SUPERVISION

individual supervision

I have been working with qualified counsellors and psychotherapists since 2007. A good supervisor walks in when the rest of the world walks out. Clinical supervision is an integral part of any ethical clinical practice and provides a mirror to our blindspots and helps us to develop our clinical practice. “The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.”― Carl Gustav Jung

group supervision

Group supervision is often offered by organisations to safe money but for me it is a place where transformation occurs as a phenomenon of the group. Group supervision is portrayed as the crossroads of a matrix of object relations of multiple persons, of a complex network of transference/countertransference patterns. The avoidance or denial of the supervisor's subjective role in it, maintaining 'a myth of the supervisory objectivity', may make supervision stilted or oppressive and stands in the way of resolving necessary crises and stalemates. Parallel process or re-enactmts are key concepts in a group setting. "Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule".― Friedrich Nietzsche

primary supervisor

A primary supervisor supports both the practical and theoretical development of trainees until qualification. The transition from client to therapist can be a slippery slope and concepts taught during trainings are often challening for beginners. But for me beginners bring qualities that the experienced practitioner often lacks: namely the attitude of openness, eagerness, and a lack of preconceptions. (Shoshin) “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.” ― Suski Roshi

academic supervisor

Dealing with academic work such as essays and dissertations offers a chance to reflect about what we as therapists actually do. Academic styles have a specific weight that needs to be practiced and keeps us informed about the wider field of therapy as well as of new developments. I support students to find their own voice within a complex discipline. Theory and practice are not always harmonious siblings and there is often a blindness to oppression and exclusion that our theories reproduce. Lack of awareness about racism, class, gender, age or abled bodyism do actually hinder the therapeutic process. This is the issue of the therapist rather then the client.