Supervision

Hello, I offer group and individual supervision as an ACA Accredited Clinical Supervisor.

The type of supervision I offer is warm, earthy and creative with the primary aim of nourishing, enlivening, energising and refreshing your practice as a Counsellor / Therapist.

I’m wondering what it is that you were taught about supervision before you started as a Counsellor / Therapist? For me I was taught that it was important – and that was it! I was then working in a not for profit organisation and there was no collabouration or discussion about the type of supervision that would suit me and no goal setting….in my years of working as a Counsellor in Organisations I’ve experienced very top-down, managerial, advice-driven supervision or zero supervision from managers that were too busy, or confusing supervision with conflicting messages! It was a real relief to be able to choose my own clinical supervisor when I set up in private practice and to be able to find supervisors that suit me and my interests and my learning approach at any given time.

It was still really eye opening to realise when I completed the ACA Accredited Supervision course the scope of supervision and what a supervisee can ask for! I had no idea and so I am really keen to be a clinical supervisor that really empowers supervisees to make the most of their supervision.

This is my 9th year of working within the Mental Health field (30 + years of working within health or community services-phew!) and my 6th year of running a private practice (read more about my work experience and training here). I fully understand the importance of feeling supported and connected with other mental health practitioners and accessing good quality supervision to prevent burnout and empathy/compassion fatigue from vicarious trauma.

Potential topics for supervision can be:

  • Support for the well-being of your clients (including safety and other ethical issues)
  • Support for your therapist parts and other parts that might get activated within a session
  • Self Care out of work and also within work, how to balance your personal life with work.
  • How to feel energised, present and mindful within sessions with clients
  • Learning about new strategies and resources to refresh your counselling practice
  • Setting goals in line with your values / intentions and tracking your progress for accountability
  • Administration within your private practice or workplace

In supervision I aim to collabourate with you to co-create and uniquely tailor supervision sessions to your nervous system’s needs and preferences. I love learning new strategies and tools and have a very eclectic range of practices to bring into supervision as I am sure you do too. In supervision I love brainstorming with our collective wisdom and life experience to find what will work for you and your clients.

How can we use nature finds to understand our human bodies and our psychospiritual journeys?

Supervision sessions could include the following:

  • creative expression (e.g. intuitive drawing or art journalling)
  • mindful movement
  • somatic embodied practices
  • polyvagal theory
  • earth-honouring practices
  • mindfulness
  • nature connection
  • your spirituality / your client’s spirituality
  • Internal Family Systems exploration of therapist parts / clients parts and your authentic Self, the clients Authentic Self
  • Ancestral Lineage Healing
  • visualisation
  • contemplation of poetry / songs / narrative / metaphor
  • Deep Ecology / wider ecological context within which we live
  • New tools / resources for clients
Self Care: How are you finding a balance of taking care of your own needs?

My supervision sessions draw on my experience as a Coach with the International Coach Federation so I will work with you to create your goals for each supervision session and the actions you will choose to take between sessions to support you with accountability and growth.

My experience as an IFS-Informed therapist means that there is room for you in supervision sessions to work with any parts that are impacted or are impacting your therapy as well as to work with client’s parts. One reason why I was drawn to IFS was that if we can be in Self during therapy we feel energised and not fatigued. Qualities of Self that we will aim to bring into each supervision session are: connection, calm, clarity, compassion, courage, creative, confident, curious, playful, presence, perspective, persistence & patience)

How might we express our values and intentions creatively?

I have worked in the Health Sector, Community Services Sector, Education sector and Non Government Organisations in a number of roles and as a Counsellor, with NDIS clients, with families, couples, youth, so I bring a wide range of experience to my supervision. I enjoy working with a wide age range of clients, 12-90 year olds, and I am experienced in working with clients from a wide range of cultures, genders, sexualities and neurodivergence.

I have been in private practice since 2021 and I have run 3 other small businesses so I can also provide coaching on setting up / building a practice if that suits you.

Fees: $80 for 60-70 minute (until 30th June 2026). Fees will increase to $120 per 60-70 minute session on 1st July 2026. Please contace me on saraphillipstas@gmail.com

Can we do some art journalling to externalise our parts and understand how we relate to others?

Some Recommended Resources: