Clinical Supervision

As therapists in private practice, we are often working alone and would benefit from the insight of an experienced colleague. Psychotherapists working with specific client populations may feel even more siloed and have trouble identifying educational and training opportunities. For those who are new to private practice, a qualified supervisor can help you get up and running so you can avoid some of the pitfalls many new practice owners experience in their first year.

About Clinical Supervision. During clinical supervision, a therapist meets with a more experienced colleague to discuss cases, treatment strategies, and other important topics. For many of us, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, isolation, feelings of distress and overwhelm may make our work even more challenging. A key aspect of clinical supervision is helping therapists learn to compartmentalize their own emotions and practice better self-care.

Licensure-Eligible Supervision. In NY State, LMSWs must complete at least 3,000 hours of clinical supervision that meets eligibility criteria in order to sit for their LCSW exam and earn licensure. Karalyn has taught and supervised MSW students and am well-versed in the NY State licensure requirements. According to the NY State Office of Professions, LCSW Applicants must have at least 3 years of post M.S.W. supervised experience in diagnosis, psychotherapy and assessment-based treatment planning acceptable to the Department, meet clinical examination requirements; and applicants must be licensed and currently registered to practice as a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) in New York to complete the supervised experience for licensure as an LCSW.

Individual and Group Supervision for MSW Students and LMSWs. Many field placement settings host MSW or BSW students; while they can offer administrative support or task supervision, many do not have an experienced, on-site clinician to supervise students’ work with mental health consumers (clients/members/patients). As a SIFI-certified clinical supervisor, Karalyn can contract with your agency and offer MSW students an important educational experience. Unfortunately, many LMSWs work in settings where licensure-eligible clinical supervision is not available to them. In this case, Karalyn can contract with your agency or professional setting, and offer individual or group supervision for yourself and your colleagues. Karalyn also works with individual LMSWs seeking additional clinical supervision working with specific populations, such as LGBTQ adolescents and adults, people living with chronic health conditions (HIV/AIDS, Diabetes, chronic pain, mobility issues, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and others). Please contact us for more information.

Consultation

Therapists may be working with an individual client, partners, or family with specific needs, such as the parents of transgender young people, partners of trans or nonbinary people, people who experience significant deficits in executive functioning, LGBTQ people with histories of trauma in their families of origin, people who experienced spiritual or religious abuse and who may be actively deconstructing or restructuring their belief system, or many other examples. Karalyn offers case-based consultation for professionals of any discipline that addresses client or patients’ mental health needs, including LMSWs, LCSWs, LMFTs, LMHCs, PMHNPs, and others. Please contact us for more information, including rates and availability.

Speaking Engagements

We understand that it can be very difficult and expensive to obtain training or certification in clinical work with LGBTQ+ clients, and there are many concerns your clients may bring that require clinician knowledge and expertise. From the beginning, our practice has been concerned with depathologizing transgender identity, and drawing upon principles of bodily autonomy, feminist and existentialist perspectives and their applications to our work with marginalized clients. To this end, we offer online trainings and educational presentations to mental health providers around the world.

SOME OF THE TOPICS WE COVER ARE:

  • LGBTQ+ topics and issues

  • Assessing and writing letters for surgical readiness

  • Nonbinary clients and identities

  • Working with partners, parents, and loved ones of LGBTQ+ people

  • Clinical work with kinky adults, BDSM, consensual nonmonogamy (polycules, multiple partners, metamors, leather family, etc)

  • Working within one’s own community

  • Medical trauma: how to identify and treat survivors of acute and chronic medical-related trauma

GROUPS WE’VE PRESENTED FOR:

  • Graduating and 2nd year MSW students

  • Parents of transgender and nonbinary young people

  • Partners of transgender and nonbinary adults

  • Academic conferences: University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), National Transgender Health Summit, Central European University (Budapest, Hungary), World Professional Association’s USPATH Conference, and others

  • Community conferences: Philadelphia Transgender Wellness Conference

  • Behavioral Health Providers: PTWC Behavioral Health (Professional Education) Track, Transgender Mental Health Symposium, Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy

  • Building LGBTQ+ and trauma-informed organizations - competency training for non-clinical staff and administrators.