Supervision is essential to how practitioners sustain good practice throughout their working life. It provides practitioners with regular and ongoing opportunities to reflect in depth about all aspects of their practice in order to work as effectively, safely and ethically as possible.
I offer Supervision for:
Counsellors, Trainee Student Counsellors, Groups
I see the role of Supervisor as providing a ‘third’ perspective to the relationship of the Counsellor and client. I enjoy working with a range of supervisees and their different needs, clients, settings and roles. I aim to provide a trusting and safe environment for the supervisee to explore their individual style of counselling, and how to take care of themselves.
With over 25 years of work experience in private practice, I also bring knowledge and understanding of various settings: as a Student Counsellor in a educational setting, working with Forensic Psychologists in a HMP service setting, within an NHS setting, an Employee Assisted Programme setting and Local Borough Council setting.
I am particularly interested in helping practitioners explore the dynamics, especially those hidden, between themselves and their client(s) and I pay particular attention to the influence the setting has on the work and how the individual practitioner is able to take up their role.
What is Supervision for:
Supervision in counselling is when a counsellor uses the services of another counsellor or psychotherapist to review the way they work with their clients. Supervision is a requirement by BACP to ensure all counsellors in practice are keeping their skills up to date and that they work in a safe and ethical way. Supervision in counselling also forms part of the counsellor’s professional and personal development.
Supervision in counselling is an important part of working to professional standards. As such, it is required by the Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions, published by the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP):
‘We will keep skills and knowledge up to date by … reviewing our knowledge and skills in supervision or discussion with experienced practitioners’ (paragraph 14b).
Choosing a Supervisor:
This is an important decision for you and I recognise the importance of discussing your needs, course requirements and outcomes prior to any arrangement. To that end, I provide a free 30 minutes session to discuss options and moving forward.
Some factors to consider when choosing a Supervisor:
- What qualities/knowledge am I looking for?
- What kind of person would best meet my learning needs at the moment?
- How does this Supervisor work as a Supervisor?
- What experience does this Supervisor have of Supervision?
- What professional organizations does the Supervisor belong to?
- Does the supervisor have any requirements from the supervisee?
Effective Supervisors:
- Have professional respect for supervisees.
- Prepare for supervision.
- Encourage self-solving problems.
- Are comfortable with the Supervisory relationship.
- Have clear boundaries.