291 – Counselling Neurodivergent Young People

Changing Supervisors – AI and Transcribing Skills Sessions

In Episode 291 of the Counselling Tutor Podcast, your hosts Rory Lees-Oakes and Ken Kelly are back with this week’s three topics:

• Firstly in ‘Ethical, Sustainable Practice’, we look at supervision – when is it time to change your supervisor, or get a second one?
• Then in ‘Practice Matters’, Rory speaks with Sian Clare about working with and counselling neurodivergent young people and students in education.
• And lastly in ‘Student Services’, we look at the use of AI in your studies, particularly transcribing skills sessions.

Changing Supervisors [starts at 03:22 mins]

You might be reluctant to think about changing your supervisor, but in this section, Rory and Ken highlight some of signs that it might be time to consider it:

• As yourself if your supervisor fits with the practice you have now.
• Are they trained within the modality you’re working with?
• You might consider bringing in another supervisor for a certain part of your practice e.g. counselling online and/or over the phone, a specific skill set or niche.
• Are you growing in your practice? Being challenged? Receiving gentle challenges from your supervisor is a great way to grow and improve your own skills within your practice.
• Are they matching your ethics and your values?
• Do they encourage you to look to other areas and modalities?

Counselling Neurodivergent Young People [starts at 21:15 mins]

In this week’s ‘Practice Matters’, Rory speaks with Sian Clare about working with neurodivergent young people and students in therapy.

The key points of this discussion include:

• There are a high number of adolescents in therapy who are displaying neurodivergent traits – some are diagnosed, others aren’t.
• It’s important that you’re able to pick up on these traits, being attuned to the client.
• Consider getting this extra training to be able to best support your clients.
• Ask questions, do an assessment, and build a picture of your client’s needs.
• Try and put clients at ease as best you can.
• When counselling neurodivergent young people, cater to any sensory needs.
• Believe your client; understand their frame of reference.
• Help the client become comfortable with who they are, what they enjoy, and their differences from others.
• Help them to express their choices, ‘I’m the sort of person who…’
• Is the client comfortable with eye contact? If not, consider how you will sit during your sessions.
• Adaptation, playing to their strengths, working with
• Providing psychoeducation for teachers can make a huge difference for the young person and their experience in school.
• Understanding masking is important when counselling neurodivergent young people.
• This element of CPD comes with employability and further opportunities.
• Know the clients special interest, it can be used as a way to help them regulate during sessions.

AI and Transcribing Skills Sessions [starts at 45:08 mins]

Client data needs to be protected, and that means taking extra care with it. In this section, Rory and Ken explain what to watch out for when using AI, and handling client data:

• It’s important to be careful with client data.
• Don’t record your skill sessions on a mobile phone.
• By using AI tools, you might inadvertently be broadcasting a client’s story.
• Be wary of any tools that are free – the cost may be the data itself.
• Look at privacy policies, what data is captured, how data is stored, and who has access to that data.
• Look at whether the website is signed up to General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).
• Is it registered with the ICO?
• When transcribing skills sessions, it might be safer to do it yourself.

Links and Resources

Counselling Skills Academy

Advanced Certificate in Counselling Supervision

Basic Counselling Skills: A Student Guide

Counsellor CPD

Counselling Study Resource

Counselling Theory in Practice: A Student Guide

Counselling Tutor Shop

Facebook group

Website

Online and Telephone Counselling: A Practitioner’s Guide

Online and Telephone Counselling Course