Counsellor Supervision

My theoretical orientation is humanistic by which I mean that I have been heavily influenced by the writing of Carl Rogers and experience the counselling relationship as the main agent of therapeutic change. A variety of contributions have helped me to understand better the role of the self of the counsellor and the task of communicating at depth including:

the significance of imagery and metaphor as expressed by people like Murray Cox and David Grove,

the use of dialogue developed in gestalt practice,

the acknowledgement of communication out of awareness from neo Jungians like David Hewison,

the utilising of different ‘attentions’ from the Process Work of Arnold Mindell.

My understanding and integrating of these and other contributions is very much a ‘work in progress’ and is part of what makes counselling and supervision exciting for me.

In my own supervision I know how important it is for me to experience a safe place where I can explore the challenges in working with my clients and the problematic in me that arises as a result. It follows that I therefore strive to create a safe and sacred space for my supervisees.

I’ve never found it possible to identify a single model of supervision that accurately reflects my experience of this process but I find the writing of Hawkins and Shoet useful and thought provoking. As a value I subscribe to Brigid Proctor’s claim that, “…counsellors should be able to share, both with their clients and their colleagues and peers, what they do and how they do it.” However I also remember a passage from Carl Jung that said something like: we should, learn our theories well but put them to one side when we stand before the mystery of another human’s soul. I struggle with that as a supervisee and enjoy supporting that struggle in others, as a supervisor.

I’m happy to meet with counsellors who are seeking a supervisor, in order to explore what working together would be like.