116 – Counselling Supervision Models
Networking for Counsellors – Pluralistic Counselling
In episode 116 of the Counselling Tutor Podcast, Ken Kelly and Rory Lees-Oakes examine the different counselling supervision models. In ‘Practice Matters’, Rory then talks about the importance of networking for counsellors. The presenters end this episode with a description of and discussion on pluralistic therapy.
Counselling Supervision Models (starts at 1.34 mins)
This topic was raised in our Counselling Tutor Facebook group, where you can find over 23,000 students, qualified practitioners and tutors interested in the world of counselling and psychotherapy.
There are three types of counselling supervision: managerial, clinical and professional.
While many other professionals receive managerial supervision in their workplace, clinical supervision (often combined with professional supervision – where we keep up with developments in our field, and ensure we adhere to our professional code of conduct) is a particular feature of working as a counsellor or psychotherapist.
There are many counselling supervision models, of which Rory and Ken discuss several, including:
- a CBT-based model (Liese and Beck, 1997)
- the seven-eyed model (Hawkins and Shohet, 1985)
- the integrated development model (Stoltenberg and Delworth, 1987)
- the feminist model (Feminist Therapy Institute, 1999).
Aside from giving an overview of different counselling supervision models, Rory and Ken also offer a number of tips on selecting a clinical supervisor for your counselling work:
- Make sure you choose a supervisor who both understands your modality and whose model of supervision fits with this.
- While it’s fine to bring personal issues that are impacting your practice, it may be that you need to take these to your own therapy to work through them thoroughly.
- Do make sure that you are getting what you need from supervision. This may change as you progress through your training and career: you may need to change supervisor to get the right support and development.
Networking for Counsellors (starts at 16.17 mins)
Counselling can be a very isolated occupation, and it’s all too easy to find you’re seeing only clients and your supervisors.
Rory describes the importance of drawing on the rich world of counselling colleagues, offering five tips on how to realise the full benefits that are there for the taking.
Rory’s handout on this topic can be downloaded here; it is also available through the Handouts Vault and Counselling Study Resource (CSR).
Pluralistic Counselling (starts at 23.03 mins)
Pluralistic therapy is the ‘new kid on the block’ in the world of counselling and psychotherapy, though it is based on findings going as far back as 1936, when psychologist Saul Rosenzweig introduced the idea of the dodo bird verdict.
The dodo bird verdict is named after the Alice in Wonderland story in which everyone (or – in the counselling context – every modality) is a winner.
This idea was later developed in 1990, in a large research study led by John Norcross, looking at ‘common factors’ in therapy.
Pluralistic therapy, pioneered by Mick Cooper in the UK, is a specific form of therapy practice that draws methods from a variety of different sources. It is differentiated from integrative therapy by the fact that the selection of approaches/modalities is decided in discussion with the client.
Thus, it has a person-centredness to it, in that the therapist trusts that the client knows best what they need. This may be different for the same person at different times and in different situations.
Ken and Rory discuss pluralistic therapy and the skills required to practise it.
Rory raises the interesting question of how much training would be required for a practitioner to have sufficient knowledge and skills to offer a wide-enough range of methods to offer clients in pluralistic therapy. It seems that CPD is again vital here.
Free Handout Download
The Importance of Networking for Counsellors