Seeking Supervision

As a social worker and owner of my own private practice, my journey to qualifying to open my own practice was not linear taking longer than projected to obtain the necessary hours of supervision to qualify for my independent license because I could not locate reliable and consistent supervisors. 8 years to be exact. That is when I thought “Man it would be so nice if there was an app for that” but there wasn’t. So I began to brainstorm.

According to the National Association of Social Work Value of Competence, it is our due diligence to obtain training to increase our professional expertise, and based on Ethical Standards of integrity we are to work toward the maintenance of high standards of practice which is built foundationally, through clinical supervision! The challenge is, a qualified supervisor is hard to find even though good ones are out there. There is a gap, and this gap is delaying professionals from becoming independently licensed. 

Due to this gap, Cleveland has seen firsthand the impact of this gap post Pandemic. According to the American Psychological Association, there has been a 64% increase in the help-seeking behaviors of clients as well as a 30% increase in waitlists nationally. In Greater Cleveland alone there is a 3 to 4-month wait for mental health services.

To Problem Solve this is to decrease the waitlist by increasing professional output and increasing community access through Seeking Supervision an app-based platform. The need to increase professionals in the workforce is imperative. Currently, there are over 55,246 professionals who are counselors, social workers, and marriage and family therapists at the bachelor's level and 18,582 individuals in training/higher education to become a practitioner. That’s over 73,000 individuals who are yet clinically licensed according to the Ohio licensing board. 

Seeking Supervision will support:

1. Link professionals with supervisors
2. Reduce Supervision Time Frames
3. Increase the output of qualified professionals through professional development
4. Reduce client waitlists

July 2023 through Launching:

1. Confer with my mentor and connect with the Form Group to begin designing

August/September 2023:

1. Connect with Frontline Service to Pilot the Apps and obtain pre and post-data analysis obtaining feedback of product modifications at the agency level.
2. Connect with 2020 Life Counseling LLC to obtain feedback of app use for product feedback and modifications at the individual level.

December 2023:

1. Work with Brand Consultant to develop Branding Content for Launch
2. Work with Advertising Executive Brittany McNeil to work on Commercial advertising for Launch
3. Work with the CSWMFT Board to Build Connection to Distribute App Through their email system
4. Work with College and Universities to Distribute App through their alumni and active student email systems.

January 2024:

1. Launching the App

As a social worker, it took me 8 years to reach my licensure goal. It was only supposed to take 2. Over the 6-year time, I missed out on promotion opportunities and jobs I knew I had the skills for, but did not have the license to apply for. Having dialogues with my colleagues over the years, they expressed similar experiences. This has been a huge career and financial barrier- capping salaries. Additionally, employers are in need of therapists, but licensing places individuals in a case manager role with lower pay and higher caseloads. Employers are challenged with hiring which overworks the current staff present at the job who are performing multiple roles increasing burnout. From a community perspective, our clients are experiencing gaps in their care due to the waitlist increasing their risks of exacerbated health, mental health, and safety concerns. This is an equitable gap for not only the professional, but the employer, and the community as a whole.