So you wanna be a therapist.......

I was at a conference in Waterloo a couple of weeks ago and bumped into two of my former classmates from Laurier. We commented on the fact that this time last year we were all in class together and now we're out in the field working (for me back working). I was reminded of a conversation that I had with one of these individuals last year about being ready to go out and counsel people.

This individual said that they personally didn't feel ready and questioned whether or not many of the other students felt the same way. My response was that the only way to become a skilled counsellor is to go out and do the work - which can be a little scary for new counsellors. In the next few blogs I'd like to focus on some strategies that might be helpful to new counsellors/therapists.


Today I'd like to talk about supervision. Depending on where you're working supervision might be amazing or it might really suck! In many counselling agencies, supervisors and managers are usually promoted from front line positions. However, many of these types of positions have an administrative focus which consists of managing budgets and staff, with little time or skill (or interest) in providing clinical supervision.

I'm about to say something completely obvious, but to become a good clinician you need to receive supervision from someone with good clinical skills. So if you can't find someone within your organization that fits the bill then looking outside for support may be another alternative. The downside to this is that you will probably have to pay for it, the upside is that someone outside the organization isn't influenced by organizational policies or politics.

I have worked with a mentor/supervisor for the past eight years. He is a seasoned social worker therapist with over thirty years in the field. His direction has been invaluable on a number of occasions.

What exactly do I do in supervision you ask? Nowadays it's more about double checking on a tough case. Generally I'll feel like I'm going in the right direction, but I'll run it by my supervisor to make sure I'm not missing anything. For a new counsellor supervision is great for talking about techniques, discussing a session which didn't go too well and debriefing when you're working on a really challenging case.

To find out more about locating a supervisor feel free to email me or contact the Ontario Association of Social Workers at www.oasw.org. Happy counselling!