The Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia, makes the recommendation that if you are looking for a supervisor, the following questions apply:
- Is your supervisor acceptable to the Member Association that you belong to or wish to join?
- Is your supervisor on the CAPA or PACFA Register or another register of reputable standing?
- Does your supervisor have an appropriate qualification and more than 5 years experience in counselling and/or psychotherapy?
Many supervisors are informed by the models of therapy they use in their own practice and extrapolating therapy theory to supervision theory is a useful approach. Yet using therapy theory as a sole lens for supervision leads to missing important information and can lead to thinking about supervisees in therapeutic ways.
Drawing on Bernard & Goodyear's (2007) categories of organising the main models used by supervision theorists and researchers, I utilise the developmental approaches and the social role models to construct an eclectic/integrationist approach to supervision. I employ an integrally informed model based on Wilber's (2000) theory. This approach incorporates a wide spectrum of therapy models, developmental theories and accounts for social and cultural influences in therapy and supervision. Ken Wilber's AQAL framework also entails acknowledging the varied levels of competence we've developed in our multiple intelligences. This framework guides a comprehensive approach to my supervision work.
My aim as a supervisor is to help you develop your own unique perspectives and approaches in your clinical work, so as to enhance the service you provide for your clients. The principles which guide my supervision work are:
- To tailor supervision to you as an individual
- To set up clear contracts
- To operate from a coherent framework
- To ensure my supervision method matches the content of supervision
- To consider your developmental level, cognitive and learning style as a therapist
- To assess skills on an ongoing basis
- To evaluate outcomes.
Bernard, J. & Goodyear, R. (2007) Supervision Models. Fundamentals of Clinical Supervision (4th edition). Ohio: Merrill, pp77-108.
Wilber, K. (2000) Integral Psychology : Consciousness, Spirit, Psychology, Therapy, Shambhala, Boston & London.