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Support and Oversight of the Mental Health Consultant

Support and oversight of the mental health consultant is a very important process, but program administrators often overlook it. Providing clear support and supervision is particularly important when your program works with a mental health professional who is unfamiliar with Head Start programs or early childhood care and education. The consultant may be entering an unfamiliar system that is different from the mental health system in which they work. Because the mental health system and the Head Start systems are so different, program administrators can play a key role in supporting the mental health consultant in this new role. We will discuss three forms of support and supervision: administrative supervision, clinical supervision, and collegial support.

Administrative Supervision

Whether working as an employee of the agency or as a contracted consultant, mental health consultants need direct supervision from an employee within the Head Start program. Your program should determine the best individual to provide this supervision. Administrative supervision provides the mental health consultant with a direct contact person within the agency — someone who can provide information about and support for the program’s vision and strategic plan for mental health, policies and procedures, and the program’s structure.

The administrative supervisor could work closely with the consultant to establish important policies and procedures, such as the consultation referral process, the consultant’s role in supporting staff wellness, or the activities that the consultant will engage in within the program. The administrative supervisor may also need to act as a liaison between the consultant and the staff by facilitating relationships and modeling the value of the consultant within the program. Administrative supervision also includes reviewing feedback with the consultant about the outcomes of and satisfaction with the consultation services. This might include reviewing individual child-level data, collecting family or staff satisfaction surveys, and reviewing program data on classroom expulsion rates.

Clinical Supervision

Clinical supervision refers to supervision of mental health consultants in their work as a mental health professional. Clinical supervision is very important for mental health professionals, so that they can reflect on their practice, discuss and problem-solve ethical issues, and develop their knowledge and skills. All mental health consultants who work with Head Start programs should receive consistent, ongoing clinical supervision that takes place at a mutually agreed-upon and regularly scheduled time — regardless of whether the consultant is an employee of the program or is contracted to provide services.

Because clinical supervision should be provided by mental health professionals who have post-master’s degree experience in mental health, who are licensed in the state of practice, who understand the role of the mental health professional within the Head Start program, and who have knowledge of community resources, you may not have someone in your Head Start program with the experience needed to provide clinical supervision for the consultant. However, Head Start administrators play a key role in ensuring that mental health consultants receive outside clinical supervision.

Collegial Support

Many Head Start mental health consultants, especially consultants providing services in rural areas, have never spoken to or met another Head Start mental health consultant. In fact, rural mental health consultants may have little to no access to other mental health professionals who work with young children and their families. Yet collegial support is very important.

Head Start administrators can play a key role in developing supportive relationships among mental health consultants. Consider creating a mental health consultant partnership with other mental health programs in your community, region, or state. Through the mental health consultant partnership, you could introduce your consultant to other consultants, and they could share ideas, resources, tips, and strategies. Remember that consultants who feel connected and supported are likely to stay with your program.

Activity: Supporting and Supervising the Program’s Consultant

Reflect on these questions:

  1. How, in your role as program administrator, can you ensure that your consultant receives quality support and supervision?
  2. Who currently provides administrative supervision to your mental health consultant? How could you improve current administrative supervision?
  3. How often does the mental health consultant receive clinical supervision, and from whom? You may need to talk to your mental health consultant about whether they feel they are getting adequate and effective clinical supervision.
  4. What opportunities does your mental health consultant have to connect with other mental health consultants? How could you support the consultant to develop these relationships?

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,  Mental Health