The rare breed of superhumans learning how to juggle their clinical practice, personal lives, lifelong academic learning, training of students, and the occasional academic teaching or paper publishing.
To-do list
Two assessment reports, three upcoming assessment preparations, at least two supervision log records, tons of readings, research thesis write-ups for results and discussion chapters, financial analysis for an investment I’m eyeing (a little hobby of mine) and scheduling peer supervision sessions.
That’s all. No big deal.
Let’s take a pause here while I grab a paper bag and hyperventilate.
YET I hope to discuss about the supervisory relationship, it’s importance, and effect on your clinical placement today. For if you play your cards right, the ripple effect from the supervisory relationship could propel your whole career progression and take it off straight into outer space (an out-of-the-world experience associated with success and not a disparity in reality).
More articles on being a clinical psychology trainee:
- What is a clinical psychology trainee
- A day in the life of a clinical psychology trainee
- Managing time as a clinical psychology trainee
- Lessons from the life of a clinical psychology trainee
Click here to read an e-book about my experiences becoming a clinical psychologist in Malaysia!
Clinical supervisors
The rare breed of superhumans learning how to juggle their clinical practice, personal lives, lifelong academic learning, training of students, and the occasional academic teaching or paper publishing. A little too similar to my to-do list for my liking. Sometimes these supervisors excel in certain areas while keeping their heads afloat with their commitments in others. Sometimes they neglect certain areas in favor of their personal lives. And sometimes, you meet the one-in-a-million that achieves aplenty in all areas of their lives.
The current state in Malaysia reflects a lack of number of adequate clinical supervisors (most are yet to achieve that 3-year clinical experience mark, or have yet to gain training in supervising) which greatly limits the clinical placements offered. I believe that we are at the stage where the top professionals in clinical psychology (names you hear of frequently who have been practicing for tens of years) are slowly receding from active supervision while the younger professionals have yet gained enough experience to be confident in offering clinical supervision. That leaves that middle, yet-to-gain-prominence, layer of clinical psychologists who are spread out pretty wide across various areas and settings actively training the postgraduate clinical psychology trainees.
Pros: You have a wide range (key note: range, not number) of clinical psychologists in various areas offering clinical supervision.
Cons: You may not find adequate information about the available clinical psychologists online, except through word of mouth.
Tip: The best kind of supervisor is one who excels in nurturing/supervising while having an expertise in the area (children work, neuropsychology, family therapy, etc.) that you are interested in. Other areas in their lives are frankly, not quite your business and hence unimportant in relation to the supervisory relationship. Focus on what you can learn from them, not how well they market themselves in the field.
Active supervision
Drawing from my vast experience of the grand total of TWO clinical supervisors (my words are at your disposal to credit/discredit) I have been humbled by their stark differences between settings and teaching styles.
Active supervision covers all the aspects of clinical skills from the identification of available clients/patients to the termination of cases. It comprises of the monitoring of cases (your cases are technically their cases), teaching of necessary skills, overseeing reports, and daily to weekly specific supervisory slots. In general.
Translating this into reality, this means that they grill you daily on theoretical and clinical knowledge, ensure that you know what to say to clients/patients, cover your tracks when you make mistakes, call security on your behalf when clients/patients get out of hand (long story), and protect you when others question your skills. They ask if you are sleeping well (or at all), reading the correct materials, and most importantly when your reports can be submitted. They observe how you behave and confront you if there are aspects of your clinical judgement that requires refinement. They intuitively accommodate your learning style and ensure that at the end of the placement, you are well-equipped with the necessary skills.
The best supervision I believe comes from one who is able to motivate trainees into betterment not by strict enforcement or lenient accommodation, but through the alignment of teachings with the trainee’s personal values (we are the generation that seeks meaning) so that the magnitude of learning can be enforced with both parties’ commitment. Concisely, “the supervisor is flexible”.
Supervisors and your career
In clinical psychology, supervision never ends. Even at the point of graduation it is always necessary to seek external supervision (or internal, based on your work setting) to ensure professional competence. Even seasoned professionals still seek supervision for cases with issues that they have limited exposure, or else they refer them to a more appropriate responder. Hence, the clinical supervisor during your placement could potentially end up a lifelong mentor (and friend?) with great rewards for your career. Even if they are not strictly your preferred option for ongoing supervision, they would be a great point of reference to connect you with someone in the field you are interested to work with. Think further ahead and network, network, network.
Has the emphasis of the clinical supervisory relationship been impressed upon you yet?
Let me end with a fun caricature of supervisors you may come across:
The Mondays
Ever-ready batteries packed full of expectations expecting trainees to function as employees, starting on day one of clinical training. If you have questions, get ready to be grilled by more questions instead.
The Tuesdays
The unassuming ones you thought were lenient but “surprises” you with a strict grading rubric when the time comes for the assessment of your performances.
The Wednesdays
Always in the lime-light, well known for their expertise from the East coast to the West. You see their prominent profiles across all other platforms more frequently than you see them in supervision.
The Fridays
So wholesome that they are more invested in your education than you are. A surefire way to ensure that trainees never slack, out of gratitude.
The Sundays
Snaps at you from Monday to Friday but always jolly and fun after-working hours. Scissors to the serious after 5PM!
Fun aside, may you be blessed with a supervisory relationship you never thought you needed in the first place — the best kind of learning experience!
And now, back to my to-do list.
