198 Grads: Is Your Supervision Actually Working?

If you are sitting in supervision every week thinking, Something about this does not feel right, this episode is for you.New associates are expected to enter supervision and somehow know what a good supervision experience should look like. But if this is your first supervisor, how would you know whether the lack of structure, missing evaluations, or disorganized paperwork is normal?In this episode, Ashley Stephens Durbin and I walk through the signs that supervision may be coasting. Ashley shares what "no structure to be found" can actually look like, along with an early-career evaluation experience that delivered difficult feedback without giving her a plan for growth. I also talk about why disorganized supervision becomes a bigger problem when you are facing a real clinical mistake or emergency.Most importantly, we talk about what you can do next. You are not powerless just because someone is signing your hours.In this episode, we cover:How to tell the difference between a relaxed supervision style and supervision with no meaningful structureWhy evaluation, documentation, and case follow-up should be part of your supervision processHow to decide whether you trust your supervisor enough to call when something goes wrong clinicallyWhen to have the difficult conversation, find a mentor, interview someone new, or change supervisorsGood supervision should help you grow into a clinician who can think, evaluate, document, and make sound decisions. It should not leave you wondering whether you are wasting another supervision hour talking about absolutely nothing.I know the difficult-conversation piece personally. Changing my first supervision situation required one of the hardest professional conversations I had experienced at that point in my life, but it also taught me the power of self-advocacy.Your supervision experience helps shape the clinician you are becoming. Pay attention when the warning flags show up.Want to learn more? Check out this month’s free resource from Kate Walker Training.If this episode made you rethink how you structure supervision, evaluate supervisees, document progress, or respond when things go wrong clinically, join us inside the Step It Up Membership. We go deeper into the systems, ethics, and documentation practices that help supervisors build supervision relationships that are organized, defensible, and supportive.Get your step by step guide to private practice. Because you are too important to lose to not knowing the rules, going broke, burning out, and giving up. #counselorsdontquit.