November 14, 2025 • 22 mins
What happens when supervision feels overwhelming before it even starts?
In this episode, Dr. Ashley Stevens and I name the invisible administrative weight (hours, paperwork, compliance) and show how structure, not heroics, turns supervision from exhausting to sustainable. With clear systems, even tentative supervisors lead with confidence.
The first trap is assuming that organizing must be complex. Clarity is the ultimate goal, not fancy software and color-coded spreadsheets. A simple planner, onboarding checklist, and shared drive can prevent costly mistakes and protect both you and your supervisees. Add in a few digital aids, like a law app that keeps you compliant across states, and supervision becomes less about scrambling and more about teaching.
Supervision is also protection. Requiring personal malpractice insurance, documenting HIPAA training, and keeping dual copies of every note aren’t busywork. They’re care structures that safeguard both sides. When supervisors model these systems, supervisees learn that professionalism is part of ethics, not bureaucracy.
A smooth supervision process doesn’t just save time; it creates psychological safety and trust. The right systems signal to supervisees that their work and their growth actually matter.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How to use a few key tools (like the Telemental Health Laws app) to stay legally confident.
- Why onboarding checklists and planners turn chaos into clarity.
- How to protect yourself and your supervisees with individual malpractice coverage.
- The simple documentation habits that keep supervision organized and secure.
Ready to turn supervision chaos into calm? Subscribe for more step-by-step playbooks on supervision, ethics, and building organized, sustainable systems that help supervisors lead confidently and clinicians thrive.
If you’re ready to lead with confidence, join the 2026 Supervisor Course waitlist for early access to bonus tools, templates, and fast-track grading. Strengthen your systems today with the free Supervision Onboarding Checklist, and get ongoing CEUs and live coaching inside the Step It Up Membership. You’re not just building a practice, you’re building a legacy.
Get your step by step guide to private practice. Because you are too important to lose to not knowing the rules, going broke, burning out, and giving up. #counselorsdontquit.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
All of us make mistakes and all of us forget
things, have that backup, havethat technology, and bonus
points if the supervisee canalso get access to it so they
can see what it is that theyneed to do so that it's not just
all you monitoring all of thisstuff going on.
SPEAKER_01 (00:25):
Welcome to Bandamas Therapists, building practices
in a little bit of workingsmart, not hard.
And here's your host, DKWelcome.
Thinking about becoming asupervisor, but already feeling
overwhelmed by all the systemsand paperwork, I get it.
(00:47):
In today's episode, Dr.
Ashley Stevens and I are sharingour favorite supervision hacks.
Simple, real-world systems thathelp you work smarter, not
harder.
If you're starting to pictureyourself supervising next year,
grab your spot on the Early Birdwait list for the 2026
Supervisor Courses atKateWalkertraining.com slash
(01:10):
earlybird.
Now let's get to work.
(01:30):
And hacks, especially for you ifyou're a supervisor or thinking
about becoming one.
One of the things we hear abouta lot or we see a lot, you know,
we've got people who are on thefence about supervising and
somebody's scared them away.
And we're like, no, no, no, comeback.
We want to help you, you know,make a difference in your
(01:51):
community by supervising thenext generation of counselors
and social workers.
So come on back.
But we are also talking to you,supervisors who maybe have been
burned by a supervisee, or yougot into supervision and you
just got overwhelmed because itis such a different lane than
(02:11):
counseling or doing social work.
So we want you back too.
So if you have startedsupervising and stopped, or
maybe you're hanging on to thatdesignation and you're thinking,
oh, when it's the perfect time,you're just you're trying to
Goldilocks this thing, right?
We want to make this super cozy,nurturing space for you where
(02:33):
you'll dive in and get back intosupervising.
So supervision hacks.
Ashley, I went first last time.
You go first this time.
SPEAKER_00 (02:42):
Okay.
I looked this up on my phone tomake sure I had it right.
So my first hack is an app onyour phone called Telememental
Health Laws.
So I talk a lot about knowingyour state laws, particularly
when it comes to things likemandated reporting, processes to
(03:02):
report, laws about reporting,all of those kinds of things.
So this telemental health lawapp is created by lawyers, and
people ask that all the time.
Like, have you gotten this clearby a lawyer?
Look, do whatever is best foryou and yours, okay?
But this is an app that wascreated by a massive law firm
(03:23):
that is global and whospecializes in mental health
specifically.
So if you're looking for, youknow, I live in Hawaii and I'm
about to move to Indiana.
What are the rules?
Or I want to supervise.
I'm from Texas, but I thinkVermont is a great state to
supervise in.
Then you need some informationthat is really readily
(03:46):
available.
You have your phone on you allthe time.
It separates it by individualstate and the laws surrounding
things with mental health.
Now, is it gonna give youspecific supervision?
Sometimes, sometimes, you know,the bulk law is in there and it
touches on supervision, butsometimes it doesn't.
So, but the reason I think it'sa hack is because I think having
(04:10):
readily accessible, very easy,quick ability to look up what's
the law say about X, Y, or Z ifa supervised Z is asking is
unmatched and invaluable.
It is such an amazing app.
Obviously, things updatesometimes.
So make sure that you'refinding, you know, when you're
not on your phone, when you'reback on your laptop, that you
can find what you need.
(04:31):
But it is immaculate when itcomes to looking for those
rules, looking for the laws in aquick, easy, and all in one
place.
SPEAKER_01 (04:40):
And even if you're thinking, well, I'm never gonna
supervise across state lines, Ialways think the what-ifs.
I can't tell you how many timesAshley and I have seen, you
know, on the internet and allthe social media, hey, my client
is traveling to Vermont.
Can I still do therapy withthem?
And so if that's your superviseeand their client is going to
(05:03):
Vermont, unless you all are inVermont, right?
You need to know whether or notthey can do that.
And so that app, I remember thatcame out like soon after COVID
when everybody was wanting totravel around and do therapy.
It's great, it's really great.
I like that.
All right.
So my hack is having a plannerand an onboarding checklist.
(05:30):
So shameless plug.
These are things we talk aboutin the Kate Walker Training
Supervisor courses forcounselors and social workers.
So having just a checklist, thisis something you know, you can
make your own, but just makingsure you get all of these things
every single time.
(05:52):
And you do a check-in in themiddle of the year, you do a
check-in right before they'reabout to upgrade.
So everything is just verystreamlined.
You know, do they have theirhours up to date?
Do you have all their logs?
Are you able to contact theirsite supervisor or their
internal supervisor, like Ashleywas talking about in another
episode?
(06:12):
Do they have multiple sites?
Do you have the sitesinformation, which is why you
need a planner?
You know, it's it's not likethis is school where we have a
planner and we're going to havecurriculum, and every month is
going to be different.
It's not that kind of a planner,but it's a planner where you can
keep track of where yoursupervisee is, who is
(06:36):
supervising them, what are therules at their site?
Can you go take a look at theirnotes or do you need to sign a
HIPAA waiver?
And speaking of HIPAA, a plannercan help you document, you know,
the HIPAA training that youinsisted that your supervisee
take.
Because, supervisor, that is oneof the things I absolutely
(06:59):
recommend that you do with allof your supervisees, unless they
can show you their own littlecertificate that says, hey, I
understand HIPAA, you give themyour own training or send them
to somebody else.
But making that a part of youronboarding checklist and then
making sure that you every yearsee that they get their HIPAA
(07:22):
training.
And yes, if you're asking me,does HIPAA come along and say,
hey, you have to be HIPAAtrained every year?
No, HIPAA doesn't say that.
Is that a best practice?
100%.
So I hope your brain is kind ofchurning here about all of the
cool, wonderful trainings youcould require of your
supervisee, even if your statedoesn't say that they have to
(07:45):
have continuing education.
I mean, and you know, insistingthat they take a telemental
health course, just a short one,not an expensive one, but just
to understand the ins and outsof telemental health, because
their university, if they didgive them a training, Ashley
talked about this before.
Not all programs are different.
Not all people pay attention inclass.
(08:07):
So you're getting this personwho may be delivering 90% of
their services via mentaltelemental health, and they've
never had a class in it.
They they don't understand theins and outs or what to do if
you look on camera and yourclient is having a heart attack,
right?
Then what?
So a planner and an onboardingchecklist.
(08:30):
That's me.
All right, Ashley.
SPEAKER_00 (08:33):
Yeah.
So I'm gonna piggyback and andshift it a bit.
My second hack is usetechnology, use whatever you
have access to to help yourselfout.
If you are a hand jammer, ifeverything, if you want to go
super low tech with it, have atit.
Do whatever feels best for you.
(08:54):
But using technology, and forme, as someone who had at the
highest quite a few supervisees,but again, that's what I was
doing all day, every day wassupervision, but across multiple
states, tracking and being ableto monitor where people were,
what they were working on, whatthey needed was really, really
(09:16):
important.
And using something as simple aslike an Excel sheet or Google
Drive where they can actuallycontribute and have an ongoing
log or whatever it is that youwant is the thing that saved me
innumerable times.
So in some of my states, thereare things like six-month
(09:36):
reviews that you're required todo and turn in more states than
I wish.
And it's just because it's a lotmore work on us to do.
But when we were talking aboutspecifically in Kate Walker
training, when we were talkingabout those OERs, the
evaluation, the orientation,being able to track, okay, when
did we turn in our paperwork sothat if the board loses it, I
(10:00):
know when that superviseefinished up everything, got
their packet together, and sentit off.
I can track, okay, I want myfirst evaluation to be three
months in or six months in orwhatever.
I put the date and then I am anerd, so I conditionally format
it to turn red when it's withinthe month that that needs to
happen in.
(10:21):
If there are things likesix-month reviews or yearly
reviews or whatever else thatthe board may require in
whatever state you're in, Idocument that.
(10:46):
And if you lose those dates, Ihave, and this is, you know, I
didn't bring it up in the in thetop mistakes, but in one of the
states, I had a supervisee getreally confused about the dates
that they needed to do somethingin.
And it caused their license tolapse.
Now, whose fault was thatnecessarily?
I think it was some confusion onthe board's part.
(11:07):
I think it was some missedopportunities for me and some
missed opportunities for thesupervisee.
But ultimately, it caused aproblem that all of us had a
hand in getting that technologyto help you when your memory
isn't the strongest becausemaybe you have other clients or
you're teaching or you have aside gig at the bodega down the
(11:29):
street, whatever it is, like usethe resources that you have
available to help you.
And maybe you don't need it,maybe you have a mind like a
still trap, but all of us makemistakes and all of us forget
things, have that backup, havethat technology and bonus points
if the supervisee can also getaccess to it so they can see
(11:52):
what it is that they need to do.
So that's not just all youmonitoring all of this stuff
going on.
SPEAKER_01 (11:58):
I'm so glad you talked about a shared drive and
just making sure that yoursupervisee can access that.
I know for me, I had a Dropboxfolder called Supervisees Bring
to Supervision Every Week.
Like that, it was just a superlong name, but I never wanted
anybody to be confused aboutwhat they needed to bring me
(12:19):
every week.
So, yeah, all of that.
So I hope as you're listening,you're starting to hear, yeah,
this is a lot different fromcounseling, but I also hope
you're starting to hear thatit's so doable.
It really is doable.
And there is a simple way to getit done and to build the systems
(12:39):
you need.
Quick pause.
If you're ready to lead withconfidence in 2026, get on the
wait list for my brand newsupervisor course.
Early birds get bonus tools andmy favorite supervision
templates.
Head to KateWalker Training.comslash earlybird to join now.
(13:06):
So my second hack is a shortone, but it's one that I think a
lot of supervisors get confusedabout with their supervisee
because you'll have superviseeswho work at sites that will
provide their malpracticeinsurance.
Okay, well, if you think thatall the way through, what's
(13:28):
really happening is yoursupervisee is going to be
covered by an umbrella of a, youknow, 1 million, 3 million, 3
million, 5 million, whatever itis, insurance, malpractice
insurance policy.
And so if you take that anddivide it by the 25 people who
work there, at the end of theday, that's not a lot.
(13:54):
It's not a lot of coverage, andit leaves you and your
supervisee kind of raw and opento stuff if things go south.
So easy hack here is to requireyour supervisee to have their
own personal malpracticeinsurance.
(14:15):
It's not that expensive.
We are not anesthesiologists andheart surgeons who are going to
play pay thousands and thousandsof dollars for malpractice
insurance.
What we do is as important, Ithink, as those professions.
So don't get me wrong aboutthat, but requiring a new
counselor or social worker toget their own malpractice
(14:38):
insurance is absolutely mynumber one hack, even though I
listed it at number two.
And then use your planner, youknow, whether it's a paper
planner or a digital planner totrack the date that malpractice
insurance expires.
That was one of the most, youknow, it felt really good to be
(14:59):
able to sit with my superviseesand say, oh, hey, Jane, I
noticed that this is the monthyour malpractice insurance
expires.
So I need you to upload a newcertificate to our shared Google
Drive.
And I need you to do that by,you know, January 25th.
And if they don't have thatdone, well, that's I may have
(15:19):
consequences, you know, rangingfrom, okay, you need to do it
right now while I'm watchingyou, to I don't want you to see
clients until you get thiscertificate up to date and get
your malpractice insurance.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (15:32):
My number three is a little bit also of a shameless
plug.
I take a course that gets youready.
And this is obviously for peoplewho aren't supervisors yet.
There's a lot of courses outthere, there's a lot of
information out there, andthere's a lot of people that
don't actually prepare you.
They may prepare you in abstractand like all of these things
(15:54):
could happen.
But having the ability to finishthis course with paperwork that
you can use, with templates thatyou can use, with information
you can use on day one, and tobuild those systems and to build
those practices that keep you asolidified, happy, healthy, well
supervisor, I think is unmatchedin our Kate Walker training.
(16:18):
And that is why we built it theway that we built it.
We want to make sure that youhave tangible resources that you
can take with you.
I felt like great, I have allthis information, but I don't
really know how to get started.
And I don't know the first stepto do so.
And I think that having a coursethat prepares you for the work
(16:41):
is so important.
And so get yourself an amazingKate Worker training course that
actually gives you thoseresources so that you are 10
steps forward the minute thatyou graduate the course rather
than feeling like me, a littlelost in the sauce.
I don't think that's a shamelessplug at all.
SPEAKER_01 (17:00):
I think that's just fact and I love it.
And if you are a supervisor,we'll join one of our you know
monthly workshops.
We have monthly live virtualworkshops where we do case
consultation, we bring in aspeaker, we don't record the
darn thing because we wanteverybody to feel free and open
to ask questions.
So yeah, we we give so muchsupport.
(17:23):
And so the last hack for me,because I don't want to
overshadow taking the course,take the course, take the
course.
One of the things we do teach,and it's a huge part of our
supervision courses, aresystems, obviously, because
we're talking about systems, butmaking sure that your
supervisees leave with a copy ofeverything.
(17:44):
Whether your state requires youto have something in your
agreement about what happens ifyou terminate your practice or
if you pass away or somethinghappens to you or not.
You need to have something thathelps your supervisees not get
hung out to dry if somethinghappens to you.
(18:06):
I've seen so many cases in frontof our licensing boards here
where the supervisor hasunfortunately passed away and
the supervisee can't accesstheir notes or they can't access
the logs that are required bythe state to give evidence that
they they can upgrade.
Right.
Because if you aren't around tosign that paperwork and you
(18:28):
know, submit it to the board,you know, they can't, at least
in Texas, there's not a wholelot people can do about that.
So one remedy, and this hack isis, I think, one of the best
ones we have, is just makingsure that your supervisee leaves
with a copy of the notes.
So if they're handwriting notes,and then you look at the note,
(18:50):
you say, Yep, that's everythingI talked about.
I'm gonna sign it, you sign it,you throw it onto this.
I don't know, do they havescanners anymore?
Or take a picture of it on yourphone.
I don't know.
But somebody gets a digital copyand somebody gets the real copy,
and everybody, when they at theend of the day, has a copy of
everything.
So you don't even need to worryabout it if at least you may
(19:14):
have more to worry about, butyou won't need to worry about
that if something happens to youand your supervisee is left,
right?
Because they'll have all theevidence they need to do their
upgrade.
And yes, we do teach that in theKate Walker Training supervisor
courses.
So yeah, those are my threehacks.
SPEAKER_00 (19:31):
Ashley, you got any more?
I think that's it.
Probably more for sure, but allthat's on the top of my head.
And I think what we've given isjust such a good foundation for
starting the process and gettingout there and starting to help
in our hugely needfulcommunities, rural or urban,
(19:53):
across the country.
I mean, this is something thatis, you know, for all of the
things that are going on in theworld, there are more and more
mental health clinicians gettingput out into the field who are
unprepared, who areunknowledgeable, who don't know
the first thing about whatthey're doing.
We need supervisors, we needyou.
And it's really fun.
I don't think Kate or I would beuh doing this if it wasn't also
(20:17):
a lovely mix of impactful andreally cool and really
fulfilling and really inspiringto launch these supervisees out
into the world and watch themjust take life by the horns.
It's incredible.
And we would love to have you onthe journey.
SPEAKER_01 (20:34):
And I feel the same way.
And helping uh raise these folksinto your colleagues, I I know
it's like I'm talking aboutraising chickens.
No, helping these folks becomeyour colleagues, it doesn't have
to add 10 more things to yourplate.
And I hope that if you listen tothese episodes and check out our
(20:54):
other ones, you know, things Iwish I knew before I started
supervising and the top mistakessupervisors make.
One of the things I hope weleave you with is this desire to
have an amazing supervisionexperience to create an amazing
supervision experience and thesystems and the tools to do so.
So happy supervising.
(21:20):
Thanks for listening to BadassTherapists Building Practices
That Thrive.
If you're ready to step intosupervision and lead with
confidence, the brand new 2026supervisor courses are coming
soon, and early birds get firstaccess to bonus tools,
templates, and fast trackgrading.
Join the wait list now atKateWalkertraining.comslash
(21:42):
earlybird.
And if you want ongoing support,CEs, and live coaching, join our
Step It Up membership communityat KateWalkertraining.com slash
step it up.
You're not just building apractice, you're building a
legacy.
I'll see you next week.
If you love today's episode, besure to leave a five-star
(22:03):
review.
It helps other badass therapistsfind the show and build
practices that thrive.
Big thanks to Ridgely Walker forour original fun facts and
podcast intro, and to CarlGuyanella for editing this
episode and making us soundamazing.
See you next week.
All of us make mistakes and all of us forget
things, have that backup, havethat technology, and bonus
points if the supervisee canalso get access to it so they
can see what it is that theyneed to do so that it's not just
all you monitoring all of thisstuff going on.
SPEAKER_01 (00:25):
Welcome to Bandamas Therapists, building practices
in a little bit of workingsmart, not hard.
And here's your host, DKWelcome.
Thinking about becoming asupervisor, but already feeling
overwhelmed by all the systemsand paperwork, I get it.
(00:47):
In today's episode, Dr.
Ashley Stevens and I are sharingour favorite supervision hacks.
Simple, real-world systems thathelp you work smarter, not
harder.
If you're starting to pictureyourself supervising next year,
grab your spot on the Early Birdwait list for the 2026
Supervisor Courses atKateWalkertraining.com slash
(01:10):
earlybird.
Now let's get to work.
(01:30):
And hacks, especially for you ifyou're a supervisor or thinking
about becoming one.
One of the things we hear abouta lot or we see a lot, you know,
we've got people who are on thefence about supervising and
somebody's scared them away.
And we're like, no, no, no, comeback.
We want to help you, you know,make a difference in your
(01:51):
community by supervising thenext generation of counselors
and social workers.
So come on back.
But we are also talking to you,supervisors who maybe have been
burned by a supervisee, or yougot into supervision and you
just got overwhelmed because itis such a different lane than
(02:11):
counseling or doing social work.
So we want you back too.
So if you have startedsupervising and stopped, or
maybe you're hanging on to thatdesignation and you're thinking,
oh, when it's the perfect time,you're just you're trying to
Goldilocks this thing, right?
We want to make this super cozy,nurturing space for you where
(02:33):
you'll dive in and get back intosupervising.
So supervision hacks.
Ashley, I went first last time.
You go first this time.
SPEAKER_00 (02:42):
Okay.
I looked this up on my phone tomake sure I had it right.
So my first hack is an app onyour phone called Telememental
Health Laws.
So I talk a lot about knowingyour state laws, particularly
when it comes to things likemandated reporting, processes to
(03:02):
report, laws about reporting,all of those kinds of things.
So this telemental health lawapp is created by lawyers, and
people ask that all the time.
Like, have you gotten this clearby a lawyer?
Look, do whatever is best foryou and yours, okay?
But this is an app that wascreated by a massive law firm
(03:23):
that is global and whospecializes in mental health
specifically.
So if you're looking for, youknow, I live in Hawaii and I'm
about to move to Indiana.
What are the rules?
Or I want to supervise.
I'm from Texas, but I thinkVermont is a great state to
supervise in.
Then you need some informationthat is really readily
(03:46):
available.
You have your phone on you allthe time.
It separates it by individualstate and the laws surrounding
things with mental health.
Now, is it gonna give youspecific supervision?
Sometimes, sometimes, you know,the bulk law is in there and it
touches on supervision, butsometimes it doesn't.
So, but the reason I think it'sa hack is because I think having
(04:10):
readily accessible, very easy,quick ability to look up what's
the law say about X, Y, or Z ifa supervised Z is asking is
unmatched and invaluable.
It is such an amazing app.
Obviously, things updatesometimes.
So make sure that you'refinding, you know, when you're
not on your phone, when you'reback on your laptop, that you
can find what you need.
(04:31):
But it is immaculate when itcomes to looking for those
rules, looking for the laws in aquick, easy, and all in one
place.
SPEAKER_01 (04:40):
And even if you're thinking, well, I'm never gonna
supervise across state lines, Ialways think the what-ifs.
I can't tell you how many timesAshley and I have seen, you
know, on the internet and allthe social media, hey, my client
is traveling to Vermont.
Can I still do therapy withthem?
And so if that's your superviseeand their client is going to
(05:03):
Vermont, unless you all are inVermont, right?
You need to know whether or notthey can do that.
And so that app, I remember thatcame out like soon after COVID
when everybody was wanting totravel around and do therapy.
It's great, it's really great.
I like that.
All right.
So my hack is having a plannerand an onboarding checklist.
(05:30):
So shameless plug.
These are things we talk aboutin the Kate Walker Training
Supervisor courses forcounselors and social workers.
So having just a checklist, thisis something you know, you can
make your own, but just makingsure you get all of these things
every single time.
(05:52):
And you do a check-in in themiddle of the year, you do a
check-in right before they'reabout to upgrade.
So everything is just verystreamlined.
You know, do they have theirhours up to date?
Do you have all their logs?
Are you able to contact theirsite supervisor or their
internal supervisor, like Ashleywas talking about in another
episode?
(06:12):
Do they have multiple sites?
Do you have the sitesinformation, which is why you
need a planner?
You know, it's it's not likethis is school where we have a
planner and we're going to havecurriculum, and every month is
going to be different.
It's not that kind of a planner,but it's a planner where you can
keep track of where yoursupervisee is, who is
(06:36):
supervising them, what are therules at their site?
Can you go take a look at theirnotes or do you need to sign a
HIPAA waiver?
And speaking of HIPAA, a plannercan help you document, you know,
the HIPAA training that youinsisted that your supervisee
take.
Because, supervisor, that is oneof the things I absolutely
(06:59):
recommend that you do with allof your supervisees, unless they
can show you their own littlecertificate that says, hey, I
understand HIPAA, you give themyour own training or send them
to somebody else.
But making that a part of youronboarding checklist and then
making sure that you every yearsee that they get their HIPAA
(07:22):
training.
And yes, if you're asking me,does HIPAA come along and say,
hey, you have to be HIPAAtrained every year?
No, HIPAA doesn't say that.
Is that a best practice?
100%.
So I hope your brain is kind ofchurning here about all of the
cool, wonderful trainings youcould require of your
supervisee, even if your statedoesn't say that they have to
(07:45):
have continuing education.
I mean, and you know, insistingthat they take a telemental
health course, just a short one,not an expensive one, but just
to understand the ins and outsof telemental health, because
their university, if they didgive them a training, Ashley
talked about this before.
Not all programs are different.
Not all people pay attention inclass.
(08:07):
So you're getting this personwho may be delivering 90% of
their services via mentaltelemental health, and they've
never had a class in it.
They they don't understand theins and outs or what to do if
you look on camera and yourclient is having a heart attack,
right?
Then what?
So a planner and an onboardingchecklist.
(08:30):
That's me.
All right, Ashley.
SPEAKER_00 (08:33):
Yeah.
So I'm gonna piggyback and andshift it a bit.
My second hack is usetechnology, use whatever you
have access to to help yourselfout.
If you are a hand jammer, ifeverything, if you want to go
super low tech with it, have atit.
Do whatever feels best for you.
(08:54):
But using technology, and forme, as someone who had at the
highest quite a few supervisees,but again, that's what I was
doing all day, every day wassupervision, but across multiple
states, tracking and being ableto monitor where people were,
what they were working on, whatthey needed was really, really
(09:16):
important.
And using something as simple aslike an Excel sheet or Google
Drive where they can actuallycontribute and have an ongoing
log or whatever it is that youwant is the thing that saved me
innumerable times.
So in some of my states, thereare things like six-month
(09:36):
reviews that you're required todo and turn in more states than
I wish.
And it's just because it's a lotmore work on us to do.
But when we were talking aboutspecifically in Kate Walker
training, when we were talkingabout those OERs, the
evaluation, the orientation,being able to track, okay, when
did we turn in our paperwork sothat if the board loses it, I
(10:00):
know when that superviseefinished up everything, got
their packet together, and sentit off.
I can track, okay, I want myfirst evaluation to be three
months in or six months in orwhatever.
I put the date and then I am anerd, so I conditionally format
it to turn red when it's withinthe month that that needs to
happen in.
(10:21):
If there are things likesix-month reviews or yearly
reviews or whatever else thatthe board may require in
whatever state you're in, Idocument that.
(10:46):
And if you lose those dates, Ihave, and this is, you know, I
didn't bring it up in the in thetop mistakes, but in one of the
states, I had a supervisee getreally confused about the dates
that they needed to do somethingin.
And it caused their license tolapse.
Now, whose fault was thatnecessarily?
I think it was some confusion onthe board's part.
(11:07):
I think it was some missedopportunities for me and some
missed opportunities for thesupervisee.
But ultimately, it caused aproblem that all of us had a
hand in getting that technologyto help you when your memory
isn't the strongest becausemaybe you have other clients or
you're teaching or you have aside gig at the bodega down the
(11:29):
street, whatever it is, like usethe resources that you have
available to help you.
And maybe you don't need it,maybe you have a mind like a
still trap, but all of us makemistakes and all of us forget
things, have that backup, havethat technology and bonus points
if the supervisee can also getaccess to it so they can see
(11:52):
what it is that they need to do.
So that's not just all youmonitoring all of this stuff
going on.
SPEAKER_01 (11:58):
I'm so glad you talked about a shared drive and
just making sure that yoursupervisee can access that.
I know for me, I had a Dropboxfolder called Supervisees Bring
to Supervision Every Week.
Like that, it was just a superlong name, but I never wanted
anybody to be confused aboutwhat they needed to bring me
(12:19):
every week.
So, yeah, all of that.
So I hope as you're listening,you're starting to hear, yeah,
this is a lot different fromcounseling, but I also hope
you're starting to hear thatit's so doable.
It really is doable.
And there is a simple way to getit done and to build the systems
(12:39):
you need.
Quick pause.
If you're ready to lead withconfidence in 2026, get on the
wait list for my brand newsupervisor course.
Early birds get bonus tools andmy favorite supervision
templates.
Head to KateWalker Training.comslash earlybird to join now.
(13:06):
So my second hack is a shortone, but it's one that I think a
lot of supervisors get confusedabout with their supervisee
because you'll have superviseeswho work at sites that will
provide their malpracticeinsurance.
Okay, well, if you think thatall the way through, what's
(13:28):
really happening is yoursupervisee is going to be
covered by an umbrella of a, youknow, 1 million, 3 million, 3
million, 5 million, whatever itis, insurance, malpractice
insurance policy.
And so if you take that anddivide it by the 25 people who
work there, at the end of theday, that's not a lot.
(13:54):
It's not a lot of coverage, andit leaves you and your
supervisee kind of raw and opento stuff if things go south.
So easy hack here is to requireyour supervisee to have their
own personal malpracticeinsurance.
(14:15):
It's not that expensive.
We are not anesthesiologists andheart surgeons who are going to
play pay thousands and thousandsof dollars for malpractice
insurance.
What we do is as important, Ithink, as those professions.
So don't get me wrong aboutthat, but requiring a new
counselor or social worker toget their own malpractice
(14:38):
insurance is absolutely mynumber one hack, even though I
listed it at number two.
And then use your planner, youknow, whether it's a paper
planner or a digital planner totrack the date that malpractice
insurance expires.
That was one of the most, youknow, it felt really good to be
(14:59):
able to sit with my superviseesand say, oh, hey, Jane, I
noticed that this is the monthyour malpractice insurance
expires.
So I need you to upload a newcertificate to our shared Google
Drive.
And I need you to do that by,you know, January 25th.
And if they don't have thatdone, well, that's I may have
(15:19):
consequences, you know, rangingfrom, okay, you need to do it
right now while I'm watchingyou, to I don't want you to see
clients until you get thiscertificate up to date and get
your malpractice insurance.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (15:32):
My number three is a little bit also of a shameless
plug.
I take a course that gets youready.
And this is obviously for peoplewho aren't supervisors yet.
There's a lot of courses outthere, there's a lot of
information out there, andthere's a lot of people that
don't actually prepare you.
They may prepare you in abstractand like all of these things
(15:54):
could happen.
But having the ability to finishthis course with paperwork that
you can use, with templates thatyou can use, with information
you can use on day one, and tobuild those systems and to build
those practices that keep you asolidified, happy, healthy, well
supervisor, I think is unmatchedin our Kate Walker training.
(16:18):
And that is why we built it theway that we built it.
We want to make sure that youhave tangible resources that you
can take with you.
I felt like great, I have allthis information, but I don't
really know how to get started.
And I don't know the first stepto do so.
And I think that having a coursethat prepares you for the work
(16:41):
is so important.
And so get yourself an amazingKate Worker training course that
actually gives you thoseresources so that you are 10
steps forward the minute thatyou graduate the course rather
than feeling like me, a littlelost in the sauce.
I don't think that's a shamelessplug at all.
SPEAKER_01 (17:00):
I think that's just fact and I love it.
And if you are a supervisor,we'll join one of our you know
monthly workshops.
We have monthly live virtualworkshops where we do case
consultation, we bring in aspeaker, we don't record the
darn thing because we wanteverybody to feel free and open
to ask questions.
So yeah, we we give so muchsupport.
(17:23):
And so the last hack for me,because I don't want to
overshadow taking the course,take the course, take the
course.
One of the things we do teach,and it's a huge part of our
supervision courses, aresystems, obviously, because
we're talking about systems, butmaking sure that your
supervisees leave with a copy ofeverything.
(17:44):
Whether your state requires youto have something in your
agreement about what happens ifyou terminate your practice or
if you pass away or somethinghappens to you or not.
You need to have something thathelps your supervisees not get
hung out to dry if somethinghappens to you.
(18:06):
I've seen so many cases in frontof our licensing boards here
where the supervisor hasunfortunately passed away and
the supervisee can't accesstheir notes or they can't access
the logs that are required bythe state to give evidence that
they they can upgrade.
Right.
Because if you aren't around tosign that paperwork and you
(18:28):
know, submit it to the board,you know, they can't, at least
in Texas, there's not a wholelot people can do about that.
So one remedy, and this hack isis, I think, one of the best
ones we have, is just makingsure that your supervisee leaves
with a copy of the notes.
So if they're handwriting notes,and then you look at the note,
(18:50):
you say, Yep, that's everythingI talked about.
I'm gonna sign it, you sign it,you throw it onto this.
I don't know, do they havescanners anymore?
Or take a picture of it on yourphone.
I don't know.
But somebody gets a digital copyand somebody gets the real copy,
and everybody, when they at theend of the day, has a copy of
everything.
So you don't even need to worryabout it if at least you may
(19:14):
have more to worry about, butyou won't need to worry about
that if something happens to youand your supervisee is left,
right?
Because they'll have all theevidence they need to do their
upgrade.
And yes, we do teach that in theKate Walker Training supervisor
courses.
So yeah, those are my threehacks.
SPEAKER_00 (19:31):
Ashley, you got any more?
I think that's it.
Probably more for sure, but allthat's on the top of my head.
And I think what we've given isjust such a good foundation for
starting the process and gettingout there and starting to help
in our hugely needfulcommunities, rural or urban,
(19:53):
across the country.
I mean, this is something thatis, you know, for all of the
things that are going on in theworld, there are more and more
mental health clinicians gettingput out into the field who are
unprepared, who areunknowledgeable, who don't know
the first thing about whatthey're doing.
We need supervisors, we needyou.
And it's really fun.
I don't think Kate or I would beuh doing this if it wasn't also
(20:17):
a lovely mix of impactful andreally cool and really
fulfilling and really inspiringto launch these supervisees out
into the world and watch themjust take life by the horns.
It's incredible.
And we would love to have you onthe journey.
SPEAKER_01 (20:34):
And I feel the same way.
And helping uh raise these folksinto your colleagues, I I know
it's like I'm talking aboutraising chickens.
No, helping these folks becomeyour colleagues, it doesn't have
to add 10 more things to yourplate.
And I hope that if you listen tothese episodes and check out our
(20:54):
other ones, you know, things Iwish I knew before I started
supervising and the top mistakessupervisors make.
One of the things I hope weleave you with is this desire to
have an amazing supervisionexperience to create an amazing
supervision experience and thesystems and the tools to do so.
So happy supervising.
(21:20):
Thanks for listening to BadassTherapists Building Practices
That Thrive.
If you're ready to step intosupervision and lead with
confidence, the brand new 2026supervisor courses are coming
soon, and early birds get firstaccess to bonus tools,
templates, and fast trackgrading.
Join the wait list now atKateWalkertraining.comslash
(21:42):
earlybird.
And if you want ongoing support,CEs, and live coaching, join our
Step It Up membership communityat KateWalkertraining.com slash
step it up.
You're not just building apractice, you're building a
legacy.
I'll see you next week.
If you love today's episode, besure to leave a five-star
(22:03):
review.
It helps other badass therapistsfind the show and build
practices that thrive.
Big thanks to Ridgely Walker forour original fun facts and
podcast intro, and to CarlGuyanella for editing this
episode and making us soundamazing.
See you next week.
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