Suzy Henry

My approach and philosophy

Carl Rogers said experience comes first and theory follows to make sense of that experience; we will focus on your experience and on the development of your therapeutic ability through the supervision relationship. I strive to build supervision relationships in which you may feel empowered & deeply listened to as I offer an attentive, non-judgemental and accepting space. I aim to support you to attend to your practice with a sense of freedom and curiosity and for you to experience empathic understanding so that you are able to reflect intently upon your therapy relationships and learn from your experiences in your therapy work. I believe supervision should provide a time to think, to slow down, to "...sit at the feet of our own experience and learn from it." - Michael Carole. Our supervision sessions may consist of some, or all, of the following: Encouraging reflection and expression of your experience in relation to clients. Exploring understanding of the client's perspective and experiences of the therapy relationship. Exploring your presence, congruence and the depth of relating. Exploring theoretical understanding in support of your work with a particular client. Understanding your client in the context of their culture and/or diversity; awareness of the impact of cultural difference and diversity on the therapy relationship. Challenge of working with clients who are very different from you.Understanding 'difficult client process'. Professional issues: ethical framework, multi-disciplinary teamwork, communication with other professionals. Reflecting on the social context of therapy. Attention to 'self' of the therapist. Acknowledging and exploring stress, burnout, fitness to practice. Supervision relationship; unspoken relationship and power dynamic in the supervision relationship. Exploring ways of expanding creativity and 'imagination'. Anything at all that helps you reflect upon and learn from your experiences in your work.

(Adapted from Elke Lambers (2007), A Person-Centred Perspective on Supervision. In M. Cooper, M. O'Hara, P.F. Schmid and G. Wyatt The Handbook of Person-Centred Counselling and Psychotherapy. Basingstoke: Palgrave McMillan. P. 371).

At the beginning of our work, we can edit the contract for how we will work together according to what you need and I invite us both to revisit it regularly to make sure it still works for us. As well as working as a person-centred supervisor and therapist, I am a trainer at Academy SPACE in Sheffield with a passion for the person-centred approach and particular interest in anti-discriminatory practice. I have published several well received chapters in recent psychotherapy texts specifically dedicated to work within the diversity field. I have a deep and nuanced appreciation of the complexities of oppression in areas of diversity and an innate understanding of identity trauma and the human condition in all its intricacies. Whilst training as a therapist I worked as a Recovery Worker for the NHS Mental Health Team in Sheffield, supporting people in crisis within their own homes. Whilst working within a medical model I retained the non-judgemental person-centred approach, which has empathic values at its core and aims to increase a person’s emotional knowledge. This remains extremely attractive to me and I found it to be especially compelling when working with vulnerable people within this setting.

I am an Accredited Registrant Member of the National Counselling Society.

I charge £60 per hour.