Psychotherapy vs Psychology vs Psychiatry

Navigating the mental health system in Ontario is difficult enough! That’s before you add in wait times, insurance coverages, OHIP, referral requirements, and managing your own life! We often get calls at the Culminate Group asking for psychiatric services. While we don’t provide psychiatry, we take every one of those calls seriously, as it is…

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Whole Person Supervision

Whole Person Supervision. Supervisor couching new employee.

Clinical supervision often requires a delicate balance between maintaining professional boundaries and showing up as your authentic self.  Supervisors regularly grapple with the question: How can you model openness, integrity, and trust while upholding professionalism? If left unresolved, this common dilemma can limit growth for both supervisors and supervisees. When supervisors fail to acknowledge their…

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Supervisor Starter Pack

Stepping into a supervisory role for the first time is both a thrilling and daunting experience. The transition from being a team member to leading one requires more than just knowledge; it demands the development of specific skills, reflective practices, and the ability to effectively manage and support a team. Understanding this, the **Supervisor Starter…

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The Healing Power of Laughter

The healing power of laughter and clinical supervision are cornerstones of professional development in mental health. It provides a structured opportunity for therapists, counsellors, and other mental health professionals to reflect on their practice, receive feedback, and enhance their skills.  While clinical supervision is typically associated with serious discussions about complex cases and therapeutic techniques,…

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Safe and Effective Use of Self (SEUS) Reflection

“My supervisor’s willingness to be vulnerable and use herself as a tool in supervision made me believe that she could be “in it” with me in a real way and created trust and openness that significantly altered our supervisory process and affected me both professionally and personally” -Contrastano, 2020 Remember (!): Developing self-awareness as an…

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Self-Care for the Therapist

Clinical work in the helping professions is particularly challenging, leaving counsellors at higher risk for burnout and feelings of self-doubt. #Supervision plays a critical role in supporting counsellor professional development and wellness maintenance. The restorative function of supervision is key to burnout prevention. Most importantly, many strategies for #wellness can be easily integrated into your…

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Reflective Practice & Supervision

Developing a reflective capacity is an ethical imperative for supervisor and clinician alike. Reflective practice often results in new ways of experiencing events. It necessitates a level of personal and professional awareness that allows for introspection and a deeper understanding of clinical work. Furthermore, it can often be a daunting task to support supervisees in…

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Group Supervision

Health Care. Health care professional reading support information online.

This semester, I am teaching Group Counselling Psychology at City University in Canada. As I reflect upon the healing power of relationships and the intricacies of group dynamics, I am reminded of the importance of group supervision. Often experienced by trainee therapists, group supervision has the potential to provide an enriching learning environment. Did you…

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What to expect when becoming a supervisor

What’s it like to become a clinical supervisor? After interviewing new supervisors with varying clinical backgrounds, we learned that assuming the role necessitates quite a shift in thinking. These new supervisors explored their sense of responsibility, care for their students, and at times, feelings of self-doubt. The good news is that we also learned about…

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Lessons Learned in Clinical Supervision Training

Clinical Supervision training, Recently, I offered my flagship Intro to Supervision course. As I reflect on this course offering, I am struck by a few learnings of my own: 1. Supervision is hard: After years in the field, I cannot take this fact for granted. Providing effective supervision is both an art and science, necessitating…

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