Diploma in Creative Supervision

Course details

Creative Supervision includes the use of action methods and creative approaches in the supervision of therapists and other professionals involved in direct work with clients of all ages, utilising a variety of theoretical frameworks, and in a variety of circumstances. These strategies will also prove useful in the mentoring and consultative roles that are part and parcel of many professional lives. This course will focus on utilising new and innovative approaches utilising the creative arts, lateral thinking, and playful activities in the supervision process. An aim is to facilitate supervisors to connect more fully with supervisees, and facilitate them in fully exploring and finding solutions to dilemmas in client work and in the management of clinical teams. There will be a focus on learning to match supervision style and process to supervisee needs, ensuring that the continuum of needs of those with varying degrees of experience are responded to in an integrated manner. Central to this is the use of informed intuition to hypothesise, blended with advanced skills in understanding intrapersonal and interpersonal processes and knowing when and how to apply diverse approaches.

This course is suitable to professionals adopting a variety of approaches in their work, regardless of the specific core training that they have undertaken. It is an experiential training with a substantial theoretical component and equips trainees to undertake the multiple roles of the supervisor. The core framework utilised in the course is humanistic and integrative. Our emphasis on creative approaches makes it suitable for thoses supervising practitioners who work in a wide ariety of settings, with a broad spectrum of clients including children and adolescents. Our main model for supervision is that developed by Hawkins and Shohet; the Seven Eyed Supervision Model described in their ground-breaking book ‘Supervision in the Helping Professions”. “The one really powerful book in this area, a book that fundamentally changed the way in which people think about supervision and training.” Professor John McLeod. There is also opportunities to review other relevant theoretical approaches.

Trainees will be expected to work with 2 supervisees (providing a total of 20 hours supervision) prior to graduating from the course. This work will be supervised within the course structure to maximise learning. In addition, participants will also engage in external supervision on supervision.

For the 2nd year, we are delighted to be able to deliver this training with input from a range of international experts in the field: Dr. Dr. Professor Mooli Lahad, Dr Sue Jennings, and Robin Shohet will all teach modules. There is also a one day conference entitled ‘Legal Issues for Supervisors and Supervisees’ included in the course. This Intensive Training Day is specifically designed to cover all you need to know about the delicate legal issues involved in therapeutic work with clients of all ages and is delivered by Seamus Clarke BL, a barrister with particular expertise in the field. Finally, Eileen Prendiville will be involved in the ethics component of the training.

Suitable Applicants:

This course is designed as an advanced experiential and skills based training for:

• Psychotherapists, play therapists, creative arts therapists, psychologists with considerable experience and who are ready to, or have started to, provide supervision.
• Health care and helping professionals holding supervisory responsibilities
• Teachers, carers, community workers who wish to develop their supervision skills
• Others with a supervisory role.