Supervision FAQ

 

Professional Supervision is a partnership between the Supervisor and the Supervisee. It is a contractual, collaborative and confidential process based upon informed consent.

 

 

NZAC requires all practising counsellors to seek supervision. (Code of Ethics, Section 9) Supervision supports accountability to clients, employers, the public and the Association. Professional supervision is a primary resource for every counsellor in the maintenance and development of safe, ethical and effective practice.

 

 

Professional Supervision is for counsellors to reflect on and develop effective and ethical practice. It also has a monitoring purpose with regard to counsellors’ work. Supervision includes personal support, mentoring professional identity development and reflection upon the relationships between persons, theories, practices, work contexts and cultural perspectives. Supervision should be consultative and collaborative without being collusive.

 

 

Supervision should take place regularly with the same supervisor over a continuous period of time. The frequency of supervision is in relation to workload and relative to the experience of the Counsellor.
One hour of supervision per fortnight is the recommended guideline for those working full-time.
As long as counsellors are seeing clients they must participate in supervision.
As long as members are supervising counsellors they are required to have supervision for their supervision work. (See Code of Ethics 9.3. (c))

 

 

Supervision is part of your professional responsibilities, and it is appropriate for you to go in work time. However, this may need to be negotiated with your employer, or agency manager.

 

 

If your employer requires you to be an NZAC member, then it is appropriate they pay for supervision. However, again this may need to be negotiated with your employer.

 

 

The Supervisor is responsible for sighting and ‘signing-off’ the Annual Practicing Certificate for a Supervisee.
Constitution 5 C. b) A person shall cease to be a Member or Provisional Member when a properly completed declaration for the Annual Practising Certificate, has not been received within three (3) months of the date on which the account was rendered.

 

 

Puawānanga is a process, based on a relationship with your Puawānanga Kaitiaki which supports the first Object of the Te Rōpū Kaiwhiriwhiri o Aotearoa NZAC Constitution and Members' responsibility to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Te Rōpū Māori acknowledges tangata whenua and tau iwi will have different knowledge and understanding of Te Ao Māori but aspire towards achieving cultural understanding and competence.

 

 

The 18 months to 5 years as a Provisional Member is a time to learn the kaupapa of NZAC. This is non-negotiable for all Provisional Members.

 

 

An external Supervisor is outside of your workplace and has no responsibility for your practice within the workplace. They will have a more objective view of your practice. An external Supervisor is not involved in any of your workplace processes and decisions, ensuring supervision is a safe and protected place for you to discuss work issues.

 

 

Once you are a full Member you can choose a Supervisor from a similar professional body with a Code of Ethics who requires supervision of their members. The supervisor needs to be a full member of their professional body for at least five years. The Supervisor also has to agree to NZAC processes and be able to support you with your Continuing Professional Development and annual registration requirements.

 

 

You need to be a full Member for 5 years before offering supervision to other Counsellors.

 

 

No, NZAC does not require you to have a supervision qualification, though it is preferable if you do. However, it is expected you will do some training and professional development in supervision.

 

 

You need to work collaboratively with the Counsellors you supervise to complete their APC, Annual Practicing Certificate and their CPD, Continuing Professional Development requirements.

 

 

In addition to the kōrero about their mahi, it is also important to ensure the Provisional Member knows the Code of Ethics and is informed about NZAC kaupapa. After the required 30 supervision sessions you will complete the Supervisor’s Report to support their Application for full Membership.

 

 

Experienced Supervisors may apply for an exemption from the 5-year requirement.