So why do I think that clinical supervision is so important for counsellors and therapists?
Within the talking therapy setting, clinical supervision has three purposes:
to ensure that the therapist's work with clients is ethical and working well
to enhance the counsellor or therapist's professional development and explore opportunities for development
to promote the therapist's overall well-being - physically, mentally and emotionally.
Like me, many therapists work alone and clinical supervision fills a gap where you would normally have a professional line manager. And, like a line manager in other work settings, clinical supervision is essential for ensuring that therapists are providing high quality and ethical care to their clients. Professional organisations or regulatory bodies, such as BACP or UKCP (in the UK) require the therapist to undergo clinical supervision as part of their membership.
"Having a clinical supervisor means that I feel supported and don't feel alone in working with, what can be, some difficult client situations."
I also find that my supervisor can be really helpful in seeing the bigger picture for my professional development - offering advice or direction on areas I can explore for future development. I really appreciate recommendations for books, courses, webinars or articles to help stay up-to-date on tried and tested models and new areas to explore.
The mystery that is the clinical supervision session
Since clinical supervision tends to be outside of other professional experience, the supervision session seems mysterious and, to be honest, a little intimidating at the beginning. In reality, it is a tool to help the therapist reflect on our work and get support with including any challenges or difficult cases and receives guidance and support from a more experienced and qualified professional.
As a supervisee, I would bring work I am doing with clients and can ask for feedback, guidance, and support on my work. My supervisor may also give opportunities to enhance my skills and knowledge through role play, discussion or training. It is a confidential, flexible space and a good supervisor adapts the supervision to the individual situation.
Supervision can be expensive - is it necessary?
As mentioned earlier, many professional bodies see clinical supervision as a requirement and stipulate the number of hours they expect their members to undertake. This is usually as a proportion of time with clients. Less experienced therapists tend to need more support hours than more experienced therapists in the same way that professionals in other areas have less management intervention the more experienced they become.
Its worth noting that some organisations are happy for therapists to undertake supervision with a group of therapists, while some specify that supervision must be one to one. Check with your professional organisation on their requirements - it is also worth checking on whether the supervision can be online or whether it must be face to face. The online or face to face issue has become a bit less rigid following the experiences during Covid virus.
Ethical exploration
The subject of ethics is often misunderstood. Its more than right and wrong - its the exploration of the grey areas in between - this is where having a good supervisor can be really helpful. Many of the situations with clients aren't obviously one or the other and an indepth discussion on the ethics of a particular issue can bring new insight into our work.
One supervisor may not be enough
Supervisors are likely to work in an area of specialism and, if your practice includes more than one area, you may need to have a supervisor for each. For example, if you work with families as well as adults, you may want a family therapist supervisor as well. Supervisors can also call on other professionals for specific areas of expertise. Although I found this threw me the first time it happened, its a really useful tool in their arsenal. Its also encouraging that the supervisor has a range of people that they can call on and they aren't working in isolation.
As you can see, I feel that clinical supervision is an important role within the therapeutic system. I recommend making the most of the expertise available. You are likely to be paying for it after all so ensure you get the best value from your investment.
Diploma in Supervision
Online course taking place over 10 days (4 weekends) with Bev Gibbons and Ronen Stilman.
Click here for more details.
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