MSW Supervision

I graduated with my MSW in Utah and I am now working toward my LCSW in Florida.  The rules are slightly different but supervision and tracking my client hours are still a must. In Utah, more than likely, you found a authorized supervisor wherever you got a job.  It's not required nor is it allowed that you PAY your supervisor.  Which makes sense to me.  Now that I'm in FL, it's the opposite.

I had to find a supervisor that would agree to see me before I could even apply for my intern clinical license AND I have to pay for my supervision.  At a minimum I have to see my supervisor every 2 weeks, but if I'm clocking in 15 hours of client face to face it has to be weekly and I'm paying him $40 a session (and that's cheap compared to some).  

I do enjoy meeting with my supervisor, and he's given me some good feedback and guidance in regards to moving forward and getting more experience about my career.  Last night we had supervision and in a way it feels, although limit on guidance in how to work with some clients, I am getting some good validation that I'm doing well by my clients.  I'm not getting overly challenged or questioned though :(  

At my first internship I worked with a woman, who was new in her LCSW, but rich in experience and she had a very great way of challenging me to have me think about my interactions with clients and what I could be doing better or different.  My first go round working with clients was a lot better because of her involvement, and she wasn't even my supervisor during that time, she was a therapist that enjoyed sharing knowledge with others.  

I had to find my supervisor here in FL by getting a list of authorized supervisors from the FL board.  I work with a couple of other CSWs and one's supervisor isn't supervising anymore and I'm not sure who the other one's are using.  I reached out to this guy on the list because he was older, had moved around (wasn't just from FL) and appeared to have a diverse set of experience in his background.  Two of the other CSWs that I work with have supervisors that focus on marriage and family stuff or have a religious base to their work (not something that I wanted).   We have met for a few times for my supervision and I do leave feeling like I'm on the right track but there is so much more that I need to learn and apply with my clients.  

Since I spoke to him last time I had two new experiences: working with a client in crisis and also working with a client that sees a demon and is hearing voices.  I told him about both interactions, how I worked with the clients and then asked for feedback or guidance in regards for these situations in the future.  Apparently my "gut response" for dealing with both clients was pretty close to doing what needs to be done. Which made me feel better because I was really over evaluating my work with the guy that is seeing a demon.  I calmed him down, I was scheduled to do his psychosocial assessment, and we were able to finish the assessment.  I didn't challenge his demon vision but asked questions about it to get a better understanding of how this demon is impact his and his family's life.  I acknowledged his pain and fear, explained what we can currently do, what I can do for him (which I did), and maintained that respect, non judgmental, accepting vibe with him throughout the session and afterwards when we spoke.  I am not this person's individual therapist so I won't be working with him anymore, but I am happy that I was able to make his intro onto our unit a little less stressful.  

One thing that is becoming apparent to me working on an in patient unit, is that the feelings of loneliness and hopelessness are crippling.  So many clients on their way off of the unit talk about how great it is to know "they are not alone" in their struggles.  That by reaching out, opening up, they are able to let go of some of their struggles to start to work through them.  Granted we have some folks that appear to "play the game" but I still do what I can for them with how they present, and then begin to challenge them a little more aggressively to get them moving forward.  

In today's world, with technology (tinder, FB, etc.), not only are we loosing our physical connections with people we are spending more time in our heads.  This is giving our "brain" power in which people think they have no control over their thoughts, emotions, feelings, etc. BUT it's the opposite.  We do have control, and a lot of these young folks struggle so much harder than they need to.  Not only are they so much "in their head" but they want everything NOW.  The time of working your way to the top is foreign to them, so when they don't get their dream job right out of the gate, it's a complete breakdown of self esteem and stoppage of life.  I have an individual that is early 20's, didn't make in this elite school, and now his life is over and he has no idea what he's going to do, what path he is going to get on, and the thought of working as a maintenance/cleaning person for 3 years while he finishes out his military commitment has led him to our unit for treatment.  I can understand the heartbreak and disappointment for not making it in what he had planned and prepped for, but I struggle to wrap my head around the finality of the feeling as if things are hopeless now.  

My job, at times, is shining a spotlight on hope until my clients are empowered and can grab a hold of their future.