. A primary supervisor who is a licensed clinician or an advanced trainee receiving supervision from a senior licensed staff member, oversees the majority of a GSC's caseload, while additional supervisors may be utilized for particular activities (e.g. group counseling) or as a secondary supervisor regarding a portion of the GSC's caseload. Secondary supervisors may be licensed clinicians or unlicensed clinicians who are being supervised by licensed clinicians (doctoral psychology interns, post-doctoral fellows, or staff clinicians in the process of being licensed).
Supervisors are assigned based on graduate student clinician interests, learning goals, graduate program considerations, and staff availability. The specific number of supervision hours provided depends on the number of hours the graduate student clinician is at the center, their caseload, and the specific activities in their contract. One hour of face-to-face supervision per week is the minimum requirement for any graduate student clinician. All supervision takes place on site and usually includes review of digital video recording. Supervisors evaluate graduate student clinicians based on the competency-based goals identified by the graduate student clinician's discipline/graduate program, and communicates with the GSC Coordinator, who in turn acts as liaison to the graduate student clinician's academic department.
Supervision requires a collaborative relationship between the supervisor and supervisee. Graduate student clinicians are not required to disclose personal information as part of supervision; however, as supervision requires a certain degree of self-awareness and self-reflection, graduate student clinicians will be asked to engage in reflection on what they as a person bring into their work with clients. This process could involve self-disclosure in supervision to ensure adequate client care and facilitate growth as a mental health professional.