2. How to Find the Right Professional Supervisor for You. Part 2 of 3

Part 2 of a 3 part series.

Making the initial contact:  

As a first step, contact the potential supervisor/s via phone or email and book an initial call. This call can take around 15 minutes, and you will need to get a sense of them as a person and a Supervisor before deciding whether you would like to engage them. This initial contact call is not a supervision session (which would be chargeable time for them). This phone call determines whether they seem a comfortable fit for your needs. The initial phone call is a job interview, and you are the interviewer. Here are a few thoughts about finding a Supervisor you can work with.

What questions should I ask myself while interviewing prospective Supervisors?

1.      Safety and Trust

Do I feel like I could trust this person? Do I feel safe with them?

Supervision is a process that will put you into a space where you may feel vulnerable. Vulnerability requires trust and safety.

The supervision space involves reflection. Reflection is a powerful tool that helps us stay resourced and creative in our work. The process of reflection will invariably hit on some of our vulnerabilities and compel us to look at them during our supervision sessions. This process must be well managed, and the Supervisee needs to feel safe with the Supervisor facilitating this process.

Can I trust this person with what happens to me and in me through my work?

Do I feel heard? Do I feel rushed?

If you do not get a sense of safety from the Supervisor during your initial phone call, then this person is not the right person for you.

2.      Rapport 

Is this person someone I 'click' with, resonate with, or feel a good connection with?

Is this person a nice person with whom I would like to spend an hour a month?

If there is no connection during the initial phone call with your prospective Supervisor, then this is not the person to give permission to see the inside lining of your soul. Find a Supervisor that you connect with.

Ideal personal qualities include that they are warm, empathic, professional, caring, organised, engaged, articulate, boundaried and present.

3.      The Supervisor's Professional Experience  

Is it important to me, as a Supervisee, that my Supervisor has experience and understanding in my area of professional practice?

Unlike Clinical Supervisors, Professional Supervisors do not have to have professional experience in your fields of expertise to supervise you effectively. There is great value in engaging a supervisor who understands the nuances of your industry. Some people feel more understood when they relate to a supervisor who has worked in their profession and has some understanding of how it works.

Let me emphasise that the importance of the Supervisor's background experience is up to the Supervisee. The Professional Supervisor should and would be able to supervise you effectively while knowing little or nothing about your profession.

What questions should I ask my prospective Supervisors?

1.      Confidentiality – What is your approach to confidentiality?

Professional Supervisors should be able to outline the boundaries of confidentiality in their sessions clearly. These boundaries should include mandatory reporting, record keeping and boundaries around sharing information with other professionals (doctors etc).

2.      What types of supervision do you offer? Individuals and/or Groups (if groups, what sizes)

3.      How do you conduct your supervision sessions? In-person, walking supervision, via Zoom, via phone? In your office? In my place of business?

4.      How much do you charge for Professional Supervision?

Self-employed Supervisors set their own rates, but in general, you can expect to pay between $120 – $200 per session depending on the Supervisors' skills, experience, and who they are aiming their services towards. Some Supervisors are also coaches, chaplains, and pastors, and they bring a range of other skills and experience to their supervision sessions, which add value to your session. If you want the Supervisor to attend your work place they may charge an additional fee for travel and time.  

5.      How long is a session? Each individual supervision session will be around 50 – 60 minutes. Group sessions can run for different lengths of time depending on the clients requirements and budget. .