Reflective Practice/Supervision
Reflective practice, also called supervision, can offer a place for support and listening. It can also be a place to gather the skills and information needed to establish solid professional boundaries that are important for the success and well-being of complementary and alternative practitioners. Many experienced practitioners were never trained in the complexities of client-practitioner relationships and reflective practice provides a space to learn new ideas or reinforce your own good decisions.
Those working in counselling and psychotherapy are fully aware of the effects of this on the therapist and ultimately, therefore, on the client. It is, however, only recently becoming clear that for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapists there is as great a need for support and a place to off-load and reflect on your work. This is largely due to the great scope for carrying the psycho-emotional and energetic 
transferences that occur beyond the physical treatment that might have taken place at face value.
In most cases, our training has equipped us to be able to offer treatments that are effective and beneficial and as we become more assured in our skills and experience we can feel more confident and relaxed. However it is inevitable that along our career we face various challenges. Although it is easy to assume a new practitioner is more likely to need support in their practice, as our experience deepens we are more likely to encounter deeper and more profound interactions that often require a wider view and a more insightful reflection.
The client-practitioner relationship is an important part of the treatment process which relies on confidentiality, trust and an appropriate exchange of both information and hands on work. It can be an intimate and challenging dynamic and requires great integrity and clarity to be effective and appropriate.
Reflective practice gives CAM practitioners an opportunity to reflect on themselves and their needs in relation to their work with clients. This work is unique in that we are working intimately at the interface between the physical, emotional and energetic aspects of a person. Whether we do this with direct intention or it is a natural bi-product of our work, sometimes we find ourselves holding a lot more than is seen overtly in a session.
Many practitioners find that, despite being skilled in their particular therapy, they are not always equipped to deal with many of the common challenges that occur in this work. Issues to do with clients arising from appointment management such as late arrivals, late cancellations or charging for services; plus subtle dynamics that can occur due to the nature of transference and projection in therapeutic relationships often need support and reflection, both for the benefit of the client and the practitioner.
I first experienced the benefits of supervision in 1995 as a trainee counsellor. I continued to receive supervision for my work as a counsellor and then again as a cranio-sacral therapist.
As a supervisor myself I receive supervision for my supervision work in addition to my work as a complementary practitioner.
I am an accredited supervisor for the CSTA and currently supervise practitioners in both a one to one and small group setting. I also have experience facilitating multi-disciplinary reflective practice groups.