The Share with a Counsellor Agency opens up opportunities to counsellors and psychologist, to access different services for personal and professional growth. These available services for counsellors are: Peer Mentorship/ Peer Supervision; Reflective/ Review Supervision meeting, Resource Provision, Capacity Building and Professional Development; and Counsellor Individual Supervision (therapy sessions).
Definition of Supervision - Supervision is a formal arrangement for therapists to discuss their work regularly with someone who is experienced in both therapy and supervision. The task is to work together to ensure and develop the efficacy of the therapist/client relationship. The agenda will be the therapy and feelings about that work, together with the supervisor’s reactions, comments and challenges. Thus supervision is a process to maintain adequate standards of therapy and a method of consultancy to widen the horizons of an experienced practitioner (BACP, 2008).
Do you find seeking supervision a major challenge as Counsellor? At Share with a Counsellor Agency, counsellor’s needs were given prominence. The Counsellors will access the services available and offered by the Agency through the Share with a Counsellor Mobile Phone Apps professional portal. The care for the' healer' is at the core of the agency, not just for counsellors providing services in the agency; but all professional counsellors who embrace the platform and services available.
Target Counsellor for the supervision services- Counsellor enabled differently (especially the paraplegic); Counsellor serving in rural and remote parts so the country; Counsellors working in Organizations and Helping Agencies (Health facilities and learning institutions). Counsellors working within organizations whereby they find themselves working alone in an ‘Expert’ Position, and finds it difficult to seek outside assistance, Counsellors working in agencies where they have too heavy caseload and time/ opportunity for supervision is extremely limited or non-existent; Private Practitioners who experience difficulty in finding a compatible supervisor. The share will a Counsellor Agency takes cognizant of your challenges and provides timely solutions, it is every one of us to take up this opportunity.
Importance of Supervision to the Counsellor- Studies have shown that it is good practice for all counsellors, whether experienced or just starting out, to seek professional supervision because it's very beneficial to them and the clients.
- Mentorship- A supervisor plays a mentorship role to counsellors especially the provision of emotional support, as well as information and guidance. Counsellors working within helping agencies will hopefully have supervision sessions built into their work schedules, but it may be overlooked for those working in other organizations or in private practice.
- Manage Burn out- While recognizing its value, some novice counsellors may feel threatened by the idea of someone "judging" their effectiveness and avoid seeking supervision, if it is not part of their work situation, (Linda - Psychologies blogger). Gelded and Geldard in their book Basic Personal Counselling (2001) state that all counsellors need supervision, to help them resolve their own issues and to avoid burnout in what is an emotionally draining occupation. As well as providing a sounding board for the counsellor's concerns, a supervisor is in a good position to spot the onset of any symptoms of burnout and to assist the counsellor in dealing with them.
- Improved skills and expertise- Goliards (2001) state that, "supervisory relationships are a complex blend of professional, education and therapeutic aspects”. Linda concurs with Goliards by stating that, “supervision is an integral part of counselling practice. Within supervision, counsellor’s can enhance their skill and knowledge base, ensure responsible and ethical practice and monitor their self-care and professional competence. Supervision acts as a mechanism to ensure that a counsellor’s approach is aligned with professional standards and reflects the requirements of the industry.” According to Grant and Schofield (2007), the context of counselling and therapy supervision provides for four core functions: (1) The acquisition and improvement of therapeutic skills and knowledge; (2) Quality control and accountability to the client and to the public; (3) Transmission of the culture of psychotherapy, including ethical behavior; and (4) Professional development and growth.
- Professional Growth- The professional Code of Conducts for counsellors and psychologists outlines requirements for professional to seek personal growth/ development and progression, through supervision sessions. All Counsellors are supposed to seek supervision after a specified number of hours of therapy sessions. Stoltenberg (2005), shared some wisdom to professionals when he stated that ‘the path toward proficiency is developmental, and different learning needs emerge as supervisees gain knowledge and capability; which may also be a development for supervisors as they gain knowledge and clinical wisdom'.
Services available for Counsellors
Counsellor’s Therapy/ Supervision Services
- Open service for all counsellors- The Agency will use the same model used to offer services to the individuals at the Therapy Centre, whereby individual counsellors seeking supervision sessions (Counsellor’s therapy session) and academic requirement therapy sessions will benefit. This will be an open service to counsellors employed in Institutions, Companies, and Organizations (ICOs) or agencies seeking supervision services. This category of clients (counsellors) will access services through the same Mobile Phone Application (Share with a Counsellor), however, they are treated as professional thus they will use the professional portal.
- Support for professional body compliancy- Registering in the Agency App as a professional opens up the counsellors to more opportunities and privileges compared to using the client’s portal. This facility will provide an opportunity for counsellors not registered in with professional bodies to accrue the required therapy sessions, and obtain the necessary support to get registered. Through the Agency, counsellors will also receive the session completion letter, which is a key requirement in the accreditation process and upward progression in their career through status change. Actually, the accreditation certificate is nowadays a requirement by most recruitment agencies looking for professional counsellors.
- Support system for counsellors facing accessibility challenges- Some of the challenges prohibiting counsellors from seeking supervision and eventually receiving an accreditation certificate will be addressed by the Share with a Counsellor. Counsellors and Psychologists with physical challenges, moving from point; A to B will no longer be necessary, hence no need to worry because a supervisor will be a phone call away. Counsellors working in remote parts of the country, form another group affected by accessibility to services due to distance and remoteness. Counsellors in private practice occasionally get very busy serving humanity to a point of neglecting self-care and professional growth.
- Peer/ mentorship Supervision/mentorship services - Quarterly virtual meeting- All the Counsellors registered in the Agency will have a privilege to attend quarterly peer supervision virtual meeting. An opportunity for all professionals (supervisors, counsellors) subscribed in the Agency to meet and share. Peer supervision has many benefits such as reciprocal learning through the sharing of experiences, increased skills and responsibility for self-assessment and decreased dependency on expert supervisors, (Benshoff 1989). Some of the challenges prohibiting counsellors from seeking supervision and eventually receiving an accreditation certificate will be addressed by the Share with a Counsellor. Counsellors and Psychologists with physical challenges, moving from point; A to B will no longer be necessary, hence no need to worry because a supervisor will be a phone call away. Counsellors working in remote parts of the country, form another group affected by accessibility to services due to distance and remoteness. Counsellors in private practice occasionally get very busy serving humanity to a point of neglecting self-care and professional growth.
- Definition of peer supervisor- Actually, Benshof (1992) defines Peer Supervision as a reciprocal arrangement in which peers work together for mutual benefit, where developmental feedback is emphasized and self-directed learning and evaluation are encouraged. Hence, it’s an opportunity for upcoming supervisors to learn from the best. It’s widely acknowledged that peer review during peer supervision, enables counsellors to come together and discuss individual cases, ethical dilemmas and brainstorm intervention options. The Agency appreciates that such a process will increase counsellor’s accountability and improves the quality of service offered to clients.
Share with a Counsellor Agency will work with senior counsellors and supervisors, to coordinate the peer to peer virtual meetings on a rotational basis. Because peer group supervision is particularly relevant to more experienced and competent counsellors who have established a good support network, the Agency will use available skills to mentor upcoming supervisors. "We are not a team because we work together. We are a team because we respect, trust, and care for each other, "(@valacapshar).
