Hopefully you’ve taken a look at Part I of this series. It was easy to call Part I “Substance Abuse,” because, well, it is!  In this bIog I know that it is arbitrary to identify the Clinical Social Worker and Professional Counselor as “mental health,” as individuals with either license can provide treatment for substance abuse problems, in addition to other issues.  Bear with me a few minutes…

When I look at the competencies for a supervisor as defined by the North Carolina Social Work Certification and Licensure Board (NCSWCLB) or the North Carolina Board of Licensed Professional Counselors (NCBLPC), there are many conditions similar to the Certified Clinical Supervisor (Substance Abuse).

With one difference: That the supervisor be competent in the population / treatment.  Why this one  difference?

I take it this way: The bulk of the work in substance abuse occurs after the problem has taken a turn for the worse. The pathology of drinking and drugging almost always takes time to develop, and the client base is predominantly composed of adults.  True, there are youth, and the youth population has expanded in numbers.  Still, the substance abuse counselor and supervisor can now that the prevention component of substance abuse and, perhaps, the novice drinker’s driving while intoxicated ticket and the resulting mandated treatment are exceptions in a population made up mostly of adults.

The substance abuse field doesn’t deal with normal adjustment problems that are not pathological. The substance abuse field doesn’t deal with purely mental health problems. The substance abuse field doesn’t deal with the behavioral problems of very young children.  And the substance abuse field doesn’t deal with the behavioral problems of geriatric populations except substance use.

So supervisors (and clinicians) in clinical social work and clinical counseling are working with a variety of age ranges, normal and pathological developments, and other complexities, making it difficult for those Boards to construct a list of content expectations equivalent to those outlined by the NCSAPPB

The NCBLPC sets a high bar to supervise: 45 hours of supervision specific training or academic course work. The NCSAPPB requires 15 hours of clinical supervision specific training to obtain the Certified Supervisor Intern (CSI) credential and an additional 15 hours of clinical supervision specific training, a total of 30 hours.  Plus the two years practical experience as a CSI and passing the examination to obtain the Certified Clinical Supervisor credential. The NCSWCLB has the lowest standard to supervise.  No supervision course requirements, no examination.

Supervisees: Take care of yourselves, ask your supervisor about their supervision training and what they offer, what specialized training in the either the treatment(s) or the populations or the mental health problems you’ll encounter.