Sarah Cunningham

Qualifications 

I hold a masters degree in psychotherapy and counselling from Goldsmiths, University of London, and a postgraduate diploma in integrative supervision of individuals and groups from the Iron Mill College in Exeter.

Experience 

As an experienced psychodynamic & integrative psychotherapist and counsellor, I work in a range of capacities including nurturing my private practice but also as a well-being mentor in Universities. In addition, I have extensive experience of working at a busy, diverse, low-cost mental health charity. I also have experience working as an IDVA in a high intensity crisis intervention team for a nationwide domestic abuse charity.

Supervision work

I work as a qualified supervisor in clinical and non clinical supervision. I offer supervision to trainee psychotherapists and student counsellors, as well as with experienced, qualified practitioners from a range of modalities. 

Prior to working as a psychotherapist, I worked for many years in the publishing industry and for an environmental NGO in editorial and communications, so I have extensive experience working in fast paced, creative and not-for-profit environments. I also worked at a variety of top law firms in central London so I am adept to working in a more corporate environment. This has facilitated my ability to provide supervision in a wider organisational context.

My supervisory approach 

As a supervisor I use a process oriented, integrative model with an emphasis on the psychodynamic, relational and attachment focused approach. I work with transference and countertransference with supervisees as a way to gain insight into possible parallel processes to client work. I like to work creatively with my supervisees as a way to access unconscious processes and address stuckness in client work. I have been trained to utilise sand tray and metaphor, and I am curious about working with somatic experiencing in the body, and how this increased awareness can illuminate processes within the client work.

I perceive the supervisory space to be an opportunity for collaboration, creativity and containment. A space to share ideas, hopes, concerns, safeguarding issues or stuckness within your practice. To think together about how supervisees can be empowered to notice and embrace the multiplicity of the options available. Although the client will always be at the centre of the work, I am also passionate about focusing on the personal development of my supervisees, encouraging a space to cultivate a sense of well-being and self care as practitioners, as an additional way to promote working as ethically as possible. In my experience giving space to our own process and development allows for us as practitioners to emulate these conditions for growth to our clients. 

Model of supervision

The model of supervision I will be using most frequently is the The Seven-Eyed model.

The Seven-Eyed Supervision model was developed by Peter Hawkins and Robin Shohet in 1985, who integrated the relational and systemic aspects of supervision in a single theoretical model. The model is relational because it focuses on the relationships between client, therapist and supervisor and systemic because it focuses on the interplay between each relationship and their context within the wider system. The model is called “seven eyed” because it focuses on seven distinct aspects of the therapeutic process, as explained in the sections that follow. It’s important for supervisees to simply be aware of each of the “eyes” of the model, rather than learning each off by heart. What follows is an overview of each of the “eyes” of the model.

Eye 1: Focus on the Client

Eye 2: Focus on Interventions

Eye 3: Focus on Client-Therapist Relationship

Eye 4: Focus on Therapist’s Process

Eye 5: Focus on Therapist-Supervisor Relationship

Eye 6: Focus on Supervisor’s Process

Eye 7: Focus on Wider Context

I also have an interest in working with practitioners from other modalities. I feel I could be particularly helpful to:

• Integrative or humanistic therapists who are interested in psychodynamic ideas but uncertain about how to use these concepts practically in their work
• Those setting up private practice for the first time who want support around this transition 
• More experienced practitioners who feel stuck in their way of working and looking for a fresh perspective 

I have particular interest/competency in supervising work with the following demographics/topics:

• Working with relational trauma 
• Working with neurodiversity
• Working with codependency and emmeshment
• LGBTQ clients
• Perinatal issues
• Working with unconscious processes such as countertransference, projection and parallel process 
• Supporting artists and musicians around their creative processes and creative blocks and resistance 

Cost

Trainee psychotherapists & counselling students:

50 minutes: £60

1.5 hours : £80

Qualified therapists:

50 minutes: £70-80

1.5 hours:£100

I have a limited amount of discounted slots, so please enquire if this is something you require. If all of my discounted slots are taken, I can still add you to my low cost supervision waiting list.