The Path To A Successful Career, For The Next Generation of Counselors!

Laurence Saputra LPC-S

Finding a supervisor is about finding the right fit. It’s important that you find someone that you can connect with and trust to help you finish your journey to full licensure.

Along with finding the right fit, you actually have to find a Supervisor first, before you can get a job and begin acquiring the 3000 hours needed in order to even begin this journey forward. This can often be an obstacle and a stressful time. But, you are not alone.

Mentorship and Supervision have always been important to me. I am confident that the last 13 years that I have spent working in the mental health field have been preparing me for this role. Here are the sites I have experience with:

  • LMHA’s
  • Non profit counseling organizations
  • University Counseling Centers
  • Psychiatric hospitals
  • Outpatient programs (PHP/IOP)
  • Residential Treatment (Substance/Process Addiction)
  • Group/Private practice

I'm always interviewing potential associates so perhaps we should talk. Please note that, if you have plans to begin your own private practice while under supervision, I will not enter into any supervision agreement with you. There is simply too much liability involved to take the risk. If your plan includes learning the ropes regarding Federal and State compliance issues, the legalities of working with other people as employees and/or contractors, and a myriad of other things you didn't learn in school about running a legal and compliant practice prior to starting that practice, then please keep reading!

Before we go on you need to know this...

There are two groups of Supervisors that you'll encounter:

Those that are primarily in it to give back and mentor
the next generations' professional aspirations, and...

Those that are in it for the money.

If your plans include finding the cheapest possible mentor (supervisor) that will let you skate by on minimums then you'll need to stop right now and look elsewhere, because I belong firmly in that first group, as does anyone I might recommend to you.

Finding Supervisors To Interview

The bad news is that there is no public list of outstanding Supervisors to be had. The good news is that I am here to help you in ways that no one else in the Great State of Texas can. (See PracticeMentors.us after you finish reading this page!)

Your immediate job is to find a Supervisor who "gets" you, and a JOB that fits you! You need a handful of top supervisor candidates that are accepting new associates, in your area, OR will know other top-tier supervisor candidates that are. That's an almost impossible list to come by but in just a minute I'm going to give it to you as my gift to you and your future, whether you end up working with me or not. But first, I want you to really think about something...

Don't Settle for the First Supervisor You Talk to!!

You spent 4 or more years getting your under-grad degree and likely incurred some school debt (kudos to you if you finished debt-free!). Then you spent a few more years and another small fortune (more debt?) obtaining your graduate degree(s), and you did it because you have a heart to help other people.

 

Do you really think this is a good time to look for a mentor that delivers
only minimums at the cheapest possible rates you can find?

 

My colleagues and I are here to tell you that your education has just begun.

Interview with several, recommended supervisor-candidates, pick the one that offers the best curriculum for your future, one that you can feel comfortable working with and pay them their fee. Now is not the time to pinch pennies; we're talking about your career and your financial earning power for the rest of your life!

If I may be a bit blunt, these supervisors don't need you and we're not obligated to do what we do. We could easily make more money seeing clients in the hours we spend working with our associates. We choose to do this for the next generation because we want to and we sacrifice a lot of things and put ourselves at risk to do so.

You're going to have to learn how to interview with these supervisors. If you think you can, "wing it", and you'll be ok, you're wrong. This is far more important than an interview at McDonalds.

How To Interview With These Supervisor-Candidates

You need to understand that these are two-way interviews. You're looking to see if they would make a good mentor for you on both professional and personal levels, and they're looking for "the consummate student". So let's set up some expectations for both parties. For example, if we choose to work together, here is some of what you would learn with me:

The Counseling Landscape

Interview Your Supervisor Candidates With This Checklist

Don't you think it might be a good idea to find out what your supervisor-mentor is planning to teach you during your time together rather than just, "hope it all works out"? Wouldn't it be smarter to work from a check-list of specifics that you're looking for in a "like-minded Supervisor"? I suggest that you hop on over to PracticeMentors.us, subscribe, then download and use the list we've put together for you as your personal interview check-list when interviewing your Supervisor-Candidates.

LTC 512x512

"Thank you so much! I feel a bit more prepared to take on
the world after graduation (after reading this page). I had a
couple of friends in the master's program drop out because the thought
of all the work that happens after graduating was not their cup of tea.
I'm so sad they didn't get to read what you wrote, but I will refer my
classmates to read it and hopefully, they feel the same kind of peace
and calm that I do now."

--Alessandra Montes, Recent Graduate

Laurence Saputra LPC-S

Here's The List of Supervisors I Recommend

If you'll click the logo to the left, or this link, you'll be shown a list of supervisors that have completed various levels of education with us. There's more detail on that page but each supervisor represented has a link directly to a page on their website specifically addressed to you! If you encounter any issues or have any questions please feel free to shoot Phillip an email at:  pcrum@practicementors.us and he will respond. Good luck!