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Clinical supervision is essential to the development of competent, ethical, and professional practice among substance abuse counselors. A vital role of supervisors is to act as gatekeepers responsible for protecting clients and the profession. Many supervisors in the addictions field lack formal education and training in supervision and, hence, could benefit from information and guidance in performing challenging supervisory tasks such as gatekeeping. This article focuses on the key elements of effective supervision, particularly with regard to supervisee assessment, remediation, and dismissal, all while considering the common pitfalls experience and encountered by those receiving supervision. These processes are presented and illustrated through a case example as a means of providing practical guidance to those who supervise current and aspiring substance abuse counselors.

While there is a growing reserve of evidence-based practices (EBPs) available to practitioners, much can be learned about how to implement EBPs in real-world settings. Evidence of the effects of a widely disseminated student engagement intervention, CheckConnect (CC), is emerging yet little is known about the implementation of CC in community-based settings. The purpose of the authors in this study was to examine practitioner attitudes and perspectives related to the CC intervention and implementation to gain an understanding of core implementation components that facilitated or impeded implementation. A researcher-developed survey instrument was used to assess practitioner attitudes related to the CC model and implementation among 14 school-based practitioners working in a dropout prevention program. Findings indicate that practitioners were highly positive about the CC intervention and in their attitudes about implementing EBPs. Benefits of CC identified by practitioners included increased relationship building with students, tracking students on a consistent and timely basis, and addressing attendance issues as a main focus of treatment. The most common implementation challenges were time constraints, paperwork, and targeting absentee students. These findings contribute to the emerging literature on CC and the implementation of EBPs in schools and community-based settings.