Why do counsellors and psychotherapists have supervision?

We encounter the whole range of clients’ emotional experiences, but most likely we are faced with their raw, vulnerable and difficult to tolerate emotions and thoughts. We are there to help them hold these difficult experiences, and hopefully transform and heal them, but inevitably we are also affected by them, not only as therapists but also as human beings. This is in part because we bring our own personal history and therefore our own wounds to the therapeutic relationship. Even if we have been in therapy ourselves, we are imperfect human beings, and always in the process of becoming, just like everyone. If we do not attend to this, we can be in danger of depletion or burn-out. Supervision enables us to reflect on our work with our clients, and especially on the therapeutic relationship. In the supportive and appropriately challenging container of the supervisory relationship, we are enabled to distinguish what is ours from what is the client’s, become clear about the relational dynamics that are occurring, explore possible interventions and identify our growing edge as a helping professional. Supervision can also help us ensure that our self-care is adequate, and that we are providing the highest standards of care to our clients.