PROFESSIONAL DISCLOSURE

Dr. Donald A. Amidon received a Master of Divinity Degree from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois in 1963, a Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling From Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan in 1973 and a Doctor of Ministry Degree from Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan in 1989. He completed an internship in Clinical Pastoral Education at E.J. Meyer Memorial Hospital, a University of New York teaching hospital in Buffalo, New York in 1965. His areas of specialization include clinical practice, supervision, substance abuse rehabilitation, and trauma recovery. 

          Dr. Amidon has been employed as Chief, Chaplain Service at a Veteran’s Affairs neuropsychiatric medical center and as a US Navy Chaplain. He served on active duty with the Marine Corps with duty in Viet Nam in 1967. He completed a Naval Reserve Career, attaining the rank of Captain, in 1993. He has provided supervision for mental health professionals in all of these settings. 

          Following his retirement from the VA in 1996, he has served as a clinician and supervisor in private practice. His clinical practice is broadly focused covering a variety of areas such as marriage and family counseling, substance abuse relapse prevention, trauma and grief recovery, and depression and anxiety. He has also team taught with his wife and colleague, Dr. Sara Sue Schaeffer, providing instruction to Masters and Doctoral Students in the Department of Counselor Education and Psychology at Western Michigan University, and he is credentialed as an approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS).        

          Supervisees at The Mentoring Institute participate in both group and individual supervision. Supervision is designed to be the bridge between graduate school and competent clinical practice. In addition to reviewing and providing guidance regarding supervisees’ work with clients, informational sessions are provided on clinical and practice topics which were not addressed in supervisees’ graduate programs, as well as new and cutting edge theories and modalities. Feedback and evaluation are provided by both supervisors and peers. Supervisees are encouraged to contact Dr. Amidon outside of regularly scheduled sessions if they have questions or concerns regarding their professional practice with clients, and are required to contact him in cases of emergency. These contacts are included in the monthly supervision fee described in the supervision contract. All current contact numbers and addresses are provided to supervisees in an orientation session. 

          Each supervisee is required to provide copies of their licenses, professional liability insurance, and professional disclosure statement, and to sign a contract which specifies the duties of both supervisor and supervisee, the fee schedule, and the limits and scope of confidentiality and privileged communication within the supervisory relationship. A supervisee’s professional disclosure statement must indicate that the supervisee practices under the supervision of the supervisor as required by law. Supervision provided by Dr. Amidon at The Mentoring Institute adheres to the Code of Ethics of the American Counseling Association, the National Board for Certified Counselors, and Center for Credentialing & Education’s Standards for The Ethical Practice of Clinical Supervision.

     Dr. Sara Sue Schaeffer received her Masters (1971), Specialist (1975) and Doctorate (1983) Degrees from the Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her areas of specialization include clinical practice, supervision, substance abuse prevention education, and school counseling. She has been employed as a school counselor, Associate Chief of Staff for Education in a Veteran’s Affairs neuropsychiatric hospital, and as a clinician in private practice. She has also provided supervision for mental health professionals in all of these settings. Her clinical practice is a general one covering a wide variety of areas, and she also specializes in stress management, trauma recovery, loss and grief, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and marriage and family counseling. 

          Dr. Schaeffer served for seven years as the first Chair of the Michigan Board of Counseling and is a Past President of the Michigan Counseling Association. She also served as adjunct faculty at Western Michigan University, teaching courses to Masters and Doctoral students in the Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology at Western Michigan University. Her credentials include: Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, National Certified Counselor, Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Master Addictions Counselor, and Approved Clinical Supervisor. 

          Supervisees at The Mentoring Institute participate in both group and individual supervision. Supervision is designed to be the bridge between graduate school and competent clinical practice. In addition to reviewing and providing guidance regarding supervisees’ work with clients, informational sessions are provided on clinical and practice topics which were not addressed in supervisees’ graduate programs, as well as new and cutting edge theories and modalities. Feedback and evaluation are provided by both supervisors and peers. Supervisees are encouraged to contact Dr. Schaeffer outside of regularly scheduled sessions if they have questions or concerns regarding their professional practice with clients, and are required to contact her in cases of emergency. These contacts are included in the monthly supervision fee described in the supervision contract. All current contact numbers and addresses are provided to supervisees in an orientation session. 

          Each supervisee is required to provide copies of their licenses, professional liability insurance, and professional disclosure statement, and to sign a contract which specifies the duties of both supervisor and supervisee, the fee schedule, and the limits and scope of confidentiality and privileged communication within the supervisory relationship. A supervisee’s professional disclosure statement must indicate that the supervisee practices under the supervision of the supervisor as required by law. Supervision provided by Dr. Schaeffer at The Mentoring Institute adheres to the Code of Ethics of the American Counseling Association, the National Board for Certified Counselors, and Center for Credentialing & Education’s Standards for The Ethical Practice of Clinical Supervision.