Counselling Supervision in BC: Support for Your Practice as the Profession Changes
Some of the most useful questions in counselling emerge after the session ends.
You might find yourself reconsidering a boundary, wondering why a conversation felt difficult, or thinking about a client whose progress has stalled. Perhaps you made a thoughtful decision and would appreciate another perspective on it.
These are the kinds of questions we can bring to supervision. Giving them time and attention helps us understand our work more clearly and decide how to move forward.
As British Columbia prepares to regulate psychotherapy, there is also more to consider about our professional responsibilities.
Supervision offers a place to connect those wider developments with the decisions we make in everyday practice.
What Can You Bring to Counselling Supervision
Clinical supervision involves working with an experienced supervisor to reflect on your client work, explore ethical questions and develop your skills.
That can sound quite formal. In practice, it often begins with something specific: “I’m unsure how to respond to this request,” or “I noticed myself working harder than the client and I want to understand why.”
Consider a client asking for contact between sessions. Before answering, you may want to examine their needs, your availability, the expectations you have already established and what you can sustainably offer. Supervision gives you room to think through those considerations and develop a response you can explain clearly.
It also makes room for what is going well. Understanding why an intervention helped, or how you handled a difficult conversation, can help you recognise strengths you want to develop further.
You can arrive with a question before you have an answer.
My Approach to Supporting Counsellors
My approach to supervision is collaborative, curious and practical. I take ethics seriously and I want our conversations to make it easier to speak openly about the parts of practice that deserve closer attention.
We can explore a challenging case, a documentation question or a reaction you noticed in yourself. Sometimes the next step is practical, such as clarifying an agreement or preparing for a conversation. Sometimes we need to spend longer understanding what is happening in the therapeutic relationship.
I also value noticing how the work affects you. Feeling tense before a particular appointment, unusually protective of a client or reluctant to raise a difficult subject can give us something useful to explore. We can consider those responses alongside the client’s needs and your professional responsibilities.
My aim is for you to leave supervision with a clearer understanding of the situation and a next step you can put into practice. That might mean revisiting a boundary with a client, improving a clinical note or recognizing when a referral would better meet someone’s needs.
Learning Alongside Other Therapists
Group supervision brings other counsellors into that conversation. A colleague may notice an assumption you have missed or ask a question that changes how you understand a case. Hearing how others work through a dilemma also gives you the opportunity to examine your own reasoning.
I value a group where we can discuss uncertainty openly and recognise what is working. Sharing a difficult moment can invite useful feedback; sharing a success can help another therapist see a possibility in their own work.
Supporting counsellors has a wider impact because what we learn together can inform the care we offer our clients. That is a meaningful part of why I offer supervision, and why I welcome therapists at different stages of their careers.
What Is Changing in BC
Psychotherapy is scheduled to become regulated in British Columbia on November 29, 2027, under the College of Health and Care Professionals of BC (CHCPBC).
The College will oversee licensing, professional standards and complaints, with the aim of supporting safe, ethical care. It has also confirmed that licensed psychotherapy professionals will need to meet continuing professional development requirements. The specific entry requirements, including any required supervision hours, have not yet been established.
For counsellors whose work includes psychotherapy, this is a useful time to follow the developing requirements and consider what they will mean for your practice. The College’s psychotherapy regulation page provides official updates.
I welcome the attention this brings to professional accountability and ongoing learning. Those responsibilities become meaningful through everyday choices: how we communicate boundaries, document our work, recognize our limits and respond when something needs attention. These are also valuable conversations to bring to supervision.
Join Me for Upcoming Regulation Updates for Counselling in BC
On November 24, 2026, from 4–7 pm, I am hosting Upcoming Regulation Updates for Counselling in BC as part of my supervision group series.
We will review anticipated regulatory changes and explore their implications for ethical standards, scope of practice, documentation and professional accountability. The session offers a place to bring your questions and consider the changes alongside other clinicians.
If you are thinking about what comes next for your practice, I would be glad to have you join us.
View the event and registration details. If you are new to my supervision groups, please book a complimentary 15-minute consultation before registering.