Internship - Social work/ counseling/ psychology

[valleyofroses]

I am interning at a site since I'm a social worker.  I get super nervous for the groups that I need to conduct...3 groups per week for adults.  That's been okay because I know I have no other choice and got to do it even though I suck at speaking in front of ppl.

Yesterday I was seeing a patient and my supervisor was sitting in the back observing me (which is sooo intimidating) and I started talking to the patient a little about his past and what other things have been going on since this "problem" also got more serious in his life.  He started talking about him leaving a long relationship and getting dumped. Then my supervisor jumped in and said that we should not focus on that and should instead help him with another thing.  I said "Sure" and changed the topic.While walking out of the session, I told her that "I thought that might be helpful to know that's why I asked, maybe I shouldn't have asked what caused his problem and instead focus on what maintains his problem" She then repeated that and said that we don't care what caused it.

After we leave the session, she grabs the head of our department and in front of me and other staff that were sitting in the office very awkwardly says "Hey...can I ask you a question about my office?" and points her head to the door.  She then leaves with her and comes back after 10 minutes.  It was so awkward that it was about me. I know it was because she asked her that awkward question right after we were done AND because she has this tendency to talk bad about others behind their back.  She says terrible things behind clients backs and I don't like doing that to our clients. 

I already felt uncomfortable with the head of the department because she is intimidating (and sort of blamed me for filing papers incorrectly while there were 3 other ppl who were also filling papers) now it's even more uncomfortable knowing that she talked behind me with her supervisor.  I don't know how to make the situation better or more tolerable since I already dislike running the groups and now I don't even feel safe making unintentional mistakes in front of my supervisor.

[_kita]

I'm sorry you have to deal with that. It does not sound like a very supporting internship. In SW, Counseling, and psychology there are different theoretical orientations. If your orientation and focus is different than hers, it is an area to discuss. She should encourage (not undermine) your development in new skills. I had a colleague who also had a rough internship experience where the supervisor undermined his professional development, and she assumed he should have different skills than he said he did. See if you can consult with others, and hopefully you can get other work experience so she's not your sole recommender. 

[valleyofroses]

That is very true.  I am meeting with my supervisor and the coordinator or internship at my site.  I am sort of scared of telling the coordinator about my supervisor since I do not want to make her my enemy (too late for that tho).  I hope it goes well tomorrow and hope I don't start crying. Coz I can get very emotional very quickly.  I just hope my supervisor gives me more clear instructions about meeting patients in person and how to be better in this area.  I don't know what she wants/expects from me really. I will never be what she wants 100% of the time. It is frustrating coz idk how I am doing or I am even making any progress.... thanks for your advice!

[pippapants]

I had an EXTREMELY rough internship for the last year of my MSW, due to problems with my supervisor.  We had different philosophies about a lot of things, and she was a terrible communicator.  (Other staff under her immediate supervision had the same experience.  She was passive aggressive, hard to read, defensive, and unsupportive.)  I was an MSW intern doing the same tasks as LSWs at the agency (assessments and case management; nothing related to counseling, program development, policy, evaluation, etc.), and I had days in which I had 5 hours of free time, doing nothing at all.  I asked her if there were any additional projects at the agency that I could meaningfully contribute to and would support the development of necessary competencies, and she took it as me saying that I was too good to be doing two assessments a day and sitting around on my *** the rest of the day.  She torpedoed my grade at semester because she disagreed with our field director's grading system.  (She felt that I should be graded on clinical-readiness all year, rather than using the field director's rubric stating that we be graded as mid-year MSW interns in the first semester;  so she gave me a D a midterm and a B at semester, while other students got As).  I had a breakdown when I had to go back after winter break. I was miserable.

I met with my field director to discuss my concerns, that I didn't feel that I was meeting my goals or developing my skills, and she told me that other students would be grateful for the opportunity to have time to complete homework.  May you have a better conversation with your folks than I did with mine, because nothing changed, I was made to feel bad about "complaining," and I ended up feeling unprepared for clinical practice (maybe it's a good thing I went straight into a doc program).  Other students had full caseloads of counseling clients.  I had one counseling session all year.  DISASTER.

Edited November 14, 2015 by pippapants

[TherapistyChristy]

I think what you have experienced is ridiculous! Absolutely insane. This *IS* the time for you to explore, make mistakes, and receive constructive and respectful feedback from a site supervisor. When I supervised counseling interns getting their Masters, I was blunt and matter of fact, but never disrespectful like that and I always provided the feedback away from the client unless it was potentially harmful.

I am sorry you are having this issue. Please speak with a mentor or supervisor regarding this experience. These are things that should be brought up in individual supervision with your internship supervisor.