What is clinical supervision?

History and development of clinical supervision

"Supervision is a joint endeavour in which a practitioner, with the help of a supervisor, attends to their clients, themselves as part of their client-practitioner relationships and the wider systemic context, and by so doing improves the quality of their work, transforms their client relationships, continuously develops themselves, their practice and the wider profession".

Hawkins and Shohet (2012)

Though I myself practice from a theoretical core of transactional analysis with a blend of psychodynamic, integrative and relational approaches, I offer clinical supervision to counsellors and psychotherapists working across a broad range of modalities and professional contexts and with varying levels of training and experience.

I hold a COSCA-validated Diploma in Supervision and, operating from the same location as my private client work, provide supervision in two formats:

Individual Supervision - monthly one-to-one sessions lasting one hour;

Group Supervision - monthly three-hour sessions with three practitioners each receiving one hour of direct supervision from myself and, also, learning from the client material presented by their fellow group members.

My present fees for these supervision services are as follows:

After an initial conversation over the phone, or via e-mail, we will arrange a one-hour initial assessment session, which is completely free of charge and enables me to find out potential supervisees' expectations of individual or group supervision, clarify my expectations of supervisees and, also, to discuss their current working context, training needs and specific areas for growth and development.

At the end of this assessment, should we agree to begin regular supervision sessions, practitioners will be required to agree a written supervision contract which sets out the practicalities, roles and responsibilities of both supervisor and supervisee and serves as the foundational structure for our supervisory relationship.

Trainees and beginning practitioners, in particular, are invited to read the excellent 'Being An Effective Supervisee' chapter in Hawkins and Shohet's Supervision in the Helping Professions (2012) for guidance on how to obtain maximal benefit from the supervision process- though, clearly, all counsellors and psychotherapists will benefit from revisiting this useful material.

As with my client work, above all else, you will be offered a friendly, discreet and professional supervision service in an atmosphere of warmth, trust and mutual acceptance.