The Connecticut Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (CACES) a division of the Connecticut Counseling Association is composed of school counselors, community, agency and mental health counselors as well as private practitioners and counselor educators who are interested in enhancing the quality education and supervision for all counselors.

CACES members recognize that practicum and internship experiences represent one of the most critical segments of graduate students preparation for the counseling profession. Field experience provides students with their first opportunity to apply theories and skills they have learned as well as how to apply ethical problem solving in real life settings.

Interns learn how to conduct themselves consistent with the standards of their profession, critique their own work, learn from the constructive criticism, and develop and increased awareness of their relationship and interactions with fellow workers, supervisors and clients.

Why Learn About Supervision?

Those of us who have supervised counselors over the years can probably remember our first experiences as a supervisor of new counselors. We had many questions. What’s my function here? Is there a better way to supervise, if so what? How can I tell if my intern is learning? What legal and ethical issues do I need to be aware of?

Many supervising counselors have not taken a course in clinical supervision. So when do we learn to supervise? Most counselors take their first clinical supervision class while completing a doctoral program after having already supervised interns.

Supervisors who accept student interns assume many responsibilities for which they often have little formal training. We act both as facilitators and evaluators of our interns. As facilitators, supervisors work to ensure their students are provided with training and learning to enhance professional functioning. As Evaluators we act as gatekeepers to ensure interns practice according to an acceptable standard of care and follow professional codes of ethical conduct. Finally, supervisors are also responsible for client welfare.