If you are reading this then there is a good chance you are looking for a new supervisor, or maybe even your first supervisor. This can be a daunting experience as it is important to have a supervisor you not only feel comfortable with, but one that will also help you grow and develop as a practitioner and as a person.
As an experienced therapist and supervisor, I will be able to help you on your professional journey. I have a certificate in supervision from an NCS accredited course and approaching 20 years of experience in the field of complex mental health.
It is vital that a supervisee feels safe and supported by their supervisor. I have experience of working with many different supervisors over the years and I am lucky enough to have some amazingly positive experiences with them, but also some that were not so good.
Whenever I didnt feel I was able to bring a mistake or something I did in a session that went wrong, then I knew I was not with the right supervisor. Supervision is there to encourage growth and learning and it should never be used or experienced as a place to shame, blame or criticise the supervisee.
I provide a warm and caring space for all my supervisees to explore their work and the impact it has on them and their clients. It is a space where you will never be judged or criticised, yet you will be challenged to be the very best that you can be.
I currently work with counsellors, therapists and other health professionals working in various helping professions. I also work with people who work in schools, prison/probation services and other professions that may have a high level of psychological stress involved within it.
As a supervisor I am able to offer or be:
- Supportive, so that you feel able to bring into the room the things you may find difficult or even be anxious or scared about. There are no stupid questions in supervision and it is important you feel safe to work through anything that has happened with a client in or outside of a session, you are not sure about. We learn through doing and I always hold this in the room with all my supervisees.
- Accessible, I think it is important that a supervisor is available between appointments to check in or get advice and support around client work. Some things can’t wait, and I understand the importance of offering support out of regular hours and appointment times.
- Open and honest, so that you can build up as trusting relationship based on mutual respect for each other and the work we do with our clients.
- Healing, we all have days when we feel bruised and shaken by some of the work we have done, and supervision is there to help you restore your energy and to offload and process the things that you are left with from your client work.
- Joyful, we have to make sure we celebrate our successes and pat ourselves on the back when we have worked well. It is easy to focus on the negative, so we must always be mindful to refocus onto the positive when we are able to.
- Collaborative, the learning and development goes both ways! I will help you learn through my experiences and also my library of books, but I also take and learn a lot from my experience of my supervisees. This again has to be at the heart of good supervision.
- Accreditation, I am happy to help anyone who is going through an accreditation process and will also happily help with academic work if asked.
- Private practice, if you wish to practice privately, I am also willing to offer my support and experience in setting up a successful private practice.
- Challenge, sometimes it is important to accept and be challenged on aspects of our work. I commit to always challenging a supervisee when necessary, but also making sure it is done in a way that is not critical, or negative.
- Knowledge, every supervisee is welcome to any aspect of my training, experience or CPD that I have gathered over the years, but I also hold that I do not know everything whenever I am supervising people. This for me is part of the journey and also part of the joy of what we do.
- Laugh, as with counselling and therapy, I believe that there is nothing without laughter. I always feel as if something has gone wrong if there has not been at least one moment of lightness and fun during any session I run.
I always endeavour to offer my supervisees the same level of support, care and enthusiasm, whether you have been in practice for thirty years, or you are just starting your first placement.
The supervisory relationship is so important and can have such a profound impact on our professional and personal life that I treat each supervisee as an individual and adapt myself to make sure I am the best I can be for you.
If you would like to know more about my supervision service, please fill out the contact form and I will get back to you asap, and book in an informal meeting/chat to see if I am the right supervisor for you.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Even if you do not wish to contact me, I hope it has helped you.