In this issue
Features
Soul power: self, practice and collective evolution
Caroline Jesper describes the impact of the supervisory relationship on the worlds of the supervisee, supervisor and client
Soul and identity in supervision (free article)
Manu Bazzano explores identity and affect in the supervisory space
The bandaged place
Hilda McKinney focuses on working with wounds in soulful supervision
Facilitating the experience of soul in supervision and therapy
Dr Els van Ooijen offers a personal approach to soulful supervision
A writing space: scribing the soul in supervision
Jeannie Wright explores reflective writing in supervision
Demystifying the general data protection regulation (GDPR): some of the issues relevant to the counselling professions
David Membrey and Barbara Mitchels explore the implications of GDPR for counsellors and psychotherapists
Regulars
From the Chair
Let our voices be heard! Maureen Slattery·Marsh
A pdf of this issue is available in the Thresholds archive
From the editor: Being, not doing
On October 11, 2018, BACP held an event in Gateshead on Working with Soul in Supervision. This issue of Thresholds celebrates the event and all of the speakers have contributed an article. I hope you’ll enjoy their various takes on the topic.
I was fortunate, as a psychotherapy trainee, to study a modality which has spirituality at its centre. So, spirituality was included in my supervision. One of the most important choices a trainee counsellor/psychotherapist needs to make at the beginning of their career is who to choose as a supervisor. As with any relationship, it takes time to get to know someone and work out whether you are compatible. I recommend taking time to find someone you can be open with, someone who challenges you enough and someone who fully supports your journey to becoming the best counsellor/therapist you can be. I am very grateful for the excellent supervision I received towards the end of my training. It took quite a while to find the right person to work with and it makes such a huge difference when they are found.
Louis Cozolino, in his helpful guide to therapists beginning their practice, The Making of a Therapist, describes his frustration with psychotherapy training: ‘Unfortunately, most training programs focus almost exclusively on “what to do” not “how to be”. …My teachers and supervisors were not particularly open about their internal experience and the challenges they encountered during training. Perhaps it didn’t seem appropriate to burden a student with their personal issues or perhaps they felt it was a violation of professional boundaries. I suspect that my training experience would have been quite different if my mentors did share more of their personal experiences with me. I wish they would have. I know that it was very difficult for me to imagine getting to where they were from where I started. It would have helped if I knew they overcame obstacles that were as large as the ones I seemed to be facing.’1 I agree with Cozolino; being does not get enough attention during training. I was fortunate to have mentors who shared their personal experiences with me and I found their honesty very helpful.
I would like to wish you all a peaceful start to 2019 and look forward to another year of exploration in the worlds of counselling and spirituality.
Amanda Anderson
thresholds.editorial@bacp.co.uk
Reference
1. Cozolino L. The making of a therapist: a practical guide for the inner journey. New York: WW Norton & Company; 2004.