Supervision, Consulting & Training
I see clinical supervision and consultation as the most important avenue through which people learn how to do their jobs. The function of supervision is a multifaceted one, involving a complex process of accountability, which leads to assurance of competent work with clients. I believe that the relationship between a supervisor and supervisee has a profound influence on the quality of the practitioner's work with clients. Problems in the supervisory relationship often lead to difficulties with the larger processes of supervision. On the other hand, a positive supervisory relationship creates an environment in which the processes of supervision can operate such that clients are ultimately better served.
Along with having practiced psychotherapy for more nearly 50 years, I have more than 40 years of experience providing supervision and consultation for clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists and other mental health practitioners. In addition, I offer training and consultation for supervisors. As a member of the faculty of the St. Catherine University/University of St. Thomas School of Social Work MSW Program, I taught classes in clinical services supervision and program management.
In 1994, I co‐founded the school’s Supervision Institute and served as co-director for 22 years. The mission of the Institute was to promote greater knowledge of the skills, theory, approaches and issues involved in clinical supervision. Its philosophy was that the development of competent practitioners depends on competent supervision. During my tenure at the Institute I conducted training sessions in supervision for practitioners in the community on almost a yearly basis.
In addition to my work through the Institute, I have offered more than 60 workshops and presentations both nationally and locally on the topic of supervision in general, including several on cross‐cultural supervision. This training history includes a 30‐hour course for social workers and supervisors at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. I have published several journal articles on the topic of supervision and am the author of Supervisory Relationships: Exploring the Human Element (1997) and co‐creator of the training video and manual, Challenges in Cross Cultural Supervision (2000). I also published a book on the process of therapy, entitled A User’s Guide to Therapy: What to Expect and How You Can Benefit (2009). For several years I served on the editorial board of the journal The Clinical Supervisor.