- What additional supervision, specialized training, or skills has he or she obtained? When, and
where?
- How did he or she become a psychotherapist?
- Is he or she a member of any local or foreign professional organizations in his or her specialty?
- What continuing education has the teacher or supervisor received in general, and in clinical
psychotherapy in particular? When and where?
- Is he or she a trained therapist? Where did he or she get trained as a therapist? What about
supervision - how long was it? How was it conducted? Who is the supervision coordinator who
certified and oversaw the supervision, and how can that person be contacted?
- What other professional organizations is the teacher or supervisor a member of?
- Is the supervisor trained or otherwise qualified to provide supervision? Where and how?
- Where are the diplomas, certificates or other evidence of the teacher's or supervisor's education,
training, and continuing education programs?
- What is the goal of the training program? What may I consider myself qualified to do on its
completion? What is the goal of the series of training programs offered by the teacher and
supervisor? At some point will I be certified as a clinical psychotherapist? If so, how? If not, what can I
do on my own?
abilities. Don't rely solely on your formal instruction. Read, research, listen to audiotapes or watch
videotapes or CDs, attend workshops and seminars outside of the country - especially in the US, if
you can. Keep yourself - and even your instructor and supervisor - honest regarding the fundamentals
and latest developments in your specialty and in the general theory and practice of clinical
psychotherapy
answer these reasonable questions about his or her professional qualifications for teaching or supervising in clinical psychotherapy -
get another teacher or supervisor.
- Make sure you are comfortable with the answers you receive. After all, there may be acceptable reasons why many perfectly qualified
clinical psychotherapists have simply chosen not to obtain certification or join appropriate professional organizations. Or, as is often
the case in the field of psychiatry, they have limited or no formal basis in training or education in the provision of therapy, but they have
picked up this skill somehow by another means. Just make sure, before you undertake a training or supervision program with anyone,
that you get answers to any exceptional situations like these, and that you are satisfied with those answers.
