What is supervision and why do counsellors need it?

Having supervision means that a therapist meets with another counsellor to discuss and review client work, along with their professional and often personal development.  This protects clients and adds value to the service offered by improving the ability of therapist through the aid of an objective, supportive individual.

As an experienced supervisor I encourage my supervisees to reflect on their practice and facilitate on-going  self –development, with a supportive collaborative approach. I help explore self-monitoring of supervisees own feelings and thoughts which might arise from client work. All counsellors and psychotherapists, regardless of experience, need supervision, and professional bodies such as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy consider it an ethical imperative.

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Supervision References

Click on the testimonials below to expand the text and read more:

Daryl - ``Stephanie's personality, 'way of being,' diverse experience and resourcefulness made her the ideal supervisor...

in my quest for improving and furthering my practice. Her honesty and openness to both of our experiences made me feel that I am relating to another human as opposed to a ‘critic.’ She has a natural ease when relating to me even on matters in which we have different philosophical and cultural view points. As a person she is quite sociable and warm, with a very frank but gentle, polite and calming spirit. As a professional two things stood out for me the most; firstly, she was always keen on researching and following through on issues that developed through our session in order to assist me in my professional development. Secondly, her willingness to incorporate technology in her practice is noteworthy, as all of our sessions have been long distance. Her promptness in responding to my correspondences were remarkable. This conveyed to me that Stephanie is genuinely committed to what she does and above all, she is willing to meet my needs as a client despite the occasional technical challenges that can be expected using these virtual spaces. I wish her the best in her endeavours and highly recommend her as therapist and/or supervisor to anyone who wish to access her services. 

Emmanuel - ``Stephanie’s ability to instill confidence and self-compassion in our supervision session is what I value the most in our alliance....

She encourages me to continuously reflect on my way of being with my client but also provides essential guidance on developing a creative ethical practice. Since I’ve started working with Stephanie, I’ve gained more insight about building a therapeutic relationship with my clients – this is a learning outcome for me. As a young counsellor, I know that I can trust her skills, experience and professionalism to guide me through the challenges of my work. Also, Stephanie remains always accessible as a person and as a supervisor for support. I look forward to continuing working with her for many years to come.

Anna - ``My experience working with Stephanie has been one of a woman who couples altruistic enthusiasm with hard work....

She is both warm and humorous, and generous in sharing her counselling experience. I would trust her implicitly with regards to her guidance as to how best to help my clients whilst at the same time taking care of myself. 

Cheryl - ``As a supervisor Stephanie shows evidence of all Rogers’ core conditions, empowering the supervisee and thus enabling them to be ‘real’ and open....

She offers me encouragement and inspiration, and brings her considerable experience and talents to bear on my cases when need be. Good-natured and very pleasant to work with, her unequivocal empathy and knowledge allow her to approach each case with the required sensitivity. 

Caroline - ``I have had supervision before but I have found that supervision with Steph is very professional, warm and caring....

I come out of each session with more confidence in the way I work and time is given for personal reflection. I trust Steph with all her skills and knowledge and her way of working the “Carl Rogers” way. Steph is always accessible for support and has an adaptable personality which helps me to work through any personal issues that I may bring to the sessions. I look forward to continuing my work with Steph and i would thoroughly recommend her services to any one seeking supervision.