Micki Wierman, PhD, LP is an adjunct faculty member serving as a faculty supervisor at the MSP Clinic.
What attracted you to supervising students at MSP?
I have always wanted to supervise clinicians as a way of expanding my clinical skills and to be generative in my work. I love how past and current supervisions/consultations with colleagues generates a knowledge and understanding that grows beyond what each individual brings into the setting. It creates new vitality to the work we do in the service of our clients, and at times, for ourselves. My attraction to supervising at MSP was solidly to continue to learn from Dr. Maher and to join in the amazing clinical setting he has created. The students and staff are incredible to work with and always make me feel welcome. It is a true gem!
What population do you serve in your clinical practice?
I work with adults currently, although I have worked with children and adolescents as well in the past. While I was trained primarily psychodynamically and psychoanalytically, I utilize multiple techniques in my practice within this framework and conceptualization. I am currently continuing my clinical development at the Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute where I am a fifth-year candidate.
What do you find the most rewarding part of your work in clinical psychology?
This can be a difficult question to answer because I love so much about this work. But what jumps to my mind immediately are two things that can at times be intimately connected. The personal growth and stretching that comes along with working with people and working myself out of a job! I not only enjoy and process with my clients the gains they have made in our work, but I also personally celebrate them when they leave my office for the last time. I learn so much from them, both professionally and personally. I find it rejuvenating and oh-so fulfilling.
Describe your role at the clinic.
My role at the clinic is to supervise students in their clinical work. I am trying to take the approach of providing, as best as I can, what I felt at times was missing when I was a student learning how to work in this profession. Theory and technique are challenging enough, and it is always an ongoing endeavor to learn more and hone our skills; but I also want to try to bring in the practical aspects of how to run a practice and how we conduct our work in our society, for better or worse.
What would your students be surprised to learn about you?
What often surprises many people (myself included at times) is that I spend a lot of my spare time remodeling our house. And I am not talking a little here and there, it was a full gutting of the house when it was bought it in 2007, and we have been remodeling it ourselves ever since, all the while living in it. We still are not finished and have many more years to go before it is “complete” (meaning it could be reasonably sold if that were our desire). It has become a labor of love and source of pride for us. It grounds me, balancing the work I do in my office and while I literally build my home.
