Supervision

Clinical supervision is a structured process where a qualified supervisor supports a counsellor or psychotherapist in their work with clients. This supervision is a critical aspect of professional practice, designed to ensure the counsellor’s work is ethical, effective, and safe for both the client and the therapist.

Key Aspects of Clinical Supervision

Support and Reflection:
Clinical supervision provides a space for the therapist to reflect on their practice, discuss challenging cases, and explore their thoughts, feelings, and reactions to their clients. This reflection helps therapists to remain effective and compassionate in their work.

Ethical Oversight:
Supervisors help ensure that therapists adhere to ethical guidelines, such as those set by professional bodies like the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) or the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society (NCPS). This includes ensuring that client confidentiality is maintained, that the therapist-client relationship remains professional, and that the therapist is working within their competence.

Professional Development:
Supervision is also a forum for ongoing professional development. Supervisors may provide guidance on therapeutic techniques, suggest further training, or help therapists identify areas for growth.

Accountability:
Supervision provides a level of accountability for therapists, ensuring that their work meets professional standards. It also offers a safety net, where supervisors can identify and address any potential issues in the therapist’s practice before they impact clients.

Frequency and Format:
The frequency and format of supervision can vary depending on the therapist’s experience and the requirements of their professional body. Typically, therapists in the UK attend supervision sessions monthly, with newer therapists usually required to have more frequent supervision. The sessions can be conducted one-on-one, in groups, or even remotely.

Confidentiality:
While supervision sessions are confidential, supervisors have a responsibility to act if they believe a client is at risk of harm. This might involve breaking confidentiality to protect the client, but such instances are carefully managed according to ethical guidelines.

Regulatory and Professional Requirements
In the UK, clinical supervision is a requirement for membership in professional bodies like the BACP, NCPS or the British Psychological Society (BPS). These bodies have specific guidelines on the amount and type of supervision required. For example, the BACP & NCPS recommend that qualified practitioners have at least 1.5 hours of supervision per month & trainee therapists have 1.5 hours of supervision per 12 hours of client work.

Benefits for Therapists and Clients

For therapists, supervision provides essential emotional and professional support, preventing burnout and promoting continued growth. For clients, it indirectly improves the quality of care they receive, as their therapist is continually developing their skills and maintaining high standards of practice.

Overall, clinical supervision is a cornerstone of ethical and effective practice in counselling and psychotherapy in the UK, helping to ensure that therapists provide the best possible care to their clients. and It is a requirement for membership of all of the country’s counselling and psychotherapy organisations as well as a requirement for professional insurance.

Professional clinical supervision helps to ensure the well-being of the clients as well as the supervisees. This aims to ensure that safe and ethical ways of practice are being adhered to; whether you work within an agency, an organisation or as an individual in private practice.

The Supervision Practice adopted by Clifton Psychotherapy is an Integration of several different models; which include Hawkins & Shohets’ 7 eyed model, Page & Woskets’ Cyclical model, Inskipp & Proctors’ functional model as well as Carrols’ 7 generic tasks of supervision. We also draw on Redfern’s work in the use of integrating Internal Family Systems (IFS) within supervision.

Clifton Psychotherapy believe in a collaborative relational way of working within supervision with the ethos “we are all therapists together”.