Clinical Supervision

Clinical supervision is a combination of several skill sets that can be combined or kept separate.  Minimally, the supervisor is serving in the role of expert consultant in regard to technical aspects of ethical client treatment being provided.  The level of oversight will depend largely on both the clinical presentation of the client , as well as the education, training, experience level, and specific needs of the supervisee.  Many times, seasoned licensed professionals seek clinical supervision for specific cases that do not seem to be progressing normally or that appear to have safety, ethical, or legal ramifications involved.  Clergy members also seek clinical supervision for work with parishioners that may be on the limits of their spiritual focus and ability to counsel.

Over the past 15 years, Dr. Heinrichs has been clinical supervisor to many students and professionals in a variety of contexts and settings.  His experience ranges from providing seasoned licensed professionals clarification on treatment direction and progress, to training  undergraduate students in their first year of experience.  His approach utilizes a best practices model of clinical treatment while establishing clear goals for the supervision relationship.  While training predoctoral graduate students in the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health APA approved internship training program, he liked utilizing a depth oriented supervision model aimed at developing the clinician as  the therapeutic tool.  In this approach, the supervisee is continually focused on his/her experience with every aspect of the clients case, and process through self-material related to the provision of services.  The goal of this type of supervision is to help the supervisee recognize more quickly those aspects of themselves that may be influencing the course and efficacy of treatment.