Supervision for Hypnotherapists
Hypnotherapy Business Academy now offers voluntary supervision services for students and graduates from their Ultimate Results Diploma in Hypnotherapy course.
Right now, supervision is voluntary, but with new regulations on the way in Ireland, it’s essential that the school you train with is actively integrating with other psychotherapy modalities and offers a best practice approach to training and post training opportunities for all students and graduates. Membership of the General Hypnotherapy Register also encourages voluntary supervision for all professional hypnotherapists.
But up until now it was difficult to find professional cross-profession supervisors who also had a working experience of hypnotherapy and integrating hypnotherapy into other disciplines.
Our Professional Supervisors
Liam Cannon and Denis O’Connor are our two supervisors. Both have a B.Sc (Hons) in Counselling & Psychotherapy, Post Grad Diploma in Supervision for Counsellors and Psychotherapists and an MA in cross Professional Supervision.
Both have completed the Ultimate Results Diploma in Hypnotherapy and both use hypnotherapy alongside their counselling services.
Watch the video for an overview of the optional supervision services we now offer to all graduates from our diploma and CPD courses.
Cross Professional Supervision for Hypnotherapists
This model of Supervision provides the Supervisor with the necessary skills to work across professions such as, Counselling & Psychotherapy, Hypnotherapy, Nursing, Social work, Psychology, Education, Finance, Priests, Nuns, Garda, People in Management/HR etc
Of extra benefit, both Denis and Liam have trained to diploma level in hypnotherapy and have integrated hypnotherapy into their professional counselling practices.
What is supervision?
Supervision is a space to bring our work with client in order to reflect on and learn from our practice. Some typical questions that we might use in supervision are,
- What did we set out to do?
- What happened?
- What went well?
- What went badly?
- What have we learned?
- What would we do differently the next time?
Why is Supervision for Hypnotherapists important?
As therapists our role is to facilitate our clients in gaining an understanding of their issues and what it is they seek from therapy. This is the most important part of our work. To help the client verbalise exactly what it is they seek from therapy.
As a hypnotherapist we are working with various models of therapy as well as hypnosis. Hypnosis is the vehicle under which therapy is delivered, therefore a clear understanding of the client’s needs is essential as this informs us as to what therapeutic tools will work best.
It is said that up to 80% of communication is non verbal, therefore in any interaction between two people there is a very high percentage of unspoken communication that both client and therapist are aware off. In Psychodynamic Psychotherapy this is recognised by the energies that are transferred between client and therapist.
This is known as Transference and counter-transference and directly impacts the work in any session. Most of it is outside of conscious awareness until it is processed through supervision. This can and does often effect our work in many ways. We may find the client difficult, we may feel quite anxious with certain clients and not others, we may question our skills and practice as a therapist and not feel good enough.
Supervision is a learning forum which is reflective and reflexive. It allows us become aware of ourselves as therapists and to continue our own development as a therapist.
Through supervision we unpack the struggles we have as therapists in our work, this allows us to deliver transformative hypnotherapy tailored to clients needs. It allows us to identify our stumbling blocks and explore ways of managing these better as hypnotherapists.
Models of Supervision
There are many models of Supervision and each model has several focus points that add to the learning of the supervisee which enhances the experience of therapy for the client.
Carroll (2006) sets out seven tasks in supervision that are used in order to enhance the learning of the supervisee.
- To monitor administrative aspects to our work
- To set up a learning relationship
- To teach
- To evaluate
- To monitor professional and ethical issues
- To counsel
- To consult
Hawkins and Shohet (2007) set out a seven stage model that is known as the double matrix model. This is known as a process model of supervision.
- Focus on the client and what and how they present
- Exploration of the strategies and intervention used by the supervisee
- Focus on the relationship between the client and the supervisee, (this is attending to the transference) ie learning from the client,
- Focussing on the supervisee
- Focusing on the supervisory relationship (counter-transference). What’s been mirrored here???
- The supervisor focussing on their own process.
- Focussing on the wider context in which the work happens
Parallel process is a term used to describe various unconscious processes that exist within our work with clients. For example a client describing an experience that they’ve experienced and we have experienced similar. How will this impact us in working with that client??
How Often Should Hypnotherapists Have Supervision?
Supervision should be monthly, it puts space and time aside in order that we are working ethically and professionally in the best interest of our clients. In Counselling/Psychotherapy supervision is mandatory for the duration of your career otherwise you will not gain accreditation as a therapist. This has to be renewed yearly and requires a supervisors report. Counselling and Psychotherapy are in the process of being regulated as a profession and this is set to continue across all psychological therapies.
Whilst the general practice of hypnotherapy hasn’t yet made supervision mandatory, there is a need to ensure we operate at the same standard as other professions working within the therapy space.
Do you Offer Skype / telephone Supervision for Hypnotherapists?
Yes. Skype and/or telephone supervision is available for people who cannot travel.
Contacting Denis and Liam
You can visit Liam Cannon’s website at
http://www.newdawncounselling.net/index.htm
You can visit Denis O’Connor’s website at
http://www.newvisioncounselling.com/
or email Liam at
or Denis at