What Should You Ask a Supervisor Before Booking?

I was privileged during my early career to have clinical supervision included in the work that I did in community based agencies in Michigan. For new grads, and even some MACP students in Ontario this is not the norm. Supervision is an incredibly important and expensive investment into your future as a psychotherapist and it is crucial to ensure that you are working with a professional who can assist you in your learning. With that in mind here are my must asks:

1. What is your professional affiliation? Cross college supervision is allowed in the field and can be very beneficial, however, it is important to know the supervisor’s professional registration and how they define supervision. For example, psychologist’s define supervision very differently than psychotherapists and social workers.

2. What is the level of access will you need to my client files? This will vary again across professional affiliation and the contract that you sign with them. Some supervisors, particularly when they agree to be listed on your invoices and receipts, will require access to your client notes, treatment plans and possibly even request recordings of sessions. This is to ensure that you are practicing in a manner that they agree with as they are assuming liability related to your clients.

3. How often will you recommend meeting and how will the agenda be set for these meetings? This will likely depend on your number of client files, whether you are meeting solely with this supervisor or have multiple supervisors, and what your budget allows for in terms of consistency. There will likely be an initial conversation about the topics to be discussed and make sure to ask if your supervisor is willing to engage around all of the topics that you may like to explore. Are they comfortable talking about ethics in business? Are they able to advise you related to the populations you want to gain knowledge of? Will they be receptive to feedback if you want to focus on a different area?

4. Are you available to meet outside of scheduled meetings in case of an urgent issue? This will vary widely based on the supervisor and it is important to clarify if they have the desire to be contacted outside of scheduled meetings. It will also be important to understand any additional cost that may be associated with reaching out in between scheduled meetings.

5. What is the cost? This will also vary widely. I have seen individual supervision priced anywhere from $80 - $200 per hour, I have seen dyadic supervision anywhere from $45 - $115 per participant per hour and group supervision anywhere from $35 - $70 per participant per hour. While cost is absolutely an important factor it is essential to ensure that the other components of supervision align for you.

To summarize, it is my encouragement that you shop around for a supervisor in the same way that you would shop around for a therapist. It is important that they have the professional background, training and experience that you are seeking and it is equally important that you find them approachable. You will need to bring a large amount of vulnerability to supervision for it to be effective and if you do not feel safe enough to show up with your mistakes and mis-steps it will limit your learning. My hope for you initial conversation with the supervisor you choose to work with is that there is a sense ease and rapport in this initial conversation.

What Should You Ask a Therapist Before Booking?

Picking a therapist that is a good fit can be a particularly daunting task.  There may be hundreds of options in your area, with all kinds of experience and all kinds of fees.  Here's my list of all the questions I think are important to ask or find the answer to when searching people out online.

1. What is their background and training?  Do they have and specialties or areas of focus?  If you are looking for someone to assist you managing and addressing your trauma history, you will want to ensure that they are qualified in this area.  Are they offering you choices and options when you speak with them or seeming to be quite directive? If you are looking for a therapist that can help with your child's recent diagnosis, you will want someone who has training in working directly with children. Do they have training in Play Therapy?  Be as clear as you can about what you are hoping to get out of attending sessions so that they will know if they have the skill set to assist you.

2. What are their professional affiliations?  This field has several different professional paths to reach it and it may be important to you to know designation of the therapist you decide to book with, particularly if insurance will be covering some of your sessions.  Everyone practicing should be affiliated with a governing body.  If they are a Social Worker clinician, like me, in Ontario they will need to be registered with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers.  You can also search their registration to ensure that they have not had any discipline sanctioned by their governing body.

3. It will be important to know all things finance related.  Therapy can be a large financial commitment and it is best to go into it knowing roughly what your expenses will be.  So what is their fee?  Do they offer a sliding scale?  Do they accept insurance and are they able to direct bill?  What fees are associated if you cancel or do not attend your session?

4. What can you expect from the sessions? How many sessions might you expect to attend? How frequent do they typically book sessions? What is the general structure of their sessions?  Mostly talking, or do they incorporate skill building like meditation, yoga, art, etc in sessions?

These last few questions are a bit more personality and personal fit based.  Not all therapists will be comfortable providing you with answers.

5. Personal background.  What religion are they, if any? Do they have their own history of trauma or addictions? Do aspects of their identity match yours in a way that you feel is important? If you feel strongly that you would like a therapist that is coming from a similar perspective or background as you these questions could be important.  It is also important to remember that they may still be a really good therapeutic fit for you, even if they have not experienced the same things that you have.  

6.  Their own self-care.  Do they access clinical supervision regularly?  Are they connected with their own therapist?  We are all human and those in helping professions need to be diligent about their own mental health and self-care because of the nature of our work.  

My hope is that this list gives you some ideas about how to approach interviewing and selecting a therapist that will be a good fit for you and your needs.  Most therapists will also offer a phone or in person consultation to discuss your hopes for therapy and determine if they may be able to assist you.  Are there any other questions that you think are important?

What Does It Mean to Be Embodied?

Embodiment is one of those buzz terms getting tossed around the psychology and wellness world right now, but what does it mean and why should you care? 

When you are embodied, you feel that your body is your home.  You feel safe and connected with all parts of yourself.  You are able to feel and identify your emotional and physical sensations.  You are able to self soothe, because you know how you feel and what helps you to shift this feeling.

These might seem like really common sense things.  If they are for you that is amazing!  For loads of people though, being present within the body is not something that comes naturally and actually takes a lot of really hard work.  We may have spent years hating our bodies, denying feelings that were overwhelming or outside of our control. 

It is common for trauma survivors to not recall a time that they have ever felt comfortable or safe in their bodies.  This is slow, hard work to bring yourself back home when the territory is completely unfamiliar.  My favourite way that I work with people to do this is through yoga.  Not your typical, Vinyasa flow, downward dog, pretzel flexibility yoga.  Slow, gentle, at your own pace, we do together yoga.  Yoga where you turn inward and really notice how it feels to turn your neck.  Yoga where you can remind yourself the whole way through that you are on your mat, taking care of yourself, at your pace, however it all might look.  You only notice your breath if you want to.  This is a yoga with a complete lack of expectations, detached from all the outcomes.  Allowing yourself to just be rather than trying to be better leads to unexpectedly beautiful embodiment.

Embodiment gets you in touch with who you were before someone else told you who you are. – Alison Post