What is Clinical Supervision?
It’s where clinical skills are sharpened, ethical questions are explored, and personal and professional growth are nurtured, an essential part of the new therapist’s growth and journey. I see systemic therapy through a social justice lens, which means I value both the wisdom of classical training and the lessons I’ve learned from 17 years of practice. In supervision, I aim to create a supportive and collaborative space where new professionals feel encouraged, guided, and empowered to develop their own style and confidence as therapists.
Expanding Your Clinical Horizons
A Collaborative Approach to Supervision
Clinical supervision is a space where new therapists can grow as they complete the clinical hours required for licensure. I take my role as a supervisor seriously, offering guidance, structure, and support along the way. I teach models, concepts, and interventions to expand knowledge, and I coach supervisees as they practice applying these tools-knowing that growth comes through trial, error, and persistence. Not every step will feel easy, which is why I create a judgment-free environment that encourages supervisees to keep exploring and building confidence.
I love sharing the practical side of my work, from assessment tools to treatment plans and note templates I’ve honed over the years, always with ethics at the heart of it all. As a clinical supervisor, I hold responsibility for the clients my supervisees work with; my supervisees don’t carry that weight alone. My goal is to create a collaborative, supportive space where supervisees can try new approaches, build confidence, and shape their own style as a therapist-knowing that I’ll be right beside them to offer guidance and step in with final decisions when needed.
Most importantly, I mentor. Therapy asks us to confront our blind spots, triggers, and tender places. I know from personal experience that this work sometimes requires us to be superhuman. I strive to provide a safe, reassuring space where supervisees can be fully human while learning to thrive in this profession.
Who I Work With
Provisional Therapists seeking LPC, LMFT, or LCSW licensure in Colorado
Newly Qualified practitioners transitioning into independent practice
Experienced Therapists seeking ongoing professional development and reflective space
Therapists who focus on relationship structures that have been historically misunderstood or pathologized in therapy, including polyamory and ethical non-monogamy (ENM)
Therapists who focus on traumatic experiences through the lifecycle
Therapists working in private practice, community mental health centers, hospitals, or other settings
Therapists who focus on queer (LGBTQIA) individuals of any age, including specializing in adolescents
Therapists focused on neurodiversity
Therapists focused on trauma related to identity
Therapists focused on epilepsy and non-epileptic seizures
My Approach to Supervision
My supervision style is integrative, which means I pull from many different models and approaches and adapt to what feels most useful for each supervisee. I often draw from experiential therapy, including my own model-the Queer Adjusted Systemic Lens-which has roots in the same traditions as Emotionally Focused Therapy and Virginia Satir’s work. I also use systemic strategic approaches to help supervisees uncover their own strengths, solutions, and areas for growth. Alongside this, I bring in practical, skill-based tools like solution-focused strategies, cognitive behavioral interventions, and Gottman interventions, always through a strengths-based lens.
At the start of supervision, I create a contract with each supervisee. This helps us set clear expectations together and ensures that both of us know what to expect. More importantly, it creates a sense of teamwork so we can approach the supervision process as collaborators rather than just supervisor and supervisee
Typically weekly or bi-weekly, depending on your specific needs and scheduling considerations
Key Principles
Collaborative & Relational
I approach supervision as a partnership. Your ideas and clinical insights are central, and together we’ll co-create next steps that strengthen your decision-making and support your development as a therapist.
Developmental
Every supervisee begins their journey from a unique developmental place, and I honor that without judgment. I meet each supervisee where they are, providing guidance through training, mentoring, coaching, and teaching, so they can grow at a pace that feels authentic while steadily building confidence and professional skill.
Ethical Foundation
A strong ethical foundation is at the heart of clinical success. I support supervisees through the more challenging parts of clinical practice while equipping them with practical skills and tools they can carry into a sustainable, long-term career.
Reflective Practice
I value creating space for self-reflection and provide an unconditional positive regard to gently guide supervisees toward a place of self-supervision. Reflection can ease feelings of shame or defensiveness, opening the door to deeper learning, recognition of progress, and celebration of milestones in clinical growth.
Culturally Responsive
Ethical therapy requires recognizing how our intersectional identities shape the lens we bring to the work, the models we use, and the interventions we choose—and most importantly, how they impact our clients. In supervision, I integrate intersectionality and awareness of impact at every level, encouraging supervisees to practice with accountability while also creating a supportive space for growth. This balance helps supervisees become more attuned to their own identities and to the identities of their clients, fostering both justice and compassion in their clinical work.
Methods & Tools I Use
I use a variety of approaches to assess clinical practice and support therapeutic growth, including case discussions, documentation review, exploring feelings and reactions through self-of-the-therapist work, and providing resources for further learning. Some supervisees find experiential exercises, like role plays, especially helpful. I pay attention to the unique blend of tools that resonates with each supervisee and incorporate those approaches into our work together.
What We Can Cover in Supervision
Examination and processing of client sessions
Clear and specific steps to create comprehensive treatment plans
Building competency and confidence in self-supervision
Careful and comprehensive examination of ethical dilemmas
Specific action steps to build a successful practice, either in agency work or private practice
Identifying and practicing tangible interventions
Effectively working with diverse client populations and cultural considerations
Documentation and access to the templates that I have honed over the years
Education and coaching on a variety of models, including my model, the Queer Adjusted Systemic Lens
Gentle and supportive exploration of reactions, emotions, and countertransference in self-of-the-therapist work
Experiential learning through role plays and internalization of therapeutic work
About Your Supervisor: August Tousignant-Stanton
Licensure (Colorado): Licensed Clinical Social Worker (CSW 09923549) and Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (MFT 0001599).
Supervisor Qualification: AAMFT-Approved Supervisor with coursework and 95 hours of supervised supervision
Experience: 17 years of clinical practice in Colorado
Clinical Expertise: Systemic therapy; identity and trauma-focused work; LGBTQIA+ care; ENM/polyamory; neurodiversity; epilepsy/PNES
Ongoing Development: I regularly reflect on my practice, pursue continuing education, stay current with Colorado regulations, invite feedback, and adjust style so supervision remains collaborative and responsive
