Clinical Supervision

Therapists face unique demands and stressors in their work, resulting in high rates of burnout and distress. Clinical supervision is regarded as a critical method for helping therapists avoid burnout and maintain professional well-being. Clinical supervision is an essential part of a practitioner's ongoing professional development and is a mandatory requirement of registration for most regulatory bodies.

Clinical supervision benefits the therapist in several ways. It provides a safe space for the therapist to reflect on their professional practice, receive feedback, and develop new skills. The supervisor provides the opportunity for the therapist to debrief and offers emotional support while working through the challenges that may present during client sessions. The supervision process helps to ensure that the therapist maintains their mental health whilst providing ethically effective services to their clients.

Clinical supervision is not:

• Personal therapy

• Case management

• Performance review

• Friendship

• Spiritual guidance

• Legal advice

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A professional supervisor should have specialised training and certification in supervision. Supervisors should have advanced counselling skills and knowledge, a sound understanding of relevant theories and research and be up-to-date with industry issues. 

If the supervisor supervises therapists in private practice, they will need an understanding of business, marketing and management techniques.

The supervisee is expected to:

• be responsible for their learning

• prepare for supervision

• use supervision time effectively

• present their work openly and honestly

• deliver the best service possible to their clients or client group

• create learning partnerships with the supervisor and other supervisees if they participate in group supervision

• apply learning from supervision to their work

• monitor and evaluate their work

• be aware of cultural, religious, racial, age, gender and sexual orientation differences between the supervisee and others

• create ethical and professional environments for their work.

• be responsible for meeting the necessary supervision/registration requirements

The requirement for clinical supervision hours will be dependent on the regulatory body or bodies you are registered with.

The ACA (Australian Counselling Association) requires all practicing members to have a  minimum of 10 supervision hours per year.

The Australian Hypnotherapy Association (AHA) requires the practicing members to attend monthly supervision and obtain 24 points of supervision each year.

If the supervisee works in a high-stress, high-crisis job they will most likely require supervision more often.

It is the responsibility of the supervisee to know the individual regulatory and supervision requirements of the association/s they are a member of.