Introducing an Approach for Interdisciplinary Supervision in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling

Effective clinical supervision is a key element of professional rehabilitation counseling. While there is much overlap, the provision of clinical supervision to those with master’s degrees in rehabilitation counseling is different from supervising individuals who do not have a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling. The passage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) permits individuals to work in the position of rehabilitation counselor without a master’s degree, leaving supervisors to provide clinical supervision to those with and without master’s degrees in rehabilitation counseling. The purpose of this conceptual paper is to introduce an application of explicit instruction to the supervision of non-master’s-level supervisees. The principles of explicit instruction will be applied to the supervision process within the scope of practice for rehabilitation counselors. Implications for practice and research will be provided.