The Importance of Clinical Supervision
There are many important things to consider when you are to consult a therapist for the first time. Training and experience are of course very important indeed. But these things alone are not enough. Psychotherapy and Hypnotherapy tend to be relatively lonely professions. By which I mean, therapists cannot really talk about their work with other people as it would breach confidence. It is important however, that a therapist has a place to discuss issues which may have come up during their sessions. This place is called clinical supervision.
A clinical supervisor will help a practitioner to keep perspective on their work. Generally when therapists get into ethical difficulties it is due to the fact that they have lost perspective and do things that are not in their or their client’s interests. The clinical supervisor will help the therapist maintain balance and be able to manage the often difficult issues which come up during the therapeutic process.
Additionally, the supervisor acts as a kind of guarantor for the therapist. In a world which lacks regulation, it is a useful thing that through supervision a practitioner is held accountable for his or her work. Before consulting a therapist for the first time, always ask if he or she is in regular clinical supervision. You will be glad you did.
