What is supervision in counselling and psychotherapy?
Supervision is a regular, confidential space with an experienced practitioner where you bring your client work: what is happening in the sessions, what you are unsure of, where you are stuck, and how the work is affecting you. BACP describes it as a specialised form of mentoring for practitioners doing challenging work with people.
It is not a check on whether you are good enough, and it is not the same as your own therapy. It exists to keep clients safe and to help you think, and in this profession it does not stop when you qualify.
How much supervision do trainees need?
It depends on your route, and the figure that binds you is the one in your course handbook.
On the UKCP route, each of UKCP’s colleges sets its own standard. The Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy College, which covers humanistic, integrative and Gestalt trainings among others, says trainees normally have one hour of supervision to six sessions of client work, and not less than two hours a month. Training includes at least 450 hours of supervised clinical practice.
On the BACP route, your course sets the requirement while you train. For qualified practitioners, BACP gives no fixed number of hours to registered members, saying supervision should be often enough to discuss all of your work, and asks its accredited members for at least an hour and a half a month.
Who can supervise a trainee?
Not every qualified therapist can. Your course will usually require a supervisor with a supervision qualification and several years of experience, and may keep its own list of approved supervisors.
On the UKCP Humanistic and Integrative route, supervision during training should normally be with a Recognised Training Supervisor: usually someone qualified as a psychotherapist for at least five years and practising as a supervisor for at least two. Check your own course’s rule before you agree to work with anyone.
Does group supervision count?
Usually, within limits. UKCP’s Humanistic and Integrative college accepts supervision in individual or group format, but says peer group supervision, where trainees meet without a supervisor, does not count towards the requirement. Some courses also limit how many group hours count, or how they are counted when several trainees share the time. Your handbook will say.
Can supervision be online?
Often, yes, but check first. UKCP’s minimum training standards say supervision by telephone or online is only acceptable once a face-to-face supervisory relationship has been established. Courses and colleges vary on how they apply that.
Who pays for supervision on placement?
It varies more than almost anything else about placements. Some services provide supervision as part of the placement. Some ask you to find and fund your own. Some charge you for theirs.
None of these is wrong in itself, but it changes what a placement costs you, so ask before you accept. Most placements are unpaid, which means supervision is a cost you carry on top of working for free. A small number of placements do pay, and ours is one: Hora employs its trainees as workers on the Real Living Wage for every session, with holiday and sick pay, which helps cover the cost of supervision. Trainees arrange their own supervision with a supervisor their course has approved, and Hora works to the UKCP minimum ratio as a floor.
What to ask a placement about supervision
- Is supervision provided, or do I arrange my own?
- If it is provided, who is the supervisor, and are they approved by my course?
- If I arrange my own, will you accept any approved supervisor, and will you share information with them?
- What ratio do you work to, and what happens if my caseload grows?
- Who do I contact between supervision sessions if something worrying comes up?
- Does group supervision here count towards my course’s requirement?
There is a fuller list of questions in our guide to finding a counselling placement.
Sources
- BACP, Guide to supervision (Registered Membership): what supervision is; 1.5 hours a month for accredited members; no fixed hours for registered members.
- UKCP Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy College, supervision statement (2019): one hour to six sessions; not less than two hours a month; Recognised Training Supervisor; peer group supervision does not count.
- UKCP, Standards of Education and Training, minimum core criteria (2017): supervision by digital media only after a face-to-face relationship is established.
- UKCP, Train as a psychotherapist: 450 hours of supervised clinical practice.