Clinical Supervision-Students

Clinical Supervision is the dynamic interchange between the supervisor and the beginning practitioner. Jennifer's goal as a clinical supervisor, is to provide an environment in which the supervisee can be open to his/her experience and to fully engaged with their client. She aims to provide a space for meaningful growth and development.  Jennifer is approved by the Montana Board of Behavioral Health to provide clinical supervision to social workers, professional counselors and marriage and family therapy candidates. In addition to teaching social workers at the University of Montana, she has supervised social workers in an organizational setting for nearly twenty years and provided individual and group supervision to clinical candidates for over ten years. It is a honor and privilege to support professionals in their growth.

The following list captures Jennifer's philosophy of supervision and professional development:

1. Professional development involves an increasing higher-order integration of the professional self and the personal self
2. The focus of functioning shifts dramatically over time from internal to external to internal.
3. Continuous reflection is a prerequisite for optimal learning and professional development at all levels of experience.
4. An intense commitment to learning propels the developmental process.
5. The cognitive map changes: Beginning practitioners rely on external expertise, seasoned practitioners rely on internal expertise.
6. Professional development is long, slow, continuous process that can also be erratic.
7. Professional development is a life-long process.
8. Many beginning practitioners experience much anxiety in their professional work. Over time, anxiety is mastered by most.
9. Clients serve as a major source of influence and serve as primary teachers.
10. Personal life influences professional functioning and development throughout the professional life span.
11. Interpersonal sources of influence propel professional development more than ‘impersonal’ sources of influence.
12. New members of the field view professional elders and graduate training with strong affective reactions.
13. Extensive experience with suffering contributes to heightened recognition, acceptance and appreciation of human variability.
14. For the practitioner there is a realignment from self as hero to client as hero. (Ronnestad and Skovholt’s (2003))

What model of clinical supervision do you use?

I use a person-centered, developmental, integrative model of supervision which takes into account each provider's unique experiences, education, knowledge, skill set, and motivation for their career.

What distinguishes you as a supervisor?

I have provided field supervision to social workers for over twenty years and clinical supervision to social workers and other behavioral health providers for the past ten years. I am a certified emotionally focused therapist and supervisor in training with the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy. I have also taught social work students for fifteen years at the University of Montana and provided practicum supervision for both undergraduate and graduate level students. Everyone who knows me knows of my love for teaching whether it’s in the classroom or in the therapy office. I might blush, but I’ve often heard that I am “safe”, encouraging and trustworthy.

Who can Jennifer supervise?

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and available to provide clinical supervision to candidates of Professional Counseling, Clinical Social Work and Marriage and Family Therapists, which is in compliance with the Montana Board of Behavioral Health guidelines.

Meet Jennifer