Training and Supervision at Tribeca Therapy

Intensive supervision and training lie at the heart of Tribeca Therapy: We offer both on a consultation basis

Intensive supervision and training are at the core of Tribeca Therapy’s project to foster the ongoing growth of our therapists. This includes individual and small group supervision, as well as weekly didactic training. Both supervision and training are also offered on a consultation basis to therapists outside of the practice.

Supervision and training at Tribeca Therapy are led by Founder and Clinical Director Matt Lundquist, who holds a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University and a master’s in education from Bank Street College. He also completed the therapist training program at the East Side Institute and later served on its faculty. Matt has taught as an adjunct professor at the Hunter College School of Social Work, worked in public and private schools in New York City, and regularly presented at academic and professional conferences. In 2008, Matt, along with Carrie Lobman, published Unscripted Learning, a book that provides practical instructions and a theoretical framework for using theatrical improvisation in the classroom.

Training at Tribeca Therapy

We have experience with training in organizations, schools, colleges, group therapy, and individual therapy on a wide range of subjects, from helping graduate social work students look critically at diagnosis and labeling to supporting teachers and counselors to create emotionally engaged classrooms to helping educators, school administrators, corporations, nonprofits, and therapists make use of improvisation to build relationships and manage difficult conversations. We have also worked with individual professionals and workplace teams on group dynamics, difficult employees, building thriving teams, and changing dynamics within relationships as businesses grow.

While we can—and do—speak on a wide range of topics, our training is interactive

We can provide training in and talk about lots of things ad nauseam. We always come prepared to do so. However, our preference is to talk to real people—teachers, parents, managers, and therapists—about the actual situations that they’re dealing with in order to foster conversations. In our training, there is some lecture (and we like to do that!), but we also want our training to be interactive. We’re good improvisers since the practice of therapy means creating conversations all day, every day, with people who have no idea, hour after hour, what they’re going to roll in wanting to discuss.

Training groups, when well-organized, create meaningful conversations

When training, like in family therapy or group therapy, we make sure the conversation isn’t derailed by a big talker. We give voice to those who are inclined to be quieter or more reserved while dealing with those who might try to take the conversation over. We’re comfortable saying to a group of people in training, for example, “We’re here to talk about workplace stress. What’s that look like for you? What sort of stress are you dealing with?” Then, we create meaningful conversations from the responses.

Supervision at Tribeca Therapy

Regularly supervising therapists who are both new to the field and more experienced, Tribeca Therapy’s lead supervisor—Founder and Clinical Director Matt Lundquist—is fluent in collaborative, postmodern, and humanistic modalities and has supervised therapists on their work with adults, children, teens, couples, families, and groups. At Tribeca Therapy, we recognize that, for therapists in private practice, the relationship between clinical and practical development is vital. Developing strong clinical skills and building a financially successful clinical practice are part of the same effort.

While we offer individual supervision, we also thrive in the creatively rich environment of group supervision.

Our approach to supervision is intensely collaborative

While we have significant experience both practicing therapy and supervising therapists, we find the collective and collaborative experience that we create with supervisees to be the most generative. We acknowledge that not every therapist is the same. Good. We don’t need our supervisees to practice just like us or even want to practice exactly like us.

We help therapists develop their own doctrine rather than impart our own

Often, skilled therapists who train and supervise seek to transfer a doctrine or a methodology passed down from their own supervisor. While we have been gifted with mentors and supervisors, and their influence is surely present in our practice as therapists and supervisors, we’d rather help therapists develop their individual doctrine rather than impart our own.  We help therapists be strong; give artful expression to their compassion; value self-care and, when necessary, self-protection; and negotiate terms that work in bringing patients into therapy. We also help therapists navigate issues of intimacy when they’re afraid to get closer or move in toward the tougher stuff of therapy.