Supervision details
Person Centred Counselling Supervision
My understanding of person-centred supervision is that it is a collaboration between counsellors, one designated the supervisor, the other the supervisee, that explores, with a continuous eye to the needs of our clients, the relationship between theory, practice and self. In so doing it seeks to nurture the personal and professional development of the counsellor.
The focus therefore will be on the experience of the supervisee and on the development of their therapeutic competence through the supervision relationship. This is not the same as promoting a generic, or normative, approach to supervision. It is important therefore that the therapeutic qualities of congruence, empathy and unconditional acceptance are present in the supervision relationship. We could say then that supervision offers a model for the supervisee’s practice; not by teaching a way of working but one consistent with the practice of person-centred therapy, offering the supervisee a relational environment that can facilitate the supervisee discovering their own way of working. On this, Carl Rogers wrote, ‘by creating the supervisee with an accepting, empathic and genuine atmosphere, the supervisor creates a climate in which the supervisee can explore feelings, blocks and difficulties’ (Rogers 1951).
Rogers, C. R. (1951). Client-Centred Therapy Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
The Association of Christians in Counselling and Linked Professions (ACC) is a Christian professional membership organisation for those involved in counselling/psychotherapy and linked professions, i.e. pastoral care, coaching and spiritual direction, in the UK. The organisation is made up of various different membership categories, including Counsellor and Accredited, and requires all members working as counsellors to undertake Continuous Professional Development on a regular basis.
Accredited register membership
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
