How Supervision Serves the Client
It is widely accepted that all counsellors, whether experienced or starting out, will benefit from regular professional supervision. A supervisor acts in a mentoring role, providing emotional support as well as information and guidance.
Geldard and Geldard (2001).
Supervision provides a safe place for therapists to discuss their client work with a trained/experienced Supervisor. All the client work discussed in supervision is totally confidential between therapist and the supervisor. This can be weekly, bi-weekly or monthly depending on how many clients the therapist is seeing.
Supervision is perhaps the most important component in the development of a competent practitioner. It is within the context of supervision that trainees begin to develop a sense of their professional identity and to examine their own beliefs and attitude regarding clients and therapy. (Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 2007).
So how does supervision translate to our clients?
It provides a sounding board for therapists to voice their concerns about their clients.
It educates and expands a therapist’s knowledge, understanding and skills.
It offers feedback that enables the therapist to gain an objective insight into their own performance and skills to better serve their clients.
It gives a chance for a different perspective. Even therapists can have blind spots and lose objectivity. Supervision helps to see how they can be more helpful to their clients by pointing out when and where their viewpoint/boundaries with clients might have become blurred.
Supervision challenges ethical dilemmas ensuring that professional ethical standards are maintained. Duty of care for clients is the most important role of a Supervisor. The client’s best interest always comes first.
Supervision supports the therapist when they are struggling with their own issues, ensuring that these issues do not bleed into their work with clients.
Good supervision is necessity for all therapist to use their own resources better, to manage their workload effectively, learn new skills and theories; it keep them in check and aids self-development. At Coupleworks, we believe clients are entitled to expect high standards from their therapists. They bring in sensitive and vulnerable material so it’s more than reasonable for them to expect the most professional service we can offer in return.