Congratulations, and are warm welcome.
Reaching often out is the hardest part of the journey towards better emotional and mental health. By looking for help, you made the first step in this journey.
I have been working as a psychotherapist and counsellor in Ontario since August 2000. My approach is integrative, combining psychodynamic and transpersonal therapy tools on the foundation of a humanistic, client- centred approach.
I know that any successful therapeutic journey has to have the client’s own individuality and innate wisdom at its core. As such, I work in collaboration with my clients, helping them to discover the wisdom and unique insight that – I firmly believe – we all carry in us.
I would be honoured to walk a part of your path with you,
Things You Might Like to Know
The five steps in teaching (an employee) new skills are preparation, explanation, showing, observation and supervision.
Bruce Barton
I am a psychotherapist with over 20 years of experience in private practice and teaching. I have been an active supervisor since 2005, supervising both for the Canadian Professional Counsellors Associations (CPCA) and from 2005 to 2011 for the Transformational Arts College of Spiritual and Holistic Training (TAC). I completed a 30-hour training in supervision with the Ontario Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (OAMFT) in 2015, and am registered with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO #1046).
Currently, in Ontario, many psychotherapists and counsellors are working independently. Some may have their practice in a holistic health clinic or in a chiropractor’s office; others may be working in their own clinics, or share office space with colleagues, but overall most of us work in relative isolation.
This situation can lead to a variety of problems:
- Feeling insecure or too secure about our work because there is nothing to compare it to
- Feeling stuck with a client and not knowing how to move on
- Falling into unprofessional or unethical patterns due to lack of reflection and feedback
- Missing transference or counter-transference situations
- Becoming dependent on clients for feedback on our work
- Not having referral partners
- Etc.
Supervision and clinical consultations can help prevent many of these possible pitfalls. Working with an experienced supervisor or peer offers a forum for learning, reflection, and discussion. It offers the professional psychotherapist of any level the support needed to practice with confidence and peace of mind, being of service to their clients, and staying grounded and centered in themselves.
“When you watch good therapy being done you know it and it has a lot of commonalities … [G]ood cognitive therapists and good behavior therapists, psychodynamic therapists act an awful lot alike.” (Lambert, 1994, as cited in Miller, Buncan, Hubble, 1997)
Both as a psychotherapist and supervisor in private practice, I identify as an integrative practitioner. My approach includes several models of therapy. My integrative philosophy is based in part on an expanded version of the Systemic Cognitive-Developmental Therapy – or Supervision – model (SCDT) . A second strong influence is the work of Rudolf Steiner (anthroposophy), especially his thoughts on conscious awareness and free will.
Based on this philosophy I work under the assumption that therapists as well as their clients and I as supervisors feel a need for change when we feel disconnected from the whole and out of equilibrium. Behaviours and patterns are changed by becoming consciously aware of the current behaviour and patterns through direct and honest observation; setting in motion new behaviours or patterns through free choice based on conscious awareness of the Self as part of the whole / system; and practicing these new behaviours and patterns consciously until they become subconscious habit. (“Striving For Freedom, Spontaneous Unconditioned Will”, 2015).
The expansion of the SCDT model of integration results from other aspects of anthroposophy. For example I also take into consideration the main temperament of the therapist and his/her main learning faculty (abstract / thought oriented or practical / will oriented).
I pay great attention to the observational skills of therapists: their ability to observe objectively and to draw objective conclusions. For example I may ask therapists to hypothesize about the current presenting issue of the client system in two or three different ways and to describe how each of those hypotheses is based on their observations of the clients, understanding of the client system and presented issues, perception of the client system in the larger systems of society, world, etc., and application of information gained in previous sessions.
Individual Supervision
But when one is young one must see things, gather experience, ideas; enlarge the mind.
Joseph Conrad
One of the most valuable parts of any training is the phase of active learning and gaining practical experience. This is where we learn how to truly be what we have learned to do. This is where theory becomes practice, and we find our own style, our distinct approach, our preferred methods of working. This is also where we make mistakes, and learn from them.
Having a place to talk about issues coming up in our work with clients is an important tool for learning how to practice safely, how to approach different situations, and how to best bring our learning and our personal experiences into the work with our clients.
Counter-transference is easily overlooked when we practice in isolation. Transference issues can become challenging when not addressed creatively. Gathering different perspectives on a client’s issue, finding new approaches to a client’s situation expands our understanding for the depth and complexity of our clients’ experiences.
What I offer:
- Individual supervision or dyad supervision with a registered psychotherapist (CRPO #1046)*
- Compliance with current requirement for supervision by the CRPO and several associations
- Dedicated and focused time for reflection and support with client work and related questions
- Collaborative and integrated approach to supervision
- Support in understanding and implementing modalities and approaches
- Report-based, self-reporting supervision
- Supervision agreement formulated based on individual needs and training requirements
- Support in …
- recognizing and formulating your client’s main issues, possible blocks and triggers (projection / transference)
- exploring your own possible blocks and triggers (countertransference)
- developing treatment strategies
- choosing appropriate interventions and tools
- examining possible biases
- establishing appropriate professional boundaries
- and more
Individual sessions are offered in 1/2 hour increments in person or online, by appointment only (phone sessions are possible in special circumstances).
Group work can be part of our supervisory relationship. However, since groups offered by me are mixed groups (consultation and supervision), some individual sessions have to be scheduled alongside group in order to provide the thorough overview of your client work that is required in a supervisory relationship.
Supervision is based on an individual contract that outlines…
- number of supervision hours requested
- duration of our supervisory relationship
- frequency of supervision meetings
- special areas of attention if required
- style and methods of your practice
- approach and style of supervision
- frequency and format of feedback
etc.
The details of this agreement will be discussed and formulated at the beginning of our supervisory relationship and revisited frequently.
In alignment with my therapeutic practice, I offer a first meeting of approx. 15 minutes free of charge. This is NOT a supervision meeting but an opportunity to get to know each other and to develop a supervision agreement if appropriate. This meeting can be held in person at my Cookstown office, online, or on the phone.
Supervision Dyads
Working with peers is powerful as it allows us to see ourselves mirrored in others. Supervision dyads (supervision sessions for two supervisees with one supervisor) for interns and therapists in training offer participants an opportunity to share and discuss problems, concerns, and blocks in their therapy work in the relative privacy of a small group-like setting while giving them the one-on-one attention that can be so important to developing proper understanding of one’s own therapeutic work.
Dyads for supervision facilitated and directed by an experienced psychotherapist offer the best of both worlds:
- direct, personal, one-on-one attention to details in client work and safe use and understanding of self in the therapeutic relationship
- mirroring and feedback from the other participant
- connection to and learning from another therapy intern, a peer with similar training and interests
- an affordable way of getting supervision without having to wait a month for a group supervision meeting
Dyads are designed to be acknowledged as clinical supervision. Participants are encouraged to support each other through creative feedback and respectful and constructive criticism where appropriate. If serious practice issues for one participant become apparent during a dyad session, I may ask that participant to book an individual supervision session with me or another supervisor or to connect with their personal therapist (e.g. in case of serious counter-transference issues).
It is preferred that interns come to this form of supervision with a partner for the dyad. However, I am keeping a list of interested interns and will help to match them up with a partner for dyads if and when possible.
Supervision with me is self-reporting. This means participants are asked to come to sessions prepared with notes on and records of their client sessions and follow-up reports re: input from previous sessions. Participants will be asked to formulate a goal for the supervisory process and regular check-ins with regard to those goals will be part of the dyad sessions.
Supervision for interns, individually or in dyads, is set up for a period of time decided upon at the beginning of the supervisory relationship. A minimum contract of six (6) months is encouraged.
Dyad sessions can be booked for two hours or longer, e.g. two and a half hours. Dyad sessions can be facilitated in person in Cookstown or online upon agreement.
Professional Clinical Consultations
Having a place to talk about issues coming up in your client work is a valuable and important tool to practice safely, no matter if you are just starting out in your independent practice or have been in private practice for many years.
Counter-transference is easily overlooked when we practice in isolation. Transference issues can become challenging when not addressed creatively. And sometimes we just need a different perspective on a client’s issue or a possible approach to a client’s situation.
Individual clinical consultations offer dedicated and focused time for reflection and support with your client work and related questions. Sessions are offered in 1/2 hour increments in person, by phone, or online, by appointment only.
- You decide when to book an appointment
- Self-reporting — no need to write separate reports or report on every clients
- Support with implementation of new tools or exploration of new approaches
-
Open-ended “book as you need” agreement
- Consultation on clinical or business issues by a peer and registered psychotherapist (CRPO #1046)
In alignment with my therapeutic practice, I offer a first meeting (approx. 30 minutes) free of charge. This is an opportunity to get to know each other and to decide if ours is a good fit.
Supervision and Consultation Groups
Participants are usually in private practice and have completed their training in psychotherapy. Beyond that, however, experience levels may span from seasoned therapists who have practiced for five or more years to those just starting out and still requiring supervision as part of the registration process with the CRPO (please see below for further requirements). Furthermore, counsellors who are not registered with the CRPO and are practicing outside the scope of practice of psychotherapy are also welcome to join these groups when certain prerequisites are met (see below for details).
Participants share from their experience and support each other with their questions and concerns about their practices and client-work. Personal concerns can be brought to the group if they are impacting the therapeutic relationship as well as new learning and interesting information. The mixed character of the groups supports creative and constructive learning: those new to the work will benefit from the experiences and questions of more seasoned colleagues; more seasoned therapists will stay up-to-date through hearing about new teachings and requirements of newer colleagues; counsellors will benefit from understanding some of the deeper issues faced by psychotherapists, while psychotherapists will have opportunities to support counsellors in the more preventative and informative work they are doing.
Group size is strictly held to eight (8) participants in order for the work to qualify as clinical supervision for those who are applying to the CRPO. Group sessions are two-and-a-half (2 ½) hours long and are scheduled once a month. Five (5) sessions constitute a rotation and participants are asked to commit to a full rotation at a time in order to build a cohesive and supportive group environment. Each session is roughly divided into three parts:
- Client Related Work: participants bring forward questions or concerns they have encountered in their work with clients. The group gives input, asks supportive questions, and offers perspectives and alternative options. This usually takes about 120 minutes of session time.
- Social Connection: a short break (often with lunch or a snack provided by a volunteer from the group) gives participants an opportunity to connect socially, catch up on news, and do some networking. This usually takes about 30 minutes of session time.
- Practical Information: interesting information about news in the field of psychotherapy and / or topics that are important to safe and effective practice are presented by me. Topics include news about the CRPO, how to recognize and combat burn-out, professional record keeping, etc. This usually takes about 30 minutes of session time.
Specific requirements for Therapists in Training:
Those who require full supervision for their registration process with the CRPO can join the mixed supervision and consultation groups as part of their supervision hours. However, in order for the hours to count towards supervision, some individual or dyad supervision will have to be booked alongside the groups to allow Sabine to have a deeper understanding into all your active cases and to follow up on each client in detail. The number and frequency of individual sessions will depend on the number of clients you carry and will be determined in a personal conversation with Sabine. For more information about individual supervision, please click here.
Specific requirements for Counsellors:
Those who have decided not to register with the CRPO and practice outside of the scope of practice of psychotherapy still may join the mixed supervision and consultation groups as part of their professional development work. In order to do so, counsellors have to agree, in writing, to the strict confidentiality requirements that the psychotherapist members of the group have to adhere to (see Professional Standards of the CRPO for more details). Furthermore, should Sabine or any of the other group members notice that a counsellor member of the group is practicing within the scope of practice, this will be brought to the attention of the counsellor member immediately. The counsellor member will be expected to immediately notify his / her client of the situation and refer the client to a psychotherapist registered with one of the Colleges allowed to use this title and practice within the scope of practice of psychotherapy.