Supervision while in your own private practice?

[CarsonIsConfused]

I graduated from an APA-accredited clinical psychology PhD program, and finished an APA-accredited internship, in 2023. Due to personal / family reasons, I needed to take a year off to focus on more urgent issues.

Earlier this year, I moved to Mississippi to be closer to family. I just received my psychologist license for Mississippi, as Mississippi does not require any post-doctoral supervised hours. This is great for my immediate needs, as I’ll be able to immediately begin working.

However, I may not live in Mississippi forever. I’d like to ensure I do whatever I need to do to be able to be licensed in other states in the future. As a result, I need to find some form of “supervision” to keep options on the table. I have read the rules and regulations for my state (Mississippi) and other states that I am interested, but found no clear answer. I’ve contacted various boards, but still haven’t received a clear answer. I’m hoping one of you can help me with this. Here is my strategy:

Step 1 - Set up a private practice where I live in Mississippi.

Step 2 - Find a psychologist in my area who is willing to provide supervision for my cases for a certain number of hours per week to ensure that I can get whatever forms signed that need to be signed for other states. Probably, this will involve paying a certain fee per supervision hours. I know that some states do not allow supervision to have been paid for (I believe Illinois is one), so this may take certain states off of the table for the future.

Step 3 - Ensure that the nature of this (i.e., that I’m being supervised) is in all of my consent and onboarding forms and is clearly communicated to each client. Ensure the board I'm licensed under has no objections to this.

Step 4 - Receive supervision while running my own private practice, even though it’s not needed in Mississippi. Document this supervision thoroughly throughout the process.

Step 5 - When the day comes that I ever apply for a different license, or pursue board certification, I have the supervision hours documented, logged, and ready.

It’s not a traditional “post-doc” - but is there a reason why this would not work?

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[Sanman]

Your largest obstacle is doing this is finding someone willing to supervise you that will have no knowledge of your cases or ability to take any supervisory actions. I would never agree to this particular setup.

That said, I have worked in PP jobs where we have signed off on paperwork like this for full time employees. If you don't know whether you are staying long term and want to get this supervision, just find a job and negotiate supervision into it. Starting a practice if you are not staying is extra work and finding super ision will likely also be more of a challenge.

 

[CarsonIsConfused]

Your largest obstacle is doing this is finding someone willing to supervise you that will have no knowledge of your cases or ability to take any supervisory actions. I would never agree to this particular setup.

That said, I have worked in PP jobs where we have signed off on paperwork like this for full time employees. If you don't know whether you are staying long term and want to get this supervision, just find a job and negotiate supervision into it. Starting a practice if you are not staying is extra work and finding super ision will likely also be more of a challenge.

Thanks for the response! I guess I should clarify: I have already found three different licensed psychologists all willing to do this (I shopped around and had a few lunches to discuss my needs). But before I pull the trigger, I just wanted to see if anyone else saw an issue ethically / legally?

Let's say that they felt comfortable with the set-up and could provide wonderful supervision. Do you think that this set up would be rejected by a licensing board or the ABPP (for board certification later on)?

 

[WisNeuro]

Thanks for the response! I guess I should clarify: I have already found three different licensed psychologists all willing to do this (I shopped around and had a few lunches to discuss my needs). But before I pull the trigger, I just wanted to see if anyone else saw an issue ethically / legally?

Let's say that they felt comfortable with the set-up and could provide wonderful supervision. Do you think that this set up would be rejected by a licensing board or the ABPP (for board certification later on)?

Would depend on the licensing board, as some have specific rules on qualifications of postdoctoral supervisors.

 

[Sanman]

Thanks for the response! I guess I should clarify: I have already found three different licensed psychologists all willing to do this (I shopped around and had a few lunches to discuss my needs). But before I pull the trigger, I just wanted to see if anyone else saw an issue ethically / legally?

Let's say that they felt comfortable with the set-up and could provide wonderful supervision. Do you think that this set up would be rejected by a licensing board or the ABPP (for board certification later on)?

Board certification would depend on the specialty and the qualifications of the supervisor. Licensing would be depend on that particular state licensing board. I would urge you to log the hours in a credentials bank. If this person moves out of state, dies, etc. you will not be able to have them sign off on future documentation.

 

[CarsonIsConfused]

Board certification would depend on the specialty and the qualifications of the supervisor. Licensing would be depend on that particular state licensing board. I would urge you to log the hours in a credentials bank. If this person moves out of state, dies, etc. you will be able to have them sign off on future documentation.

That's good advice, thank you! I've been logging my internship / practicum hours in a credential bank for a couple of years now, so that end of things is squared away. But I'll certainly do this!

 

[PsychedMind]

I sent you a direct message about this!