Professional Supervision

Clinical supervision focuses on critical reflection and skills development, while the main function of line- management supervision by your manager is administration and quality assurance. External clinical supervision allows supervisees the space to speak confidentially about areas that they may be struggling with in their work.

Clinical supervision is not counselling, although it is a supportive space and may involve debriefing, especially when working with traumatised clients. It is my role to support and guide you through any rough patches in your work and also to ensure that our sessions stay focused on your professional goals and development. Employee Assistance Programs can work well alongside clinical supervision if you need additional personal support.

Each session is different. Every supervisee is unique and will use supervision in different ways. Some people bring an agenda with topics to discuss, others come with a general idea of something they want to explore in both individual and group supervision. This could include:

• client communication issues.
• complex cases.
• the client population.
• common theme/s that keeps arising.
• organisational issues.
• debriefing about a distressing situation.
• trauma-informed practice concepts.
• work-life balance.
• managing workload pressures and time management.
• questions about the impact of trauma or mental health on yourself.
• subject matter expertise topics in mental health and trauma.
• mental health case discussion.

Discussing client cases as a group allows participants to seek multiple points of view and hear how their peers practice and normalise common experiences. In a safe, open and confidential environment, participants build collective knowledge and team support. Group supervision and individual supervision are often offered together.

External group supervision supports managers by:

• creating time for reflection on specific cases and issues and frees up line managers to focus on administration and quality control in task management supervision.
• assisting participants to develop reflective skills that improve clinical and casework skills.
• helping participants focus on responding thoughtfully to client issues, drawing out differences between reaction and response, which creates a greater sense of containment.
• providing informal debriefing to explore personal reactions to complex issues, which enhances wellbeing and increases longevity and sustainability in the field and reduces the likelihood of burnout, leading to EAP, Workcover or staff turnover.
• building team communication and cohesion.
• providing elements of professional development through psychoeducation, related to specific client cases, and sharing of the team’s expertise and knowledge.
• providing cross communication within a transparent framework that all participants agree to.

I work online with individuals and groups across Australia. In-person sessions are available for organisations in Sydney, or interstate by arrangement. The optimum number for in-person groups is 8-12 participants & 3-6 participants for online groups.

• Introductory Consult: In an initial 15-minute phone consultation we will clarify your professional needs and expectations, discuss the process of working together, answer any questions and determine if my style suits your needs.
• Initial Assessment Session: In your first individual (55m) supervision session, we’ll explore what brought you to supervision, your professional background that informs your work approach as well as your strengths, competencies, and areas for development to determine what you would like to achieve through ongoing supervision sessions.
• In your first group session (90m) we will establish group expectations, explore the work experiences of group members, determine the approach the group wants to take e.g. case presentations, group debriefing, education focus and/or discussion of recurrent work themes.

• Ongoing Sessions: Sessions are four weekly at a regular time that is convenient for you and/or your team. Sessions are online.

• Counselling focuses on addressing your personal emotional responses and needs. Although I am a qualified and experienced therapist, I do not use counselling in supervision, mentoring or coaching. If you need additional support, I may suggest you consider EAP (employee assistance) counselling.

• Mentoring involves problem solving, sharing of professional experience and advice from someone more experienced in your specialist field e.g. senior social worker to social worker or senior lawyer to lawyer.

• Supervision offers regular reflection on clinical work (clinical supervision) and other organisational and workplace situations (leadership supervision). Supervision may include coaching elements, but the focus is on reflection, ethics and professional accountability.

• Consulting provides external subject matter expertise and advice to individuals and organisations, such as on leadership development and managing organisational systems.

• Coaching is a methodology for reflecting on a specific issue, drawing out a person’s knowledge and skills, and targeting attention on achieving a goal. Coaching will also include reflection, but the focus is on change and performance.

Yes, I have supervised social workers working through the mental health accreditation process. I provide a place to talk through cases, provide guidance on where your work fits with focused psychological strategies and sign off on your final supervision document but do not provide specific advice on the AASW process.

Clinical supervision involves discussion of clinical and professional practice issues. I provide workplace coaching to support mental health practitioners establishing their private practice. This provides support and motivation to reflect on your specific business goal/s ideas and to develop your own strategies for business development. I don’t provide business advice but may suggest some helpful resources.

Individual and group supervision fees align with the AASW recommended fee schedule and are reviewed annually. Discounts are available for private fee-paying supervisees.