Diploma in the Supervision of Counsellors & Therapists

This course is for qualified counsellors only with at least three years counselling experience. Entry onto this course will require evidence of training  with a minimum qualification of Diploma.

The course comprises of 10 units and is taught through 10 tutorials using a course module. To qualify for the award of diploma students must:

• Complete each unit successfully
• Write an essay in no less than 1000 words entitled ‘What it means to be a supervisor’
• Provide a letter of recommendation from their current supervisor
• Provide evidence that you hold a diploma in counselling skills & theory and have a minimum of three years experience as a counsellor.

 

Unit One

The aim of this unit is to enable the reader by: -

 

·         Working in accordance with your own definition of supervision.

·         Explaining their values, assumptions and the philosophy with which they intend to practice supervision.

·         Initiating the style in which they intend to use, as a good supervisor.

 

Unit Two

The aim of this unit is to enable the reader: -

 

·         To set up and present a practice professionally.

·         Values and Assumptions about good and bad Counselling

 

Unit Three

In Units One and Two the process has been focusing on the reader exploring his/her readiness to be a supervisor.

In this unit information is given that will broaden the horizon and encourage the reader to become aware of the wider contexts and systems within which counselling takes place – cultural, political, economic, professional, organisational; and the relationship to these to the particular working context of the eventual supervisee.

 

It is the reader’s personal resources and your context of work that is the frame through which you focus on the tasks of:

·         Creating a unique and effective working alliance with an individual supervisee

·         Building and maintaining the working relationship and when necessary repairing it

·         Encapsulating your alliance in a clear negotiated working agreement.

 

Unit Four

In unit four, there is a change of focus to:

·         The experience of meeting the supervisee.

 

Unit Five

The first part of this unit will enable you to define the meaning of a supervision working alliance.

It will also clarify the purpose of a working alliance as well as clarifying the tasks, responsibilities and roles in the alliance. Consideration will be given to building, maintaining and repairing the working alliance involved with the social influence process.

 

 

 

 

Unit Six

Having dealt with the initial introduction now is the time to consider setting down your contract with the Supervisee in a contract. Think through the working agreement and identify the main factors. Look now at the skills required for creating the working agreement including negotiating skills.

 

Unit Seven

All that has been explored so far builds up to being able to offer good sessions to counsellors. Offering a good session is a complex task and it is essential to focus on three prime responsibilities of the supervisor:

·         Managing the structure of the session

·         Facilitating the process of a piece of supervision work

·         Guarding and developing the working agreement and the working alliance

·         As a supervisor you will exercise these responsibilities in ways which are congruent with your theories and

assumptions, your personal style, your supervisee’s styles and developmental stage, the work setting and all the other contextual issues which you have incorporated in your working agreement. In this unit, are laid out some choices available to you and remind you of what you need to take into account when making those choices.

 

Unit Eight

This unit will enable you to:

·         Plan a structure for an individual piece of supervision work

·         Identify the choices available for focus, attention and intervention

·         Be aware of the need for flexibility

·         Encourage the supervisee to lay out his/her practice and his/her needs

·         Revise the mini-skills needed for the different stages of work (or playing!)

·         Become more intentional in your supervising

·         Prepare for some recurrent difficulties

 

Unit Nine

In Unit Eight there was frequent reference to the working alliance. This alliance is a major factor in:

·         Building the agenda for the session

·         Choosing:

1.       The focus in a particular piece of work

2.       Particular areas of attention within the focus

3.       Skills and interventions

 

The purpose of this Unit is to remind you of the ways each session can:

·         Strengthen

·         Jeopardise

·         Repair

 

Unit Ten

Through out these materials, emphasis has been placed on the main purpose of supervision, supporting, challenging the development of counsellors and to ensure the best possible service to clients.

 

You are invited to recognise that this purpose is the supervisors’ normative task, and some ways of developing your roles of monitor, appraiser and assessor. This may feel like an onerous responsibility, but you do not stand alone, since you may build a network to support you in establishing a confident, effective and ethical practice.