Supervision near Beaconsfield

My counselling supervision is based upon my belief that in order to facilitate a healthy, growthful and fulfilling helping relationship, which addresses the values and principles contained within the BACP Ethical Framework for Good Practice. I am responsible for the presence of unconditional positive regard, empathic understanding and congruence, authenticity and integrity in my work as a supervisor, regardless of the counsellor’s own counselling training and philosophy. My supervision training at Metanoia was integrative and while I see myself working in essentially a person-centred way I set out to offer supervision which is congruent with a supervisee’s stage of development and respectful of his/her theoretical orientation. 

If we are new to each other and meeting for the first time I like to offer a ‘pre-supervision session’ in order to get to know each other better and allow us to decide if we can and want to work together. No charge is made for this introductory session unless you have already made the choice to start supervision with me or your organization is paying for your supervision.

If a working agreement is made between us I ask the supervisee to subscribe to the BACP Ethical Framework for Good Practice. In line with this Code I receive consultative support for my supervision work; I will inform you of the name of my supervision consultant when we meet. 

My fees  are £80 an hour for trained counsellors and £75 an hour for trainee or voluntary agency counsellors. If a session is cancelled I require a full 48 hours notice, without which the supervisee or counselling organisation is liable for the full cost of the session. In case of sudden illness or genuine emergency within the 48 hour period I will waive 50% of the fee. Individuals are asked to pay by cash or cheque at the end of the session; I will invoice organisations on a regular basis.

As a counselling supervisor I treat all information disclosed to me as confidential, within the spirit of the BACP Ethical Framework. Where a professional disagreement about client work cannot be resolved I will refer the counsellor to another supervisor. I reserve the right to make contact with the relevant organisation (e.g. employer, college, external agency or professional body) if I believe a supervisee’s work with a client causes particular concern and where a mutual course of action cannot be agreed, especially in relation to client safety or to the safety of others at the hands of the client. 

I may discuss the content of our sessions with my supervisor of supervision and I may make brief hand-written notes of supervision sessions. I destroy these records after one year of our supervision. Your signature on the Record Sheet will be taken to be agreement to the taking and keeping of these notes.

Please see attached sheet about the privacy of your personal information under the General Data Protection regulations 2018. You are welcome to ask to see my written record of a session. 

I am available by telephone in the event of a supervisee experiencing difficulty with client work which needs to be discussed before our next scheduled supervision session. I will not charge for ‘emergency’ telephone supervision unless the supervision is longer than 15 minutes. 

I will write supervision reports required by trainee counsellors for training organizations and placement agencies. I do not charge for writing these reports unless they are particularly time-consuming or frequent. If the report is to be prepared jointly I would expect us to arrange an extended supervision session to work on this task. Where a supervisee wants me to look at case studies for training assessment purposes I usually recommend that they look for a third party who is familiar with the course requirements to give a more objective and insightful view of the adequacy of the work.

 

If acceptable to you there will be a yearly review of the supervision sessions in which our working relationship, the frequency of the supervision sessions, the content of the working agreement, supervision fee and your details on the Information Sheet can be discussed.

In recent years I have offered a form of professional relationship with to colleagues which is neither Supervision nor Counselling/Psychotherapy but which is at confluence of the waters of both oceans. I call this ‘Extravision’ (as in ‘added to what is normal’) and I have found that it is particularly well-received by experienced therapists who have their own therapist and supervisor but who are looking for an additional reflective space for exploring professional, personal and existential issues at a deeper/broader level which may not be possible within the traditional separation of ‘supervision’ and ‘therapy’. I have enjoyed experiencing this powerful form of support in individual (2 hours a month) and/or group (2hours quarterly) settings for over 15 years in addition to my regular supervision and therapy. ‘Extravision is an enjoyable and enriching experience which complements personal and developmental needs wonderfully well, achieving greater clarity and insight into self, work and life.

If this form of support speaks to you, please contact me and we can a arrange a no-fee introductory meeting to explore how you might wish to use ‘Extravision’ towards meeting your ‘growing edge’. Or you may wish to come with a colleague or professional friend to look at group ‘Extravision’

Initial session: No charge for ‘getting to know’ session.

Standard: £80 for 60 minutes. £120 for 90 minutes

Students in counselling training: £70 for 60 minutes. £105 for 90 minutes. 

Group supervision: Negotiable according to number of supervisees

If you wish to cancel a supervision appointment please give a full 48 hours notice or you will be asked to pay the cost of the missed session. In cases of sudden illness or genuine emergency within the 48 hour period I will waive 50% of the session fee. Please pay by cash or cheque (made payable to ‘Barrie Hopwood’) at the end of each session or by BACS on the day of the supervision.

An hourly session is up to 60 minutes rather than the 50 minute ‘therapeutic hour’