- Supervision GuidelinesSupervision guidelines policy
Counsellors:ACC expects all Counsellors to engage in 1½ hrs of contracted supervision of counselling per month as a minimum standard at all levels.However given vacation periods a minimum of 10 sessions per annum is required. This can be accrued through both one-to-one and group sessions (see ACC guidelines concerning how time is to be calculated in a group setting). Members should consult their Supervisor(s) about their ratio of supervision to client numbers / hours. There are no fixed requirements, but a suggestion would be that, if you have more than 8 clients a week, you increase supervision by approximately half an hour (½ hr) per month and /or increase the frequency of sessions e.g. 3weekly rather than monthly.
Students: Students on counselling courses must ensure they are informed and are fulfilling the supervision requirements of their course, which may vary from course to course. ACC generally expect supervision accrued to be around 1½ hrs per month and will verify this with Training Providers if necessary,with regard to individual students seeking ACC Membership and /or making application to the Student Register.
Supervisors: ACC expects all Supervisors to engage in regular supervision of supervision,according to workload. This should be contracted separately from supervision of counselling, even when the same Supervisor is used for both activities. Members should consult their Supervisor of supervision about their ratio of supervision to supervisee numbers / hours. There are no fixed requirements but a suggestion would be 1hrevery 6-8 weeks for around 5 Supervisees.
General Guidelines:
- ACC does not specify a ratio of hours to clients / supervisees, as it is recognised that different Counsellors, Supervisors and Registrants will have different requirements
- You are responsible for your own supervision needs: the amount of supervision must reflect the case load and complexity of work undertaken and supervision hours should be increasedaccordingly.
- You should set the frequency and duration of supervision at a level that allows all aspects of work in all work contexts, including professional development (e.g.. CPD) and self care,to be discussed fully and also enables the development of a constructive supervisory relationship.
- It is advisable that no supervision session is of more than 2hrs duration.
- It is advisable to contract different Supervisors for supervision of counselling and supervision of supervision.
- You should review your supervisory arrangements and requirements with your Supervisoras soon as there is a change in your practice situation or to your personal circumstances.
- It is advisable to regularly review your supervisory arrangements and requirements with your Supervisor.
- ACC recommends you consider, in consultation with your current Supervisor, moving to a new Supervisor about every 5 yrs
- You should take the following into account when deciding any of the above:
i)The amount of counselling, psychotherapy and supervision work undertaken and contexts/settings
ii)The complexity of your work
iii)Your experience and training
iv)Your developmental needs and aims
v)Specific specialisms,issues and difficulties
vi)Your life / work balance
NB:Please note that if you are an ACC Accredited Member or wish to apply for Accreditation, you must maintain a minimum of an hour and a half (1½hrs) of contracted supervision per month even when workload is minimal, or you have no clients currently. (Please consult the ACC Guidelines concerning how to manage and register a break in practice e.g. maternity leave; illness or bereavement).