Supervision Statement
INTRODUCTION The New Zealand Christian Counsellors Association (NZCCA) recognises that supervision is a fundamental requirement for any Counsellor in counselling practice; therefore ongoing supervision is a requirement for membership of the Association.
DESCRIPTION Supervision is a collaborative, contractual, life-giving relationship between Supervisor and Counsellor to support client safety, Counsellor wellbeing and to provide opportunity for ongoing analysis and reflection of the Counsellor's practice. Supervision may take into account the needs of the client, the Counsellor, the community, the counselling profession, and the employing or training agency. Supervision is a shared process that includes facilitation of the inner resources of the practitioner, teaching, sharing of experiences, care and support, and the ongoing development of the professional role and identity of the Counsellor. The activities of supervision may attend to assessment, intervention strategies, application of theory, the nature of the relationships, transferential issues, parallel process, ethics, spirituality, culture including ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and socioeconomics in counselling practice. Supervision can nurture, strengthen and facilitate growth and development of the Counsellor. It may attend to the psychological, emotional, physical, social, cultural and spiritual life of the Counsellor.
PURPOSE The purpose of supervision is to encourage safe, effective counselling for clients whilst attending to the personal and professional wellbeing of the Counsellor. Supervision offers an opportunity for accountability, reflection and a wider perspective and extra resource for the Counsellor's work.
RESPONSIBILITIES IN SUPERVISION
1. The Supervisor is responsible for initiating dialogue about contractual issues. Agencies: when practitioners work for agencies the contract may need to be negotiated between the Supervisor, Counsellor and the Agency. Students: when contracting supervision with students, Supervisors need to be familiar with the requirements and expectations of the training agency and the learning needs of the student.
2. Counsellors need to bring issues to supervision that need to be addressed.
3. Counsellors and Supervisors need to contribute to the nature and quality of the supervision relationship and process.
4. Supervisors may reflect areas of counselling practice or personal development that the Counsellor may benefit from addressing. Supervision may also encourage Counsellors, especially those new to supervision, to foster a broad brief for supervision.
5. Supervisors and Counsellors need to establish and maintain appropriate boundaries in and around supervision.
6. Supervisors need to maintain confidentiality.
7. Where the Counsellor's personal circumstances change or the need arises, then these changes need to be discussed in supervision and, if necessary, appropriate strategies put in place to ensure safety for the Counsellor and clients. Strategies might include personal counselling, changes in the workplace or other measures focused on helping the Counsellor maintain safety and wellbeing.
8. Supervisors and Counsellors need to regularly review the effectiveness of supervision.
SUPERVISOR'S COMPETENCE AND EXPERIENCE
1. Supervisors need to be competent practitioners.
2. Supervisors need to undertake or have completed training and education in supervision.
3. Supervisors need supervision for their practice in supervision.
4. Supervisors need to acknowledge areas of limitation and refer when indicated.
SUPERVISION REQUIREMENT FOR NZCCA MEMBERS
1. All Members will be in regular ongoing supervision with a Supervisor who is a member, of a professional counselling or psychotherapy organisation (eg. NZCCA NZAC NZAP), or is a member of another professional body acceptable to NZCCA Executive.
2. Affiliate Members will be in supervision if they are in clinical practice. Minimum requirement of one supervision hour to twenty hours case work, or one supervision hour per month whichever falls first.
3. Student Associates must meet the supervision requirements set by their training organisation.
4. Provisional Members: Minimum requirement of one supervision hour to twenty hours case work, or one supervision hour per month whichever falls first.
5. Members: Minimum requirement of one supervision hour to forty hours case work, or one supervision hour per month whichever falls first.
6. It is recommended that these guidelines should be seen as minimum requirement and many counsellors will seek additional supervision depending on their personal circumstances and the circumstances of their clinical practice. However NZCCA strongly recommends fortnightly supervision whatever the number of clients that are being seen.
7. Supervision arrangements and the effectiveness of supervision need to be reviewed regularly. NZCCA requires members to annually submit a supervision and professional development review report.
8. Telephone and Online Supervision: is acceptable as an alternative when the practitioner is working in an isolated area and has difficulty accessing a suitable supervisor. However face to face supervision if preferable whenever possible. Supervisors need to be resident in New Zealand.
9. Peer and Group Supervision: this would mostly be viewed as an adjunct to individual supervision. When peer and group supervision is undertaken as part or as the whole of supervision experience, it must provide an approximate equivalent amount and quality of reflection and analysis time per person that individual supervision would provide.
CONCLUSION Whatever method of supervision it should enhance counselling and counselling practice.
Foot note: This document has been written after consultation with counselling supervisors, educationalists and in reference to current literature on supervision practice.