Clinical Supervisor Training for Social Work, Marriage & Family, & Mental Health Counselors
Social work, marriage & family, and mental health counselor registered interns are required by Florida law to complete two years of internship under the supervision of a State of Florida approved clinical supervisor. The training to be a qualified supervisor for social work, marriage & family, and mental health counselor registered interns has been reduced from 16 hours to 12 hours.
A qualified supervisor must be approved by the Florida Department of Health, Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy, & Mental Health Counseling. The qualified supervisor may or may not be the same person who supervises the registered intern at his or her place of employment. The qualified supervisor oversees all aspects of the registered intern’s work, whether or not services are provided on the same site as the qualified supervisor. Qualified supervisors must meet requirements and complete specific training as set forth in the Florida Statutes and have four (4) years of clinical experience in social work to supervise social work interns; and five (5) years of clinical experience in marriage & family therapy or mental health counseling to supervise marriage & family therapy or mental health counselor registered interns. Two (2) years of experience for all three disciplines can be earned during a post-masters clinical internship.
A new 4-hour supervision course must be taken every 6 years (64B4-6.0025). These hours are required every third biennium and are included in the 25 general hours. This course is only required for Qualified Supervisors.
Supervision is the relationship between supervisor and supervisee which promotes the development of responsibility, skill, knowledge, and ethical standards in the provision of services for social workers, marriage and family therapists, and mental health counselors. During supervision, the supervisee provides information to the supervisor regarding the assessment and intervention with each client or client group. In the context of a reciprocal dialogue, the supervisor provides oversight, guidance and direction in assessing and intervening with clients. The supervisor also evaluates the supervisee’s performance. Responsibilities and liabilities are associated with the supervisory process.
Some similarities exist between the supervisor-supervisee relationship and the therapist-client relationship. The supervisor is in a position of authority, and thus has fiduciary responsibilities. Dual role relationships must be attended to, so as not to exploit either the client or the supervisee or cloud professional judgement.
For more information, contact the Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling at 850-245-4474 or visit www.floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov