Professional Supervision
Nicole is our Senior Psychologist and as such provides a variety of Mental Health Professionals with ongoing regular Professional Supervision and Life Coaching Sessions. These can be ‘one off’ supervision sessions, intermittent or on a ‘regularly scheduled basis’ depending on each individual need. Formal supervision can also be provided if a health practitioner has received a notification from The Australian Health Practitioner Regulatory Agency (AHPRA), The Australian Counsellors Association (ACA) or The Australian Medical Association (AMA) following a public complaint.This is often a more structured approach requiring ongoing progress reports and formal stipulations as required by each governing body.
The Nature, Purpose, and Benefit of Supervision
Supervision for most mental health practitioners is regarded as an essential part of ongoing Professional & Personal Development and now a requirement by most professional associations (Continuing Professional Development – CPD). Generally mental health practitioners can claim CPD points when undergoing regular supervision. Fees are also tax deductable &/or can be claimed on private health funds (depending on your cover).
Professional Supervision relates to a collaborative endeavour between two or more professionals and aims to enhance practice surrounding the clinical, administrative and personal components relating to the mental health industry. The Supervision process is based on the concept by which an experienced practitioner assists a less advanced practitioner/s to become more effective & efficient in their practice. Whilst supervision generally occurs between two (2) individuals (supervisor/practitioner), small group sessions can be arranged to provide a more cost effective solution.
Predominantly, the purpose of supervision is to assist the supervisee to understand their client at both content/process levels, increase their understanding of their client (distinguishing between actual vs counter-transferential responses), to understand the client/therapist dynamics (clinical and theoretical), to explore ways of working therapeutically with clients to support the supervisee and to compare and contrast various, current and evidence based models of psychotherapeutic practice.
The Professional Supervision environment is a supportive one where trust and authenticity can develop easily between supervisor and supervisee. It is a space where the supervisee can bring their clinical and administrative concerns, reflect upon and develop their clinical skills, increase their professional and theoretical knowledge and increase their confidence and clinical competence. An important part of the supervision relationship is rapport, comfort and safety for the supervisee. Just like the therapeutic relationship between client and therapist relies on these components, the same applies to the supervision relationship. As such, it is recommended to meet for an initial consultation meeting to ‘see if the relationship is going to be a good fit’. Additionally, throughout the supervision term, it is important to bring back any previously unresolved challenges faced during sessions to keep the therapeutic relationship an open, transparent and positive one.
Our psychologist has a long history of psychotherapeutic training which began at the Institute of Human Development (IHD) in 1991, followed by her university training/practice and further developed through a variety of government and corporate agency contracts over the course of her career. Additionally, her ongoing professional development surrounding theories, methodology, and the art of psychotherapy through intimate contact with clients had enhanced her skills further. As a ‘Value Add’ to the supervision process, our psychologist has been the principal business owner of South Perth Counselling Services for 15 years which further assists to enhance supervisee’s abilities, skills and training in business practice.
PLEASE NOTE: Whilst our Psychologist provides General Supervision, she DOES NOT provide ‘CLINICAL SUPERVISION’ for those Associate Psychologists seeking Formal Registration. See the Australian Psychological Society (APS) Website for a list of Clinical Supervisors available in your locality if you require this service.