For exploration and professional development, you are in safe hands
Being a supervisor is important to me, and I work hard to meet my supervisees' needs for both support and challenge. As both a supervisor and a supervisee, I value supervision as an energising environment for professional review and development, and an excellent opportunity to build confidence and competence. Focusing on our ongoing professional development is essential to ensuring we deliver high-quality, safe services to our clients while taking appropriate care of ourselves.
'Our qualification does not stop us from being harmful,' says Myira Khan (Working Within Diversity).
My aim is to provide an anti-oppressive space. There is plenty of inequality out there in the world, including in counselling training. If we don't acknowledge this, we are, I believe, running the risk of bringing oppression into therapy and supervision spaces. The supervision relationship is between two people with their own identities. Each identity is made up of many parts, both visible and hidden. I will not use a 'power over' stance. Neither can I empower you. I can, however, facilitate a process to help you access your own personal power.
I do not claim to know the answer to all of your supervision questions. However, I do commit to bringing my whole self and exploring the territory together as a team. I come from a place of curiosity and not assumptions.
If you want to be challenged without feeling overwhelmed, or you want to explore options for working with clients without feeling told what to do, consider supervision with me.
Your role
I will assume that you are already doing your best to continually develop your practice and to apply what you have learned to your client work. I will trust you to be open about your work and its impact on you. Feel free to discuss career development and client work.
My role
Interventions from me are supportive. I don't come from a critical perspective, but I will sometimes challenge you to look at things from a different one. I believe that supervision works best where there is mutual respect. I will value our relationship and do everything I can to work hard while keeping the atmosphere relaxed during our supervision sessions. With some limitations, I can also be available for emergency supervision.
My fees and availability
My current rate is £75 for a one-hour session or £95 for a 90-minute session. I no longer offer concessions to volunteers or students.
Most of my available appointments are during the day, Mondays to Thursdays.
For trainees
With trainees, my role includes helping you to build confidence in your placement practice. I have been a counselling tutor for many years, so I can easily understand the issues you might grapple with as you take on this valuable role with clients. I will help you understand and apply the theory without letting it take over. We will explore your clients' presenting issues and the impact of working with them on you. I will help you keep your work rooted in the ethical standards of BACP and best-practice guidance. I will provide reports on your work as required by your training organisation and help you to understand and follow their guidelines for trainees.
For the newly qualified
With qualified counsellors, my role changes as you explore your professional identity and consider the various directions in which you can take your counselling practice. I want you to know that I will trust you to bring to supervision those issues which most need to be explored, and we will work on them together. This should be enjoyable and energising, leaving you feeling secure in your role.
For the experienced
With experienced counsellors, my role becomes more consultative. You already know what you are doing, so you need much less guidance. I expect you to come with well-prepared questions for supervision and enough information so we can take a deep dive into what might be happening for you and your clients. These discussions can go anywhere in psychology, philosophy, spirituality, and understanding the impact of neurodiversity and equity, for example. I want you to be inspired, not only by my contributions, but also by your own. We are a team!
