This is the sort of question many hypnotherapists ask. There is a very simple answer, and that is that you should be in supervision no matter how many therapy hours you have under your belt. There is no minimum or maximum. You never know when something will come up that you need help with. I have been a Supervisor since 2011 and I still have supervision. As my practice grows I am more and more appreciative of those who are there for me.

Good quality supervision carried out with an appropriately qualified Supervisor is a life-saver, sometimes literally. Most of the time, supervision is a way of checking in and discussing things that went well or not so well, with someone who is qualified to support and nurture you. It can be somewhere to explore new interventions or business tactics. It can be very ordinary! However, on the odd occasion when it is not, it is important to have built a relationship with someone who can help you to resolve any issues within your therapy, someone who knows you and understands your practice.

I have, unfortunately, had people ring me – either with the client in another room, or in a panic after the client has left the session. ‘Ah, but I would never do such a thing’ I hear you say – but of course you just don’t know. One lady got herself in a terrible situation by just ‘trying to help’ a client she was working with. She ended up having to call an ambulance, and spending two hours with the Ambulance people and the client before finally being free of the situation. Does this sort of thing happen often? Luckily no, but would you know what to do if it did? Are you in appropriate supervision to have someone to talk to and learn how not to make the same mistakes again? Remember, it is not a mistake if you learn from it. It is a learning opportunity. It is a mistake it you keep doing the same thing.

Regular, ongoing supervision can help you to become the best therapist you can become. It can help you to grow as a therapist, expand your knowledge and experience. Personally, I am very keen on group supervision as everyone in the room gets to learn from the others. We all get the opportunity to think about other people’s cases and how we might deal with them – without having to have them in the room. It provides space and thinking time.

When you are newly qualified and certainly for the first 3 years of starting your practice, you should be having supervision for a minimum of 30 minutes a month, every month (6 hours a year). This is a minimum, although many have a lot more. As a PHN Member, you will be expected to have the regular 30 minutes a month – so I ask you, who is your Supervisor?

I will be contacting members over the next few months to ask who they are in Supervision with and making sure that as an organisation we are offering the most professional service possible.

If you have any questions about supervision or Supervisors, please get in contact and I will do my best to answer them. If they are relevant to the wider group, I will happily write a blog about them that can be added to the site.

Author: Carole Samuda – PHN Supervisor