Working alliance for individual supervision

The following information aims to clarify the roles of supervisor and supervisee, including rights and responsibilities. In adherence to professional code(s) of ethics and practice, the following is a typical contract:

Supervision

As your supervisor, I aim to promote your control over your professional practice, respecting your ability and responsibility to make decisions and change in your work in the light of your own beliefs and values.

Together, we aim to create and monitor a working alliance in which:

• You are supported and encouraged to personally and professionally develop at your own pace.
• You gain confidence and professional competence so as to give the best possible service in your work.
• We share responsibility for monitoring the application of your code of ethics and practice to your work.
• We are each open to feedback, growth and change.
• We will offer one another at least four sessions notice prior to closure, in order to work through issues of separation.

As the supervisee, please aim to:

• Attend regularly and promptly for each agreed supervision session, being diligent about preparation and any agreed assignments.
• Share your work in an accessible and focused manner.
• Inform me about any contractual obligations that may affect your work with your employer, counselling and/or training agency to which you remain accountable.
• Keep your own records of our supervision work.
• Initially express any doubts, difficulties or blocks about the supervision directly to me as your supervisor, either verbally or in writing. If there is no satisfactory conclusion, please make your complaint in writing to the Chairperson of the Universities Psychotherapy and Counselling Association (UPCA).

Charges

To meet the running costs of the supervision offered, charges will be made for supervision. Notice of one month will be offered about any change to charges. You are responsible for payment of fees for any agreed sessions that you have failed to attend, except in cases of genuine emergency. We will regularly review arrangements, typically every 6 months. For information about current rates, please contact ruach.

Confidentiality

Information given and records made during supervision will be kept confidential, except in the circumstances cited below. At your request, you can receive access to your records, information re availability of the records to others and the degree of security with which they are kept. As your supervisor, I receive professional supervision of supervision from a professionally qualified supervisor, who also shares the commitment to confidentiality.

If I have grounds to believe you may cause significant harm to others or yourself, either through your professional practice or personally. I will make every reasonable effort to persuade you to seek the relevant support and help and to make any appropriate and ethical changes to your working practice. If I have grounds to believe you are no longer responsible for your professional and/or personal actions, any decision to break confidentiality on my part will be with your consent except where there is clear evidence of danger to yourself or others. Such a decision will only be made after consultation with my supervisor of supervision.