Supervision
with Clinical & Educational Psychologist Dr Gill Walker
Dr Gill Walker has over 25 years experience with psychology supervision and is a Psychology Board of Australia Approved Supervisor
My Competencies as a Supervisor
I am a Psychology Board of Australia Approved Supervisor, and I supervise:
- provisional psychologists
- clinical psychology registrars
- general psychologists
- clinical psychologists
- other mental health professionals
I obtained registration as a supervisor with the British Psychological Society in 2010, and my equivalence as an AHPRA approved Supervisor in 2021. I have worked with Older Adults, Adults and Children, Forensic and In-Patient services, with Intellectual and Learning Disabilities and Complex Mental Health issues.
The therapies that I use regularly include:
- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
- Dialectic Behaviour Therapy
- Transactional Analysis
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
My Philosophy of Supervision
While supervision is mandatory, it is also an extraordinary and vital part of the practice of psychology. Supervision ensures that practitioners comply with the highest ethical standards, using up-to-date, evidence-based treatments, and engaging in self-care, which is a key ingredient to be effective to help others to heal.
Supportive
A practitioner should feel able to come to supervision and feel that it is supportive enough to be safe to talk about what is challenging them. As supervisor, I want to ensure that you feel understood, and that you can work through challenges with my support, to an agreed solution. Often the dilemmas are unique, and there may not be an obvious solution.
Challenging
A key part of supervision is experiencing a gentle challenge, so that we learn and develop in our practice. This might involve role plays, case discussions, readings and training, and will extend the skills of the supervisee to develop new knowledge, perspectives and to be reflective about their practice. It is my role as supervisor to hold the challenge to the right level for your needs, so you grow and thrive. I invite supervisees to indicate if they are challenged appropriately.
Finding a Good Fit
In psychology we recognise the importance of the individual relationship, even within the professional supervisory relationship. Supervisees need to be able to share personal matters and know they will be supported with these. I understand that you might want to come and meet me to discover our fit, to see if you want to take up supervision with me. This is a key part of the ongoing relationship, where you are invited to share what you need, and if necessary, decide that time has come to move forward with a different supervisor.
AHPRA Supervision Framework
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency defines policy about the practice of the profession of psychology in Australia. There are different levels of training that psychologists may complete, with different implications for supervision.
5+1 Pathway: Supervision to become a General Psychologist
People who have completed an approved 5 year tertiary course in psychology in the last 10 years may become Registered Psychologists if they undertake an approved graduate diploma in psychology, followed by one year of supervised practice with a board approved supervisor.
Clinical Psychology Registrar Pathway: Supervision to become a Clinical Psychologist
People who have completed an approved 6 year tertiary course in clinical psychology may become Clinical Psychologists if they undertake up to 2 years of supervised practice with a board approved supervisor who has held an Endorsement in Clinical Psychology for 2 years.
AHPRA Core Competencies
AHPRA defines 8 core capabilities that all psychologists must demonstrate. These competencies are what supervisors evaluate performance against as trainee psychologists or registrars progress through their training placements.
Knowledge of the Discipline; a psychologist must demonstrate knowledge of evidence-based psychological interventions, psychological processes across the lifespan, a broad understanding of psychological theories and psychopathology.
Psychological Measurement and Assessment; a psychologist must demonstrate competency with mental status examinations, assessments of potential risks of harm to self or others, counselling skills, diagnostic classification systems, psychometric test use, and report writing. A key aspect of this is learning to formulate how predisposing, precipitating, perpetuating and protective factors link to presenting problems and treatment plans.
Intervention Strategies; a psychologist must be able to use counselling skills and relationship building to develop evidence-based interventions that link diagnosis and psychological formulation to an individually designed treatment plan that is regularly monitored and altered as therapy evolves.
Communication and Interpersonal Relationships; psychological practice requires highly developed spoken and written communication skills in order to offer treatments to a broad range of clients and liaise with their families, communities and diverse health care professionals.
Research and Evaluation; offering up to date evidence-based interventions requires that a psychologist capably reviews current literature to determine which interventions enjoy the most robust empirical support. In some cases, where evidence-based practice is not yet available, a psychologist may be required to develop practice-based evidence, evaluating and monitoring adapted or novel interventions to treat specific difficulties.
Ethical, Legal and Professional Matters; psychologists are in an unusual position with respect to their clients, in which they learn intimate information about a person who may be vulnerable to exploitation for various reasons. In recognition that clients of psychological services may be at risk of exploitation by psychological therapists, strict ethical and professional guidelines govern the practice of psychology. These standards are highly important to the safe practice of psychology, and are the responsibility of all psychologists on behalf of the profession.
Working within a Cross Cultural Context; psychologists are required to develop therapeutic relationships and establish empathy with a broad variety of people, and thus must be aware of cultural diversity, and be comfortable working with clients from different cultural, religious, ethnic, gender and sexual milieus to their own.
Practice Across the Lifespan; psychologists must have experience working with clients of all ages, and be aware of how age and stage of life may influence psychological well-being.