Intersectionality theory examines multiple and intersecting experiences of oppression and privileges and can be utilized in clinical practice. Many clinicians may be unsure how to apply intersectionality effectively. Clinical supervision is an ideal setting to learn about intersectionality and develop relevant skills. This paper uses scoping review methodology to synthesize existing clinical supervision and intersectionality literature, with twenty-one conceptual and empirical articles identified in the last decade in counseling, social work, psychology, and marriage and family therapy. The volume, content, nature, and intersectionality focus related to clinical supervision are described, along with implications for practice, research, and education.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) impacts career development and negatively influences employment prospects, education attainment, and financial earnings; yet there is a gap in research exploring the experiences of employment-seeking from the perspectives of survivors. An intersectional and social ecological perspective provides an important framework and highlights the multiple intersecting barriers of IPV and employment ranging from mental health concerns such as trauma, anxiety and depression to lack of shelter and childcare, limited access to employment services, and other forms of discrimination. This article responds to this gap in research and provides findings from a constructivist grounded theory study of 16 employment-seeking survivors of IPV. To theorize and understand IPV and employment utilizing an intersectional and social ecological framework, the following research question were addressed: (a) What are the contextual barriers or facilitators that shape the employment-seeking process of survivors of IPV? (b) How do the experiences of discrimination shape the employment-seeking experience of survivors of IPV? (c) What employment services were helpful or unhelpful during the employment-seeking process? Two main themes emerged from analysis: (a) Multilevel barriers to employment and (b) Employment barriers/facilitators to employment-seeking. Findings indicate that survivors of IPV face multiple barriers to employment at the intrapersonal (e.g., depression, anxiety, trauma, low self-esteem), interpersonal (e.g., ties to an abusive partner, responsibilities related to childcare), community (lack of social support, few employment opportunities, poverty), and structural/institutionalized levels (e.g., racism, sexism, transphobia). Implications from these findings illustrate that employment-seeking is shaped by structural inequities, intersecting stigma, individual level barriers, and social identities, as well as experience of abuse, which is an important contribution to IPV research. This study provides insight into the complexities of employment-seeking and helps improve knowledge on the social ecological and intersecting barriers of employment from the perspectives of survivors.

This article presents qualitative findings from a constructivist grounded theory study that examines intimate partner violence and employment-seeking from the perspectives of 10 service providers. Three distinct themes emerge through analysis: (a) understanding the intersecting barriers to employment faced by survivors, (b) integrated approaches to employment services, and (c) barriers to providing employment services. Findings have important theoretical implications on the intersectional nature of employment-seeking and provide insight into IPV service responses.

The use of simulation (i.e., trained actors) has gained much attention in social work as a method of teaching, learning, and student assessment. Simulation has also been used in medicine as a research method in studying practice competencies. The use of simulation as a part of research design is relatively new in social work. Particularly, little is known about how simulations can be combined with well-established qualitative research methods. We posit that simulation can further advance qualitative research on social work practice, which requires a highly complex set of skills that are procedural, cognitive, affective, and relational. Drawing from two study examples, we propose guidelines for how simulations can be incorporated in qualitative research on complex practice competencies essential for enhancing the quality of health and social services.

Spurred on by medical education, the last decade has seen a steady increase in simulation-based teaching, learning, and student assessment in social work. Using professional actors trained to portray realistic client scenarios, social work students are afforded risk-free opportunities to rehearse and develop various competencies in working with these simulated patients (SP). This pedagogy is particularly relevant for social work students and practitioners because of the highly vulnerable and marginalized nature of the clients they work with (e.g., suicide intervention, child protection decision-making). In this editorial, we briefly discuss the competency frameworks respectively designed for medicine and other healthcare professionals as well as social work. We highlight ways in which simulation educators might design teaching, learning, and student assessment in preparing healthcare professionals for holistic competence. In doing so, this editorial articulates contributions of social work to broader healthcare simulation education.