december 4, 2021
Resources for Therapists
Motivo is here to provide you with resources, tips, and tools on your road to licensure. Check out our latest blog post below, and sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more tips delivered straight to your inbox.
Making the Most of Your Supervisor Profile
December 4, 2022
|
By: Rachel McCrickard
Getting your first supervisee
One of the questions we hear most after a supervisor has signed up for the platform is “When will I get my first supervisee?!”
The short answer to this is… it depends. A lot of factors play into this, many of which are out of yours and our control, such as:
- The virtual clinical supervision rules in your state,
- The number of supervisors we already have in your state and with your licensure type, and
- The “word of mouth” growth of Motivo.
However, we’ve seen a lot supervisor profiles over the years and we’ve been paying attention to the trends that do seem to attract the most interest from supervisees.
For example, we’ve seen that supervisors with a professional profile picture are selected 3x more often than supervisors who use a candid snapshot or selfie.
We’ve put together a few more easy tips to create a strong, engaging profile:
Your display name
At the very top of your profile page is a field titled “Display Name.” This is where you list your name followed by all the incredible acronyms you worked so hard to obtain.
Some supervisors miss this and only list their name. Be sure to check how your display name is listed currently and make an adjustment if needed. Many supervisees look specifically for the acronyms they are working toward when assessing who would best fit their needs. Make sure they are front and center on your display name.
Here’s an example: Nadia Jones, Ph.D., LMHC, RPT-S
Your profile picture is so important. We just can’t say enough about how critical it is to have a professional headshot for your Motivo profile. We have noticed a consistent trend on this – the supervisors with professional, engaging profile pictures are the ones who get selected the most. Resist the urge to snap a selfie or layer on a filter.
If you don’t have the time or resources to invest in professional headshots, find a friend with the newest smartphone to snap a picture of you outside or sitting at your desk in the classic “lean in therapist pose.” You’ll be glad you did.
List all your specialties
Don’t hesitate to add many specialties to your Motivo profile. We have over 150 specialties to choose from and we’re adding new ones all the time (feel free to reach out to us if you see one we missed!).
Many therapists now pick a niche to work within, such as play therapy with young children, this is great for your client-facing practice, but be sure to consider all the potential specialty areas you might be able to supervise in, even if it isn’t within your current niche.
For example, I used to work with homeless adults, but I don’t any more. However, I would still list homelessness and severe and persistent mental illness under my specialities because I have experience in that area. 8-10 specialties is a good ballpark to shoot for.
Modalities matters
Most clients don’t know what CBT or EMDR or SFBT means so adding a lot of acronyms to your client-facing website often leads to confusion. But, here, you are among friends 😉 – we welcome all the nerdy, field-specific acronyms you can throw our way.
This will allow prospective supervisees get a feel for your education and training and help them determine what modalities you’ll be able to teach them.
Write a great bio
Some supervisors use the bio same bio that they use on their professional website for their Motivo profile. However, what resonates with clients might be different from what would resonate with a prospective supervisee. Here’s a few questions to consider when crafting your supervisor bio:
- What made you choose a career as a therapist?
- Why did you decide to become a supervisor?
- What’s your approach to supervision?
- What might a typical supervision session with you look like?
- What do you hope for the next generation of therapists?
Share with your network
Although certainly not required, the supervisors who have shared their Motivo profile through their own networks and the networks they are a part of receive more traction.
Here are a few places you might consider sharing your Supervisor Profile:
- Facebook – particularly in private therapist groups you may be a part of
- LinkedIn – particularly in alumni or therapist groups you may be a part of
- Alumni listservs or email groups
And here is some helpful wording to use when sharing your profile.
- “I just created a profile on Motivo! Check it out. I’d love to help! (add link to your profile here)”
- “I am taking my clinical supervision practice online! Check out my supervisor profile on Motivo or reach out to me for more info! (add link to your profile here)”
- “Know someone in need of clinical supervision? I can help! Check out my supervisor profile on Motivo (add link to your profile here)”
Additional suggestions:
- Some supervisors have added something like “Check out my Clinical Supervisor profile on Motivo” to the signature of their email – which they have found helpful!
- Some supervisors have added “Motivo” in their work experience on LinkedIn.
Want to make a few changes?
If this got the wheels turning on how you can make the most of your supervisor profile, here’s what you can do next:
- Click here to login to your dashboard.
- On the menu bar, click on your name and select “My Profile” from the dropdown.
- Click “Edit Profile” in the upper right corner.
- Make any changes you’d like to make and then click “Save Changes” in the upper right corner.
Need a second pair of eyes? Our supervisor onboarding team would be happy to take a look at your profile and give you some feedback and suggestions! Reach out to us at [email protected]
