generally not found within statutory regu- lation. Rather, they may be found in the quality assurance measures and the policies and procedures of the College. Typically, the qualifications of any clinical supervi- sor are expected to be in compliance with professional ethical and legal requirements. In other words, if supervision is occurring


“ As CCPA has grown (from 3000 members in 2007 to over 4,500 in 2012), we have hired more staff and become more complex in terms of


services offered. ”


within an educational institution, then the rules, regulations, and professional require- ments for the position of supervisor within that institution must be met. When supervi- sion occurs beyond an educational institu- tion, it is expected that supervisors meet or exceed the ethical requirements related to boundaries of competence in addition to legal requirements.


The Canadian Counselling and Psychother- apy Association’s qualifications for supervi- sors include:


• Expertise in the area of counselling, in- cluding conceptual knowledge and practical experience in the field of counselling;


• A Master’s degree or higher in the area of counselling (or equivalent);


• A minimum of four years of successful practice in the counselling field prior to tak- ing on a supervisory role;


• Belong to CCPA, a recognized association in the field of counselling, or any provincial/ territorial regulatory college, and


• Must be at “arms length” from the super- visee.


Additionally, the following persons are ex- cluded from qualifying as a supervisor:


• A person of equivalent qualifications, status and experience as the supervisee, a current or former family member or others where the personal relationship with the su- pervisee interferes or makes challenging the establishment of a professional relationship;


• Supervisors in administrative relationships


to the supervisee whose position involves evaluating job performance or assessing case management, and


• Persons with whom the supervisee has or has had a therapeutic relationship at any time. (http://www.ccpa-accp.ca/en/memberben- efits/certification/)


How to obtain training in the provision of supervision


A first step would be to take a workshop or webinar in supervision – perhaps through CCPA and the Mental Health Academy (http://www.ccpa-accp.ca/en/mha/). If you are attending the annual CCPA conference in Halifax, Beth Robinson, a counsellor educa- tor at Acadia University, is conducting a one day workshop entitled, A Primer on Clinical Supervision for Counsellors and Psychothera- pists. This introductory workshop is de- signed to offer a framework for best-practice clinical supervision to those who might wish to contribute in a supervisory capacity to the professional development of colleagues.


In September 2012, CCPA in collaboration with the University of Ottawa, offered an entry level online course, Counselling Su- pervision: Theory and Practice. The focus of the course was on fundamental issues in the theory and practice of clinical supervision, including: models of supervision, the super- vision relationship, the impact of culture and diversity and personal factors on supervi- sion, supervision techniques and practices, evaluation, and legal/ethical considerations in supervision. It is anticipated that this course will be offered next fall.


A CCPA New Initiative


Once new practitioners complete their graduate programs, they begin an often chal- lenging transformative process, moving from being anxious novices towards becoming confident and competent counsellors/psy- chotherapists. Moving beyond this first stage to becoming professionally proficient de- pends upon the work of highly capable and committed clinical supervisors who provide their counsellor supervisees with appropri- ately tailored levels of guidance, instruction, and support. Much of the burden of ensuring competence, both clinical and legal, falls on the clinical supervisor during the supervis-


WWW.CCPA-ACCP.CA


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