Clinical Supervision for Counsellors, Therapists and Organizations

Are you suffering from isolation in your private counselling practice?

Does your counselling agency need Clinical Supervision in order to function more effectively?

When you feel “stuck” with a client, do you wish you had a trained professional to seek help from?

Decrease your isolation and get support and guidance for your private counselling practice or organization.

Pamela Implements a Self-Care Plan and Enhances Her Clinical Skills

“I have a very challenging job, and I work a lot of long hours. The clients I work with have a variety of major problems, such as alcohol and drug addiction, poverty, homelessness and life-threatening illnesses, to name just a few.

Although the agency I work for did see the value of Clinical Supervision for its employees, they hadn’t gotten around to providing it for us. I decided to look for it myself, and in my search I found Candace’s name.

I saw Candace for a number of sessions privately, paying for it myself. It didn’t take long for me to see how very useful it was! I could talk with her about anything and I never felt judged. She helped me see that I had not been taking very good care of myself, and we set up a self-care plan that I still follow and add to. I find that when I feel good, the work is a lot easier, too.

Candace has also taught me new skills as a counsellor working with my particular clientele. She is so validating of the difficulties present in my job, and the new skills I learn from her make me more confident when I am there.

A few months ago, my direct supervisor at work remarked on the positive changes she was seeing in me and asked what I was doing differently. When I told her about the Clinical Supervision I was receiving from Candace, she and the Director of the agency decided to contract with Candace to provide Clinical Supervision for a couple of other employees as well.

This is great because now my agency pays for our Clinical Supervision, and because some of my other colleagues are making healthy changes in how they both work and practice self-care, it is much easier to be at work despite the many challenges we continue to face there.

Thank you, Candace, for showing us how we can look after ourselves while also being caregivers and role models to others.“

Working as a counsellor raises many issues, concerns, and problems that are often not present in other occupations.

Some of these are:

1. Confidentiality

Ethical issues may make it difficult for you to talk to friends and acquaintances about your work with your clients. This can cause you to feel isolated from other people in your life. In addition, if there is no one you can safely confide in, you may often be left alone with the difficult feelings your counselling work can bring up for you.

2. Expanding Your Expertise

To be an effective counsellor, you need to stay on top of current trends and approaches. Moreover, in order to decrease any feelings of self-doubt you might have as a therapist, you will want to continue to develop your clinical skill set when working with clients. This allows you to have more skill-based choices, which not only increases your professional confidence but also provides higher quality service to your clients.

3. Countertransference

Understanding the intense reactions that you may have with clients is essential in providing the most valuable therapy. As your Clinical Supervisor, I can help you become aware of your “hidden” reactions to clients, allowing you to shift into healthier and more strategic responses. As well, I can help you “stay curious” about the wonderful phenomenon known as counselling. Being curious about learning and growing is a skill you can then teach your clients to use in a variety of situations in their own lives.

Sara Realizes Her Potential and Sets Firm Boundaries Between Her Professional and Personal Life

“Through attending Clinical Supervision with Candace for the past few months, I have gained considerable support and guidance both professionally and personally. Candace has not only validated the challenges within my profession, but she has also helped me gain a clearer perspective of the clients I work with and how I might be better able to assist them.

This clarity has been motivating in many different ways. For one, I have been exploring other avenues for professional growth and acknowledging that different employment options are available to me. Quite simply, I no longer feel “stuck in a rut” and I am beginning to realize my professional potential.

After attending just a few clinical supervision sessions, I could see that some of my personal issues were interfering with my work with my clients. I had been feeling triggered specifically by some of the family issues my clients brought in with them. Candace was able to help me see the countertransference I was experiencing with some of them. I knew I needed to do some personal work on myself so that I could stay very clear and focused when working with clients, and Candace was able to help me with that as well.

After a session with Candace, I always feel more confident in my abilities, recognizing my strengths and talents, and also looking at what I can improve in my approach to my work. 

The knowledge and resources that Candace has provided have been rich and fundamental to both my personal and professional growth. In the time that I have been seeing Candace, I have experienced a painful separation from a long-term relationship. Candace has been extremely helpful with this life-changing experience and has helped me to smooth over some rough edges that I might not have chosen to do without her support and guidance.

As a result, I am able to keep my personal and professional lives more separate, and I am understanding how important it is to do my inner work so that I can be as emotionally healthy as possible when I am at work.”

As your Clinical Supervisor, I provide a secure and confidential venue for you to explore thoughts, feelings and reactions about your work, assisting you to become a more effective counsellor. You will hone your existing skills, learn new tools, increase your confidence, and heighten your level of self-care in order to overcome personal obstacles that are getting in the way of providing the best possible service to your clients.

Some areas we focus on might include:

• stress management and self-care: how to listen to other people’s problems all day and not burn out
• assertiveness: maintaining healthy boundaries with clients and colleagues
• identifying and resolving unhelpful personal triggers and counter-transference with clients
• learning new skills: tips and techniques
• professional self-development, career planning and goal-setting
• maintaining professional ethics and accountability

To read more about self-care from a professional perspective, click here to read my article entitled “When Healers Burn Out: Causes and Prevention of Occupational Stress Among Health Care Professionals.”

As a Private Practitioner, you can receive clinical supervision individually or as part of a supervision group.

As a counselling organization, you can receive clinical supervision for your staff as a group, or for individual staff members.

For more information, or to have a free 30-minute telephone consultation with me, you can reach me at (604) 677-5876, or by email.

My office is located in Vancouver, BC, Canada. My team and I provide therapy and counselling services worldwide.