South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists

Supervision of Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist Associates

Policy Statement

A. Supervision of Clinical Contact

Supervision is defined as "face to face contact" between a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist Supervisor and a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist Associate for the purposes of assisting the Associate in development of clinical skills and knowledge necessary for independent practice once the supervision is complete. Supervision shall comply with guidelines developed by the Board.
The focus of supervision is on raw data from clinical work of the Associate Which is made available to the supervisor by means of video-audio tapes of sessions, direct (live) observation, co-therapy with supervisor, and documentation of assessment, diagnosis and treatment plan. The process of supervision should include focus on state and federal laws and ethical codes related to practice as a Marriage & Family Therapist.

B. Acceptable Supervisor

Licensed Marriage & Family Therapy Associates shall be supervised by a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapy Supervisor or registered Marriage & Family Therapy Supervisor-in-Training.
The Supervisor may not be related to the supervisee by any of the following relationships: spouse, parent, child, sibling of the whole or half-blood, grandparent, aunt, uncle, stepparent or stepchild.

C. Role of the Supervisor

The supervisor shall meet with the supervisee and develop a contract for supervision.
The supervisor shall ensure the supervisee's clinical work is completed in an appropriate setting with adequate administrative and clerical controls including but not limited to adherence to applicable ethical codes, state and federal laws.
The supervisor shall supervise cases that are within their area of training and experience and assist in recommending other supervision or training that may be beneficial to supervisee's development of individual goals.
The supervisor shall offer guidance, support, assessment of performance, and recommendations for supervisee's continuing development toward competency as an independent practitioner.
The supervisor shall utilize guidelines and provide written reports as established by the Board. The supervisor shall be available for consultation with the Board or it's committees regarding the supervisee's competence for licensure.