Supervision and Ongoing Development
Individual Supervision
My approach to counselling supervision is firmly rooted and underpinned in the Person Centred Approach, therefore at the centre of the supervisory relationship lies my regard for and acceptance of the individual and their own training and philosophy. I will work hard to create a solid working alliance which will allow a supervisee to bring themselves in relation to their counselling practice without fear of judgment or the need to hold back. I will offer support as well as challenge and will endeavour to staying open to working with any barriers or difficulties that may occur between us. I will strive to offer the environment that allows you, the supervisee to develop both personally and professionally as we work with both the challenges and the celebrations of your practice.
I seek to provide a service that is anti-discriminatory in nature and am committed to exploring any possible discriminatory practices in supervision work or context of work.
I work within the ethical guidelines of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS) and am willing to explore any similarities and differences between my professional code and that of the supervisee.
My expectations of the supervisee are that they demonstrate
An openness and willingness to invest themselves in their relationships with clients and in their relationship with me.
An openness and willingness to integrate the interventions they are making with the theory in which they are trained.
An openness to be stimulated, challenged and affirmed.
A commitment to change and develop both personally and professionally.
Supervisees normally contract for four weekly sessions of one and a half hours duration, the frequency varying according to the volume of client work, the work context and current professional requirements. The NCPS requirement is for a minimum of an hour and a half per month and increased according to client load.
It would be helpful if our supervisory relationship were to be mutually reviewed periodically so that we may both monitor the extent and development of our work together and assess any changes we would like to make. If we decide to make an ending then it would be helpful if at least two months’ notice can be given so that you may be supported to find a new supervisor and so that we can make a meaningful and relevant closure to our working alliance.
Group Supervision
Over the years I have provided supervision to groups of counselling trainers within FE/HE and to groups of counsellors within counselling organisations in both commercial and charitable settings. Group supervision provides opportunity to discuss and explore individuals counselling work which gives an added dimension of learning from one-to-one supervision. It allows participants insight to their peers case load so broadening their experience and developing each individuals own internal supervisor as they support each other while still being held by an external supervisor. It also allows exploration of organisational aspects and the building of a strong and collaborative counselling team.