Congratulations on taking the initial steps toward becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). It is not an easy process, but I believe it is an important progression in your career as a social worker. As you probably already know, in order to begin the process toward becoming an LCSW, you must already be a licensed master social worker (LMSW). There are many positions where you can work as an LMSW without necessarily needing to pursue your LCSW, but I highly encourage people to do so if you are in a direct practice setting or want to work in this setting in the future.
The requirements for eligibility are 3,000 hours of supervised professional clinical experience over a period of at least 24 months, or its equivalent if the experience was completed in another jurisdiction. Hours accrued in non-clinical settings may be used to satisfy the requirements of this rule if the applicant works at least 4 hours per week providing clinical social work. The supervision must be completed with a board approved LCSW-supervisor (rule 781.401). While you only need 4 hours a week of direct clinical social work, it is highly recommended you try to gain as much experience as possible with individuals, families, and/or groups. Additionally, 100 hours of supervision is required, either in a group or individual setting, equating to 1 hour of supervision for every 40 hours of work completed.
The supervision process itself is a large gray area, but through the development of a 40-hour supervisor training, key areas for effective supervision have been identified, but not limited to the following: discernment of ethical issues, cultural competency and diversity, crisis intervention and levels of care, boundaries, documentation, Texas Social Workers Code of Conduct, National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics. The aforementioned areas are in addition to understanding the necessary components of the clinical process: introduction, assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning, intervention, and termination. Once all the requirements of supervision have been met, the supervisor will attest that the supervisee is competent to take the clinical social work exam through the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) after approval by the Texas State Board of Social Work Examiners.
I do believe I offer a challenging supervision program to help prepare you for the field of clinical social work. I have 14+ years of experience in the field of mental health working in an inpatient and outpatient mental health setting with children, adults, geriatric, and families, as well as the intake department providing behavioral health assessments, recommendations of care, and legal issues related to involuntary commitment. The field of mental health, particularly the inpatient and outpatient sector, provided a solid foundation to understand the dynamic issues of adversity, diagnosis, treatment, interventions, crisis intervention, processes and policies, and important areas for change. The hospital setting also allowed the opportunity to work in a multidisciplinary setting with doctors, nurses, medical social workers, stakeholders, and outside organizations. From there, I worked in the non-profit agency setting at a local Children’s Advocacy Center with children and families providing trauma-focused therapy and working closely with the district attorney, law enforcement, and CPS. Additionally, I helped grow the intern program and provide supervision to counseling and social work students.
Most recently, I have been in private practice where I specialize in trauma-focused counseling interventions with children, adolescents, and adults. I am trained in trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT), eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR), and play therapy interventions, including sandtray and expressive arts, and I am projected to be a registered play therapist by July 2024. My counseling style is integrative and tailored to meet the needs of the client where I also take a client-centered approach. Of course, my experience has provided the foundation to work with diverse groups of people experiencing a multitude of concerns.
Supervision should provide a positively challenging experience where you feel prepared for the clinical exam and the field of clinical social work. I do believe I provide a supervision program dedicated to the goals you want to achieve, while also incorporating my knowledge and experience. I believe learning is a lifelong venture, and I love to share my knowledge just as much as I love to learn from those around me. If you are ready to set up a supervision interview, please complete the contact submission form.
Now accepting supervisees for individual and group supervision.
Supervision begins on the first of each month.
Important websites:
Code of Ethics: English (socialworkers.org)
Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners – Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council
Association of Social Work Boards (aswb.org)
Texas Administrative Code (state.tx.us)