If you’re considering becoming a Canadian clinical supervisor, your first question may be how much do clinical supervisors make in Canada?

This is a great question, and the answer is: it depends.

Websites like Indeed and Glassdoor report that clinical supervisors make on average $77,000 to $90,000 per year. Although, these estimates are likely accurate for employed clinical supervisors, they are not as accurate when describing the earning potential for self-employed clinical supervisors. Job websites usually get their data from a compilation of salaries from existing job postings, anonymous salary submissions by users, and/or government data. All of which are usually employee-facing.

However, self-employed Canadian clinical supervisors do not usually fall within the same income averages than employed clinical supervisors. In fact, self-employed clinical supervisors, have a larger variation in their earning potential than employed clinical supervisors. How much clinical supervisors make in Canada depends on a variety of factors such as how much they charge per session, the length of session, the clinical supervision delivery model, how many hours worked, and whether the clinical supervisor is employed or self-employed. This article breaks down how much clinical supervisors make in Canada.

TL:DR: Scroll down to the conclusion section for how much clinical supervisors make in Canada.

Cost and Length of Sessions

First of all, self-employed clinical supervisors get to choose how much they make per hour as well as the length of each session. The cost and length per session has a direct impact on how much clinical supervisors make in Canada. The more a clinical supervisor charges per session influences overall earning potential. For example, if clinical supervisor A charges $150 per session while clinical supervisor B charges $200 per session then clinical supervisor B makes more per session.

However, the length of each session also matters. Let’s say that clinical supervisor A provides 60-minute sessions while clinical supervisor B provides 90-minute sessions. Then clinical supervisor A makes more per hour than clinical supervisor B, even though clinical supervisor B charges more per session.

Clinical Supervision Delivery Model

In addition, the model of clinical supervision also impacts a clinical supervisor’s earning potential. Most regulatory bodies allow clinical supervision to be conducted either individually, dyadically, and/or in group format. The more supervisees in a single session increases the pay per hour.

Interestingly, clinical supervisors who provide group supervision can actually charge less and make more doing it. For example, let’s say clinical supervisor A charges $80 per person, per session for each supervisee enrolled in a 60-minute group clinical supervision session. If there are 4 participants enrolled in the group, clinical supervisor A makes $320 per hour. As more participants join the group, the hourly rate increases.

So, how much clinical supervisors make depend on how they structure clinical supervision sessions and which delivery model they choose. In Canada, many clinical supervisors provide a mix of individual, dyadic and group clinical supervision sessions.  

Number of Clinical Supervision Hours

Clinical supervisors may provide clinical supervision on a part-time or full-time basis. Either way, the number of hours worked directly influences a clinical supervisor’s income. For example, everything being equal, clinical supervisors who work 10 hours per week make less than clinical supervisors who work 30 hours per week.

However, clinical supervisors who provide group clinical supervision can narrow the income gap significantly. For example, let’s say clinical supervisor A works 10 hours per week and conducts 10, 60-minute group clinical supervision sessions. They charge $80 per person, per session and on average has 6 people enrolled in each group each week. In this case, clinical supervisor A makes $4800 per week.

However, let’s say that clinical supervisor B works 30 hours per week and conducts 30, 60-minute individual clinical supervision sessions and they charge $200 per session. In this case, clinical supervisor B makes $6000 per week.

Although, clinical supervisor B charges more per hour and works full-time, they only make $1800 more per week than clinical supervisor A who works part-time.

Employed vs. Self-Employed Clinical Supervisors

Finally, how much clinical supervisors make in Canada depends on whether a clinical supervisor is an employee or self-employed. Employees are given their hours of work and their annual salary based on the employers needs at time of being hired. Whereas, self-employed clinical supervisors have more variation and greater earning potential than employed clinical supervisors.

As self-employed clinical supervisors have a choice on their pay structure, number of working hours, and the clinical supervision delivery model, they have more autonomy over how much they make. But unlike, employed clinical supervisors, those who are self-employed have additional duties outside of providing clinical supervision such as marketing, bookkeeping and administrative tasks that should be considered when planning out ones work week. Fortunately, the Canadian Clinical Supervision therapist directory helps mitigate some of the stressors of marketing and finding new supervisees.

Conclusion 

In essence, how much clinical supervisors make in Canada depends on a variety of factors such as the cost and length of sessions, the clinical supervision delivery model, the number of clinical supervision hours, and employment status.

But as you’ve come here to learn how much clinical supervisors make in Canada, here is our answer based on the average cost of individual clinical supervision sessions with clinical supervisors working 48 weeks per year.

Self-employed clinical supervisors providing clinical supervision on a part-time basis, at 10 hours per week, charging $175 per individual clinical supervision session, will make $84,000 per year.

Self-employed clinical supervisors providing clinical supervision on a full-time basis, at 30 hours per week, charging $175 per individual clinical supervision session, will make $252,000 per year.

Employed clinical supervisors providing clinical supervision in agency jobs on a full-time basis, will likely make an average salary between $77,000 to $90,000 per year.

If you’re considering becoming a clinical supervisor in Canada, check out How to Become a Clinical Supervisor in Psychotherapy.