In the United States, if you are a Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Mental Health Counselor or some variation of this title, you may be residing in a state that requires you to hold the Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS) credential or equivalent (varies from state to state) to conduct clinical supervision.
The ACS credential requires Specialized Training among other qualifications (excerpted from the application):.
Specialized Training:
An applicant must document completion of either of the following:
a. A graduate course in clinical supervision, OR
b. A total of 45 clock hours of workshop training in clinical supervision.
Clinical supervision training must be specific for supervisors or becoming supervisors. Courses in
receiving clinical supervision will not be accepted.
Either A or B above must include, but is not limited to, each of the following content areas:
1. Roles and functions of clinical supervisors
2. Models of clinical supervision
3. Mental health-related professional development
4. Methods and techniques in clinical supervision
5. Supervisory relationship issues
6. Cultural issues in clinicalsupervision
7. Group supervision
8. Legal and ethical issues in clinicalsupervision
9. Evaluation of supervisee competence and the supervision process.
The Center for Credentialing and Education (CCE) does not specify specific approved training providers but rather, requires proof of training that covers the above content and is at least 45 hours of instruction. In addition, CCE does not specify that you must attend a training from a provider in the state you hold a license. That means you have freedom in choosing training that appeals to you and your practice, using your own discretion.
If you are interested in becoming an ACS and you already have completed hours toward the 45 required, you can take either Part 1, 30 hours or Part 2, 15 hours. If you need all 45 you may take both Part 1 and 2. The online training requires a written response for each module with feedback given. The two courses in the series complete a Specialist Certificate in Clinical Supervision.
Find out more about the Clinical Supervision Series.
