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What is Clinical Supervision?

Alison D. Peak, MSW, LCSW, IMH-E

March 26, 2021

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What is clinical supervision?

Answer

Clinical supervision is a style of social work supervision. Clinical supervision focuses on providing direct feedback on clinical concepts, such as theoretical knowledge, an assessment of the client or family or organization that the social worker is working with, thinking together about developing goals and treatment planning, selecting diagnoses, and thinking about which modality might be the best approach. 

Clinical supervision sometimes takes on the air of the answer to the question of “what do I do now?” when the new social worker comes and says, "Okay, I tried this thing, what do I do now?" 

Sometimes clinical supervision can be that place of setting direction for that next clinical step, it kind of paves a path, and puts the supervisor in a place to say, "we have walked this path five times now, you have a better expectation of what is coming than you did the first time you walked it, so tell me what you think we should do next?" 

 

This Ask the Expert is an edited excerpt from the webinar, Foundations of Supervision in Social Work Practice, presented by Alison D. Peak, MSW, LCSW, IMH-E


alison d peak

Alison D. Peak, MSW, LCSW, IMH-E

Alison D. Peak received her Master's degree in Social Work from the University of Michigan with an emphasis in Interpersonal Practice with Children and Youth and Infant Mental Health. Alison is the Co-chair of the AIMHiTN Endorsement Committee and a member of AIMHiTN's Leadership Cohort. Alison also has two post-graduate degrees, Integrated Behavioral Health in Primary Care and Pediatric Integrated Health Services. Alison is passionate about working with children with histories of early trauma, families with adopted children, and youth in DCS custody. Alison seeks to meet these children and families where they most often present for assistance, their physician's office, and to assist in collaborating with primary care providers to optimize services for children and families.


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