Case Study
Shamika’s Story
Shamika works in a charity supporting clients with their mental health and life struggles. She has external clinical supervision with Atrium Clinic with a group of colleagues and also can access to 121 supervision.
‘ My organisation did not always offer supervision and it is a fairly new thing because staff complained that they were getting burnt out with stress and taking the work home.
Having supervision with a professional mental health professional and trained clinical supervisor helps me feel more contained in myself and safer in my practice. I feel more confident in my growing knowledge and how I approach the work and just having others’ eyes on the case from different perspectives. The group focus is case led and everyone gets to share their knowledge and ideas about that case, from the ideas about causality of issues, and what can be done to help. Every colleague has strengths.
Some are good at referring to theory, or policy and processes to guide the work or others seem adept at getting to the client’s voice- what has happened to them and how it informs how they behave. The clinical supervisors encourage us to listen to each other and ask questions, recognise the processes we have already to guide us, prioritise risk and client safety and they share their knowledge to help us come up with next suggested steps in the helping journey. Clinical supervision strengthens our practice, builds our learning and our team connection.
I look forward to it and I wouldn’t want to go back to being with out it. The clients get a better service, we feel safer and grow in the work and my manager suggests cases for clinical supervision sometimes but ultimately it’s down to me. It’s my space.’
” The group focus is case led and everyone gets to share their knowledge and ideas about that case, from the ideas about causality of issues, and what can be done to help. Every colleague has strengths.”
– Angela
