Ode to Supervision

By Keith Christensen (excerpt from ACBC’s blog)

I am currently in the twilight hours of the third and final phase in the ACBC certification process: supervision. I’ve grown convinced of the profitability (I’m tempted to say “necessity”) of supervision while being equipped to counsel.

There are four main benefits of supervision that have been especially important for me: confirmation, oversight, instruction, and experience. No doubt, there is significant overlap amongst this quartet of benefits. Nevertheless, they’re each worth examining in turn.

Confirmation

Aren’t you glad that more than a written exam was required before you (and everyone else) received a driver’s license? It’s almost certain the simple requirement of supervised driving hours – together with a hands-on-the-wheel “driving test” – has literally saved people’s lives. We all see the need for a supervisor’s formal confirmation that one is “fit” to drive. Why? People’s lives are on the line. Albeit in a different sense, the task of counseling has similarly high stakes.

I have felt this great weight of responsibility inherent in formal counseling. Consequently, this benefit of ACBC’s certification process has been incredibly freeing for me: the supervision phase put the pressure on someone else (someone qualified) to decide if and when I am ready to be released into the world as a “safe” driver in the counseling room. More than that: your supervisor helps you get to that point.

Read the rest: here