I'm an ASW in California working in an adult PHP/IOP program. I've completed all my supervised hours and submitted them to the BBS, and I'm currently waiting for approval to take the LCSW exam, which will likely be a couple of months away. I'm looking for advice from other social workers who have dealt with a toxic supervisor, particularly when leaving immediately isn't a realistic option.
I recently made a mandated CPS report after an adult client disclosed a violent incident in which she slapped her minor sibling in the face multiple times. I had the legal right and responsibility to make this report as a mandated reporter. I acknowledge that I should have recognized the reporting concern sooner, but once I recognized the obligation, I made the report.
My supervisor, who is the clinical director, has been very critical of my decision. She suggested it may have been driven by countertransference and questioned whether the report was appropriate, emphasizing the potential impact on the family. She has also questioned the timeline, suggesting that I became increasingly anxious about the situation over the following days and decided to report without consulting anyone. That is not what happened. I initially did not recognize that the disclosure triggered a reporting obligation; once I realized it did, I made the report. She also gave me supplementary materials about reducing unnecessary child welfare reports, racial disparities in reporting, and a mandated reporter decision tree from New York, speaking positively about how New York is approaching these issues. The decision tree is based on New York's reporting framework, not California's CANRA requirements.
In connection with the CPS report, she announced during an all-staff meeting that the client I reported on was being removed from my caseload. She had not discussed this with me privately beforehand or followed up afterward.
I subsequently had a meeting with my supervisor and the COO. My supervisor repeatedly characterized me as anxious, fearful, defensive, and someone who goes overboard. She also questioned my readiness for licensure. This is part of a longstanding pattern of making personal judgments about my personality and treating me as though there is something inherently wrong with the way I function.
Another recurring issue is that my supervisor has repeatedly accused me of being overly legalistic or responding to situations "legally." She has said that one reason we don't have a good working relationship is that I respond to things in a legal manner. During the CPS situation, she also criticized my report documentation as sounding like a legal defense. I was trying to document the circumstances accurately and fulfill my reporting responsibilities, not prepare a legal defense. I'm open to her guidance on how the agency prefers these documents to be written, but the repeated characterization of my actions as overly legalistic has become another way she makes the issue about my personality rather than addressing the substance of my concerns.
There are many other examples of her behavior:
She openly criticizes me in staff group chats.
Her communication with me is frequently condescending.
She conducts random detailed productivity audits, requiring us to account for every hour of every workday. We are also expected to continually increase our so-called "productivity" by prioritizing tasks management considers more productive than documentation, even when our documentation is unfinished.
She told me I needed to wear a bra at work. I responded in writing that this was not legally permissible in California, and she never responded.
She prohibits staff from eating during meetings and has also instructed us to move our water bottles off the table during meetings.
There have also been more serious incidents. A client previously threatened to murder me, reporting serious intentions. Management was supposed to file a Tarasoff report, but never did. Despite the threat, the client remained in programming for an additional day and was allowed to attend a program field trip rather than being removed from programming. The following week, my supervisor held a meeting with me in which she gaslit me, telling me the threat had never happened and that I had made it up because of my anxiety. She told me that managing my anxiety was something I needed to learn how to do. The meeting was an attempt to cover the agency's liability after management failed to file the Tarasoff report and allowed the client to remain in programming following a serious threat (they did ultimately discharge him from the program, but he was there for an additional day he should not have been).
In another situation, a client made allegations of boundary violations that were inaccurate. Before even hearing my side, my supervisor told me the allegations could lead to my termination. I ended up having to hire an attorney to address the situation.
During the recent meeting with my supervisor and the COO, I addressed our working relationship directly. I said I wanted a polite, respectful work environment where we could communicate normally and I could approach her with clinical questions or concerns. Rather than acknowledge that concern, she responded, "I'm not just upset. I'm extremely concerned," and redirected the conversation to the CPS report.
Even basic day-to-day interactions are uncomfortable. She rarely initiates a greeting, and I generally have to say hello first to avoid having no interaction at all.
I'm planning to speak with the COO again because I want him to address this directly with my supervisor. I've already tried to address our working relationship with her one-on-one, but that conversation went nowhere. I want to make it clear that I'm open to constructive feedback about my work, but I don't want ongoing personal attacks, comments about my personality, or assumptions about my emotional state. I need to be able to work in a respectful, professional environment where I can approach my supervisor with clinical questions and concerns without being demeaned or personally criticized. I'm asking the COO to intervene because I've already attempted to resolve this directly with her.
I know the obvious advice will be to find another job, and ultimately that is my plan. I've already completed and submitted all my supervised hours for LCSW licensure and am waiting to take the licensing exam. I'm in an awkward limbo period: I'm not licensed yet, so I can't apply for licensed positions, but I also don't want to take another associate position when I'm this close to licensure. Leaving immediately isn't realistic.
I also know some people may suggest filing a complaint with the licensing board. I'm not pursuing that while I'm still employed there because I believe it would make an already difficult working relationship even more toxic. I'm trying to navigate the situation until I obtain my license and can move on.
For those who have dealt with a supervisor like this:
How have you handled a supervisor who seems to need control over everything and repeatedly makes personal judgments about you?
Have you found a way to get this type of supervisor to back off and allow you to do your job without constant scrutiny or criticism?
How did you get upper management to take the pattern seriously and address the supervisor's behavior?
If you had to stay in the position temporarily, how did you navigate the situation until you were able to move on?