Integrating CANS/ANSA into Your Clinical Supervision

The TCOM tools (CANS and ANSA) are planning tools that express what areas to focus on in treatment with measurable metrics. It shows the level of urgency needed to take action, to provide clinical interventions for specific needs, and what strengths to build on in treatment with clients. The tools are also used for tracking case progress, acting as a roadmap throughout the time we work with clients. The CANS/ANSA help us to identify needs & strengths and treatment plans in an organized and communication-oriented manner that keeps us focused on the uniqueness of each client and what they present.

When you think about clinical supervision, supervisees and their supervisors are surely discussing all of these themes in the room each week. You are bringing client needs and strengths into the supervision hour, discussing assessment and interventions, and sharing progress and changes in the lives of the clients.

What would it be like to do this using the CANS/ANSA in the clinical supervision space? Could the tool help you focus and organize the complex information and make the case easier to discuss with purpose and attention to what needs to be addressed? Try it out. Make a commitment. The tools have more impact the more we commit to using them in the way they are intended: to bring multiple voices into the conversation, keep the client front and center, and help us be the best clinicians we can be. Supervisors and supervisees, see what can come from using the tools in your time together!

The Alameda TCOM Collaborative has an entire section of Supervision Resources for supervisors and clinicians, including:

• Incorporating CANS into Clinical Supervision
• Supervision Using CANS
• An Introduction to ANSA Training from the Supervisor Perspective