Louise Brown

Working with clients who are members of the same communities as ourselves can deeply benefit our clients. It gives them the opportunity to go straight to the specifics of their experiences, rather than educating us on basic language and reality of being part of a minority. However, it can also bring with it additional challenges around managing boundaries, especially when your lives outside of the therapy space may overlap. We are also more likely to share similar experiences with our clients because we are navigating the same societal systems and structures and how these impacts on our own identity.

As an Autistic, Queer therapist who works predominantly with neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ clients I have lots of experience of negotiating these challenges in my private practice as well as in larger organisations. As well as my lived experience as a therapist, I spent ten years working as a disability practitioner in a university, trying to work in an affirming way while inside a system that was based on a deficit model of disability. I have had to address my own internalised ableism as I came to understand my Autistic identity and began the process of unmasking and integrating this new knowledge of myself into my practice as a therapist and supervisor. I continue to read, listen, learn and to challenge my thinking and encourage my supervisees to do the same.

My supervisees tell me that they value the safe space offer them to explore difficult and complex ideas without fear of judgment for not knowing all the answers. They value both my academic knowledge and that gained from my years of lived experience. The focus and direction of sessions is always decided by my supervisees and can include (but is not limited to):

• How client work intersects with your own experiences and processes
• Modality and ways of working
• Counselling theory
• Ethical considerations
• Working in private practice
• Organisational concerns and how the structures we operate within may impact on our work 
• Self-disclosure, especially when living and working within the same community
• Anything that comes up during or impacts on your work with clients

If you would like to explore the possibility of working together, please get in touch to arrange a free initial consultation. I currently supervise a range of professionals including counsellors, specialist mentors and mental health professionals in HE. Please note that I do not currently supervise work with children and young people or couples. I believe that many professionals who support individuals can benefit from space away from work to process events and reflect on their ways of working to ensure they are practicing safely and ethically. ​

I trained as a supervisor in 2018 at the Manchester Institute of Psychotherapy, having qualified as a counsellor in 2015 and completed my MSc Psychotherapeutic counselling (Distinction) in 2016.  My initial training was integrative (Person-centred, Systemic, Psychodynamic and CBT).  My dissertation research focused on creative expressions and identity in counselling based on my own experiences of working creatively as part of my personal development. ​ I have also done additional training in working with Compassion Focused Therapy and Solution Focused Therapy and a certificate in online counselling with OCST to work with voice and webcam.

Further details are available on my website www.curiosityspot.co.uk/supervision