Choosing a clinical supervisor: what to look for

Photograph by Nana Ampomah

Every practising counsellor needs a supervisor, and most of us choose one in a hurry: a name passed on by a tutor, the first person with a free slot, whoever was nearest when the placement started. Some of those quick choices turn into working relationships that last a decade. Others quietly become an hour a month that is endured rather than used. Because supervision is a professional requirement, it is easy to regard it as a box to be ticked. It is better understood as one of the few places in a working life where the work itself gets thought about properly, and that makes the choice of supervisor worth some care.

Prefer to listen? You can hear this article narrated in Kingsley’s voice, made from his own recordings, as a NormShift episode (8 minutes).

What supervision is for

A useful way to think about it is that supervision does three jobs at once. It helps you keep learning, so that your practice develops rather than settles. It keeps an eye on standards, ethics and the welfare of the people you work with. And it gives you somewhere to put the weight of the work, so that what stays with you after a difficult session is spoken about rather than carried home. Inskipp and Proctor described these three functions as formative, normative and restorative, and the description has lasted because most supervisees recognise it. A supervisor who only does one of the three is not doing the job. If every session is a case review with no room for how you are, or every session is support with no challenge, something is missing.

Training, standing and their own supervision

The first things to check are the plain ones. A supervisor should hold a recognised supervision qualification, not only counselling experience. They should be a member of a professional body with a published ethical framework and a complaints route, and their registration should be current and checkable online. They should carry professional indemnity insurance and be able to say so without hesitation. They should also have supervision of their own, because a supervisor who is not supervised is asking you to accept a standard they do not keep themselves. None of this guarantees a good supervisor, but its absence is a reason to keep looking.

Fit with the work you actually do

Beyond the paperwork comes fit. Think about the people you see, the setting you see them in and the way you work. A supervisor who works with individuals and couples will be more use to a couples counsellor than one who has never sat with two people at once. If you work integratively, a supervisor who is rigid about one model may spend the hour translating your practice into their language rather than helping you understand it in yours. If you work with a particular community or in a particular context, ask what the supervisor knows about it and how they keep that knowledge current. A supervisor does not need to mirror you, and some difference is healthy, but the difference should be one you can both use rather than a gap you spend the session bridging.

The relationship itself

The quality that matters most is the hardest to assess in advance: can you be honest with this person? Supervision only works if you can bring the session you are not proud of, the reaction you did not expect to have, the ethical question you are not sure you handled well. That requires a supervisor who can challenge you without making you defensive and support you without letting things slide. In a first conversation, notice whether you feel slightly more able to think, or slightly more careful about what you say. Notice whether they ask about you as well as about your clients. Notice whether they can say plainly what they would do differently, and whether they can also say that they do not know. A supervisor who is never uncertain is not modelling anything you can use.

Practicalities that are worth settling early

Frequency comes first. Professional bodies set a minimum amount of supervision for practising members, and the right amount for you depends on your caseload and your stage of practice, so check your own body’s current requirement and be honest about whether the minimum is enough. Then format: in person, by video or a mix. Video supervision has made it possible to choose a supervisor for their suitability rather than their postcode, which is a real gain, provided you both have a private space and a reliable connection. Cost, session length and cancellation terms should all be written down. So should the boundaries of confidentiality, what records the supervisor keeps, and what happens if either of you has a concern about the other’s practice. A written supervision agreement is not bureaucracy; it is what lets both people relax into the work.

Questions to ask before you decide

Most supervisors will offer a short introductory conversation, and it is reasonable to use it well. What is your supervision training, and who supervises you? What kind of practice do you work with most, and where are the edges of your experience? How do you balance support and challenge? What would you do if you were worried about my work? How do you handle it when a supervisee disagrees with you? The answers matter, and so does how the answers are given. You are choosing someone to think alongside for a long time, and the tone of that first exchange usually tells you a great deal.

If you are looking for a supervisor now

Supervision at Marking Therapy is one to one by secure video, grounded in ongoing integrative practice with individuals and couples, and available in 45, 60 and 90 minute sessions. You can read how it works, and book an introductory conversation, on the clinical supervision page.

This article is general information for counsellors and trainees choosing a supervisor; it does not replace the requirements of your own professional body, training provider or employer.