Drs Martin & Sue Allbright Classical Acupuncture
'Blending an ancient medical approach of mind and body with modern health'
This site was last updated on 14.7.10
Acupuncture Mentoring | Acupuncture Supervision | Mentoring for Acupuncturists | Supervision for acupuncturists | Supporting Acupuncturists | Acupuncture support | Individual mentoring | Acupuncture group | Acupuncture Mentoring supervision | Acupuncture reflective practice | Practitioner Mentoring | Practitioner Supervision | Mentoring for Practitioners | Supervision for Practitioners | Supporting Practitioners | Practitioner support | Individual mentoring | Practitioner group | Practitioner Mentoring supervision | Practitioner reflective practice
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided in this site is accurate. It is not the intention to mislead or misinform anyone.
Mentoring and Supervision for Practitioners
For us ‘Mentoring’ is where we invest our time and energy to facilitate our intimate growth and skills in a relationship where each of us gives and receives wisdom. From our experiences we want to offer this opportunity to other practitioners.
Firstly we have to remember that everyone who chooses to enter into this relationship immediately becomes a teacher and a student at the same time. Mutual reflective learning occurs because neither one is the guru, we all have a wisdom that benefit’s the other. The only hierarchy that may arise, comes from one or the other’s concrete knowledge, but even this shifts back and forth. Sometimes the mentor may help direct the session but more often than not the session will revolve around the issues the supervisee(s) bring.
Mentoring Supervision is a chance to say the unsayable, to recognise the unthinkable, and to feel genuine compassion for the pain and suffering we all see. We create a time and space to help keep our hearts open, so we do not become cynical, detached, shut down or bored. This time allows us to face up to our reality in a safe environment.
Here are some examples of issues that frequently arise:-
Personal issues and their impact on you as you function as a practitioner. Telling your story of a present situation is just as important as the stories that box you in, both sorts of stories need support but in slightly different ways. If we do not handle our personal issues then as a result there is a tendency for them to surface in the treatment room, off loading on to clients. Occasionally personal disclosure is appropriate when it is deemed of use for the client to feel comfortable with you. In this case the disclosure is for the clients benefit and not yours. There is a fine line difference here and one that needs us to reflect on our needs and boundaries.
When a client or even a practitioner brings into the treatment session an issue of sexual attraction, how do you handle this? Again to handle this scenario well you need to become a master of and to be very clear about your own boundaries.
When clients cancel their appointments or mess you around or do not value your time, how do you handle the changes in the verbal or written ‘contract’ you have with them?
Mentoring-
Mentoring supervision can be provided in a group setting or on a one to one arrangement. Either way, the setting is important, it is a safe, nurturing, confidential environment.
Groups are of limited size and meet approximately monthly for two and half to three hours.
Individual sessions are for one hour at regular intervals by mutual agreement.
For more information please contact Dr Martin Allbright 01684-
Sed quis custodet ipsos custodes?
(But who will care and protect the carers?)
Juvenal, Satires, 6 1:347
'Inside everyone of us is a garden and each practitioner has to go back to it and take care of it.'
Thich Nhat Hanh
Our personal journeys with Mentoring Supervision.
Martin
'I remember many years ago discussing with an experienced acupuncturist lecturer about doing Isobelle Cosgrove's Mentoring Supervision training course. The reply I got was 'You do not need to do that , you have got all that information here'.
I realised in a very short period of time that 'No, not all the information was here'. I am so glad I did do the training. I gained valuable experience, a resourceful network of people and additional knowledge from outside of the acupuncture world. This also inspired me to do more studies with the 'Centre for Supervision and Team Development.
Yes, much of the Mentoring Supervision process can be placed within our knowledge of traditional Chinese acupuncture. Some of it refreshed my knowledge of the five elements and the 12 officials. However some of it was totally new and expanded my insiight of the energies to a higher level. For the last 33 years I have enjoyed my journey into health and medicine and from the 'ah ha' moments that I am discovering I am looking forward to the next 30 years and more. '
Sue
'After seeing the benefit Martin was getting from having done the Mentor-
Despite being married to Martin, which means we are able to talk about acupuncture issues quite easily, this training experience has provided me with a different support. It has now become an area allowing me to 'just be' and become even more centred. It is another tool that helps me clear my head and heart when I am with my clients'.
I enjoy sharing with colleagues in the development and clarity that come with mentoring-
'Clay is shaped into vessels,
doors and windows are carved from the walls,
but the usefulness is in the empty spaces.
Benefit comes from what is provided,
but usefulness comes from what is absent'
Chungliang Al Huang and Jerry Lynch -
Here are a few more areas where issues arise, but this is by no means a complete list.
Roles and tangled relationships, which we sometimes evaluate using the ‘drama triangle’
Professional
issues
Communication skills
Money issues
Emotional responses to clients including the
death of a client.
Transitions and endings
Time management
Burn out
Ethics
Building up
a practice
Relationships with other practitioners and professionals
So now you can begin to see that ‘mentoring supervision’ is a chance to review your own needs as a practitioner. It provides prioritised time to reflect on our interactions with our clients and a chance for you to safely observe yourself. It is a chance to also consider practice problems and practicalities and to learn from each other. It is an opportunity to look at those reccurring difficult situations. Over a period of time we all begin to discover the beliefs that we box ourselves in with.
When we start to see our professional needs being met we begin to see what such an
enjoyable and valuable aspect the mentoring supervision process is. If we do not
take care of ourselves, then our client group will suffer from the unresolved issues
that almost always surface as we work. The mentoring supervision process helps change
practitioner-
'According to the Tao, the best relationships are like water; they benefit all things and do not compete with them.'
Chungliang Al Huang and Jerry Lynch -
'If all our attention is directed firmly towards our practice, then we can accumulate
a back log of unmet needs and work-
Isobel Cosgrove.
