On “Being” and “Doing”: Supervising Clinical Social Workers in Case-Management Practice

As clinical social work has increasingly become synonymous with reflective psychotherapeutic intervention, case-management practice is often perceived as an impediment to the consolidation of a professional identity as a clinical social worker. The clinically oriented case manager is faced with the difficult challenge of addressing the inseparable psychological and environmental needs of clients while meeting the expectations of relevant agencies and institutions. In the supervisory process of case-management practice, clinical social workers have a unique opportunity to consolidate their professional identity as they directly address the dialectic between the individual's maturational processes and the larger facilitating environment. Using illustrations from supervisory relationships, this article discusses the specific challenges of clinical supervision in case-management practice.