The Strength-Based Clinical Supervision Workbook A Complete Guide for Mental Health Trainees and Supervisors

Supervision is the cornerstone of clinical training across all types of mental health providers. It facilitates the growth of mental health trainees and maintains the integrity of the field of mental health services by ensuring the competency of clinicians. However, the process can be complex and potentially confusing for both supervisors and trainees at any stage of their development or post-licensure career. Utilizing strength-based approaches is crucial to the success of supervision. This workbook facilitates a collaborative and strength-based approach to clinical supervision that both supervisors and trainees can use during the entire course of supervision, or for specific goals related to supervision. Each chapter of this workbook contains information and activities specific to both the trainee and supervisor to facilitate dialogue about individual and combined strengths, areas for growth, and goals for collaborative work. This is an essential start-to-finish guide addressing the entire supervision process, from preparing for the first session to conducting the last session, and everything in between.

Acknowledgments Section I: Foundation and Framework for Strength-Based Supervision 1. Historical and Theoretical Foundations of Clinical Supervision: How Where We’ve Been Informs Where We Are 2. Does Supervision Matter? What the Evidence Suggests in Support of Supervision and Best Practices 3. How We Can, Not Why We Can’t: Theory and Techniques of Strength-Based Clinical Supervision Section II: The First Supervision Session 4. Preparing for the First Session: Identifying What You Bring Individually to the Supervision Process 5. The Role of Cultural Competence and Social Justice in Effective Strength-Based Supervision 6. We Need to Talk: The Relationship as a Foundation for Effective Strength-Based Supervision 7. Start with the End in Mind: Developing Strength-Based Supervision Goals Section III: Moving Forward: Building on Strengths in Ongoing and Final Supervision Sessions 8. It’s a Journey and a Destination: Essential Tasks and Goals of Ongoing Supervision Sessions 9. What You See is What You Get: Monitoring and Observing Clinical Work 10. Effective Feedback: Best Practices for Giving Trainees More of What They Want (Hint: Feedback)11. A Focus on Solutions: Addressing Obstacles through Strength-Based Remediation and Rupture Repair 12. Ending Well: The Final Supervision Sessions and Stepping Into the Future Conclusion References Index

Christopher L. Heffner, PsyD, PhD, is a Licensed Psychologist and Core Faculty member at Antioch University Seattle (AUS). His clinical and research interests include solution-focused interventions and positive psychology. Jessica Cowan, PsyD, is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in Washington and Arizona. Her clinical and research interests are centered on clinical supervision and the treatment of eating disorders.