On Thursday mornings I have two rounds of supervision which focus on the client I see on Tuesday nights through my school's Hope Counseling Center. I can have up to four clients but right now most people just have one. It usually picks up in the fall I've heard, so we'll see if I get someone new. Currently, my client gets a lot of attention because it's only her I have to focus on in my supervision times.
From 8:30-9:30am I meet with Terry who is my individual supervisor, followed by a 10:00-11:30 class of group supervision with six students and a PSI professor. Yesterday was my turn to do a case presentation for the group which included a devotional, playing 15 minutes of tape from the last session, and explaining my treatment plans and goals for future sessions utilizing a major counseling theory. I was kind of nervous about it, especially about the tape. As a beginning therapist, you never feel confident playing tape for your supervisor, even though you know it will be worth it. The whole thing ended up being so awesome though. I gained about 6 new sights about my client which included new suggestions of things to ask and try. Plus, everyone encouraged me and said I did a great job. I was the first one to do mine this semester so I was a little uncertain about that as well. It was so helpful but I am also glad it's over with!
Here's some of my favorite bits of advice I've gotten, mostly from Terry, thus far:
-you will never really harm your client (advice given as I moan over something I said that I thought was stupid)
-the relationship you have with your client is always more important than the techniques you chose to employ.
-as long as someone is alive, there's hope for change.
-if a theme/comment is important, it will come up again in the future (this advice is good when I feel afraid that I missed a chance to say something in session)
-trust your instincts.
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