Clinical Supervision
for Pennsylvania Licensure
So you’re a new therapist and you’re discovering—there are so many things grad school didn’t teach.
Maybe you are wondering:
I feel frustrated and stuck when my client has nothing to say…are they not really motivated for therapy?
I only learned about CBT and I feel like I need more tools to help my clients, but I’m not sure where to start.
After the first couple sessions, I feel directionless and my client runs out of things to say. What are we supposed to focus on?
I find myself dreading certain client sessions…are we just not a good fit?
I’m working in an agency and not really enjoying the work or the clients…am I burned out? How can I be burned out so soon after graduation? Help!
Supervision isn’t just to earn your license.
It’s an investment in yourself.
Quality supervision--where you can speak openly and honestly, and where the focus isn't on outcomes and paperwork, or telling your boss what they want to hear--is one of the most important investments you can make for your professional development and a long and rewarding career.
I provide individual supervision to individuals seeking licensure in Pennsylvania, as well as as-needed case consultation to licensed therapists seeking guidance on technique and clinical challenges.
SUPERVISION STYLE
In addition to my training as an MSW, rooted in social justice and biopsychosocial approaches, as a therapist my theoretical orientation is psychodynamic/psychoanalytic (also known as insight-oriented). These models inform how I understand my clients’ symptoms and problems. This is quite different from a DSM-V medical model or brief behavioral approach such as CBT.
An analytic/insight-oriented approach emphasizes: 1) connections between the past and the present, including how important early relationships shape the ways we relate to others and see ourselves; 2) how things outside our awareness (i.e. that are unconscious) can contribute to symptoms/presenting problems; and 3) it views the therapy relationship as not separate from other kinds of a relationships in a person’s life, but rather that their dynamics or ways of relating or experiencing others are likely to show up in therapy as well, and thus these feelings and reactions are welcomed as a valuable way to understand a client more deeply in a here-and-now way (i.e. through transference).
I value being an approachable supervisor who is honest, down to earth, but also boundaried and will challenge you to reflect, grow, and be a better clinician. It is vital that supervision is a place where you feel safe to bring up mistakes, challenges, messy countertransference feelings…not just case examples that sound like you’ve got it all figured out.
I help supervisees feel more confident in their clinical skills and judgment, develop greater patience for the slowness of therapy at those times that “nothing is happening” and to step back from the content of a session to see the arc of the therapy and the client’s story, to gain a sense of where they need to go (and that they are getting somewhere!)
Key to my philosophy as a supervisor is that we must balance theory with a focus on practical technique (the “what do you say, when”) that you can apply to the work that you do, whether that is in social work case management or therapy. For therapists, this means talking about diagnostics, case formulation, as well as how to work with defenses, different types of transference feelings/reactions or symptom presentations in therapy.
I have supervised providers across a variety of settings to help them work toward their professional development goals.
EXPERIENCE & AREAS OF EXPERTISE
I often work with adults related to anxiety disorders, depression and self-esteem, including developmental trauma such as emotional abuse and neglect in childhood, attachment difficulties, trouble finding healthy/lasting romantic relationships, and issues with assertiveness or people pleasing.
My clinical experience spans a variety of settings with diverse clients and issues: inpatient psychiatric treatment, residential treatment, community mental health, domestic violence intervention, international youth development work with the US Peace Corps, and programs for at-risk teens.
AWARDS & PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
2024 Outstanding Young Member Award, Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia
2019 Teacher of the year, Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia
Organizer, Saturday Morning Case Conference Series at PCOP (2020-Present)
Member, American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work