Supervision for Hypnotherapists
Supervision is a mandatory requirement for membership
of the major hypnotherapy organisations and
is generally regarded as essential to the provision
of effective therapy.
For those new to the concept however,
there is often confusion as to exactly what
supervision is and why it is so important to
good practice.
What is supervision?
Supervision is a structured support system that
encourages supervisee competence by providing
an opportunity for feedback, appraisal and growth
in a safe and confidential environment. It has a different
dynamic to that of friend, colleague, business
associate, coach, therapist, trainer, mentor
or advisor although at times there will be elements
of all of these relationships.
Why is supervision so important to good practice?
Therapy is a very rewarding but also very demanding
occupation. In setting out
to work with problems, it can be no surprise
that there are problems! We can all get
too involved or be confused about what is happening
with a particular client, overlook an important
aspect of the work or have doubts about our
ability to be effective in certain situations. There may be moral,
ethical or legal implications to consider. It can sometimes
be difficult, if not impossible to be objective
about your own practice and the opportunity
to discuss it in confidence with a suitable
person is invaluable.
What is the aim of supervision?
The aim of supervision is to provide an attentive
and supportive climate within which you can
develop new options for managing yourself and
your work with greater satisfaction and effectiveness.
Supervision aims to achieve this by
- Considering responsibility for standards and
ethics
- Sharing the responsibility for the professional
development of your skills, knowledge and
understanding
- Providing opportunities for you to both offload
and regenerate (thus avoiding ‘burnout’)!
What part does the supervisor
play in this?
My role as supervisor is to support you and enable
you to learn from your work so that you can
give a better quality service to your clients.
Clearly this involves a number of tasks but
for example might include ensuring that the
needs of the client are being met, monitoring
the dynamic between you and your client to maximise
the therapeutic effectiveness of the relationship
and checking that the work is based on sound
theoretical and ethical practice.
My experience and qualifications
I have been in continuous full time private practice
since 1989. During that time
I have worked in a variety of settings – private
commercial office, medical centre and office
at home.
I have experience of providing staff
support services to British Aerospace, the Avon
Occupational Welfare Service (working with the
Police, Fire Brigade and Education departments)
and I am currently involved in the provision
of an occupational welfare service to First
Bus and a local FE college.
I have completed the Certificate in Hypnotherapeutic
Supervision accredited by the National Council
for Hypnotherapy and am an accredited supervisor
with the Association for Professional Hypnotherapy
and Psychotherapy.
I have supervised therapists since 2004.
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