Review of CCH Supervisor Training Course June 21st, 2007

By Ray Goslin

Jeff Berger

Preliminary self-introductions, including life and professional experiences, revealed an impressive collective wealth of knowledge from a very broad spectrum. Many saw the course as the next step in their journey of personal development and a common thread was the desire to share knowledge from their own experiences with others in their profession.

The course comprised elements of formal teaching interwoven with group discussions of real and hypothetical scenarios and covered many theoretical and practical aspects.

Beginning with the definition of supervision as “to oversee”, it was agreed that the goal of supervision is that “the supervisor meets with the supervisee, in an effort to make the latter more effective in helping people". Topics covered included:

The Benefits of Supervision such as: debriefing with a supportive listener; how to overcome difficult cases; development of appropriate attitudes; competence; greater clarity; therapist self care; awareness of the effect of the therapist’s input into sessions with the client.

The Focus of Supervision: to provide a space for the supervisee to reflect on their work; to develop skills and understanding; to see things from another perspective; to receive feedback, support and validation of their work; to advise on  planning and using resources more effectively; to be pro-active rather than reactive.

Development Stages: allows the supervisor to follow and monitor the supervisee’s progress throughout their career. Eventually, the supervisee may choose to become a supervisor, in which case the role of the supervisor would change from being an educator to peer mentor.

The Ethics of Supervision: Being mindful of language and culture; body language; stress. Being aware of the issues beginning therapists may face. It is important to note that all therapists should have access to supervision and mentoring to enhance their overall skills both professionally and personally. This may be done in groups, one on one or with a peer mentor

The scope of this course provided attendees with foundation skills which they may wish to build on and incorporate into their work either in a formal capacity as a supervisor and/or in a more informal manner as a mentor for any colleague in need of supportive interaction.

from the CCH Newsletter, 'Perspectives'   Vol 1 Issue 3 (July 2007)