A little about Supervision

NOTE: Every counsellor that is registered with the Australian Counselling Association (ACA) and Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) is required to have supervision.  It’s likely that all other associations and governing bodies for counselling also have policies and standards, however, as an ACA Clinical Supervisor this article will be written from that perspective.

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As a practicing therapist when I am doing intake for a new client I mention that while conversations are confidential, one of the reason that details may be shared is in clinical supervision.  I’ve been asked what this is, so I though I’d share a few details on the how, why and what it is.

I must have a minimum 10 hours of clinical supervision per annum.  The recommendation is one hour for every 20 hours of client contact hours. There are also different types of supervision, such as individual, group, and peer.  This requirement is mandatory regardless of whether I’m a volunteer or in paid employment.  I also happen to be a Supervisor, and yes, I have to also get supervision as a supervisor.

What is supervision?

Supervision is where a clinician will discuss cases so they can identify any behavioural or psychological changes that may be impacting their ability to work effectively with the client.  This allows the clinician to reflect of their own ability and areas that may need to be improved or changed.  It is the supervisors role to challenge the clinician on any areas that may be falling short of standards, and or areas that may be a danger to the clinician or the client. A supervisor is there to support the safety and wellbeing of both.

A variety of topics can be discussed in supervision, such as; case studies, professional development goals, health and safety, healthy practice, transference and counter-transference, and business development.

Where clients are discussed the details are deidentified.  For example, “a female aged 27, married with two children presented with relationship issues with her partner”. It’s possible more details will be discussed as part of the supervision session, but names, location, or other identifying data will be shared.

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Are there different types of supervision?

There are three types of supervision.

Individual Supervision is sometimes called one-to-one.  This is the commonly undertaken supervision and can be conducted by phone, online or face-to-face.  The benefit of this type of supervision is that the time is dedicated to the topic the clinician decides to discuss.  The downside to this type of supervision can be the cost as depending on the supervisor and can be as high as $200+ per session.

Peer Supervision can be conducted individually or in groups, however only two (2) of the total 10 hours can be in this category.  This is because there is no requirement for there to be a qualified clinical supervisor present.  There may be a small cost involved with peer supervision, but it more likely colleagues discussing a case in a formal setting.  The benefits here are that is can be low cost and accessible in an emergency such a difficult session while at work, the downside is that the peer may not have the skills you require to assist fully.  Peer supervision is not a chat between colleagues over coffee or the printer.

Group Supervision is an organised event where a small group of clinicians with gather to discuss the many areas that make up counselling practice.  It may be a specialised topic group, such as LGBTIQA+, or grief, or it may be general practice group where the topics are varied.  The advantage to type is that you will likely hear many different topics that may not come across if your practice is specialised, you’ll also hear many different possible solutions which will give many points of reflection.  The downside may be that if the group is poorly facilitated you may not get to share your input or you may not gather information relevant to your practice.  There is no limit to the amount of Group that can be included in your annual requirement. Cost can be as low as free, and as high as $200 per session.

In all types of supervision the rules around deidentification are adhered too. 

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Why have supervision?

Apart from it being an ACA requirement counsellors and, indeed anyone working with people in crisis, are exposed to a demand on their emotional and professional wellbeing.  The demands on the practitioner can vary depending on the topics or situations but it can, over time, become troublesome.  This is because no one can objective, confident in their abilities and practice, or be aware of their bias’ at all times.  Most people also have little ability to fully self-reflect consistently.

A supervisor has the ability to help the practitioner to meet their professional requirements by being objective, asking question about ethical and professional standards, querying the way they approach client issues, and supporting their health and wellbeing.  However it is worth noting that supervision is NOT counselling.  If it is reflected that the practitioner could benefit from deeper reflection on a topic that is personal, it will be suggested that personal counselling is undertaken.

Where can I see the documents you’ve referenced?

As I am an ACA member and in the ACA College of Supervisors I have linked the ACA Supervision Policy here and because I’m a good guy, I’ve also looked at and become familiar with the PACFA Supervision Standard which is here.

There are a few differences, such as the ACA says that there can be one Supervisor for every 10 participants in a group, whereas PACFA require that be no more that six per Supervisor.

PACFA also require more supervision for more than client facing hours, for example, if you conduct more than 400 client facing hours annually, or you are a supervisor, you are required to have 15 hours of supervision.

You can see the types of supervision we offer at The Secret Keeper here.

Do you have any other questions about supervision?  Post it in the comments now.

References (accessed 28th May 2025): ACA Supervision Policy - https://theaca.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ACA-Supervision-Policy-v12-1.pdf

PACFA Supervision Standard - https://theaca.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ACA-Supervision-Policy-v12-1.pdf