Aja’s Supervision Story
Q: What prompted you to reach out to Justine as an "outside" supervisor?
A: I sought out Justine because I liked her approach to working with the neurodivergent population and after having followed her professional endeavors I knew I wanted to have Justine on my team.
Being neurodivergent myself, it was important to find a supervisor who not only understood, but embraced the neurodivergent-queer community.
Q: What was your experience of working together?
A: Working with Justine was the absolute best experience I could have had! Not only did Justine challenge the way I conceptualized my cases and introduce me to the joy of working with IFS, but she allowed me the absolutely necessary space to reflect on and process self-of-therapist.
I really appreciated the time Justine took to work with me during some difficult moments during pre-licensure, including helping me to process a rupture of trust with another supervisor.
When it came time to decide what my next career move was, Justine provided business development supervision that helped me open my own private practice. And when the time finally came, Justine gave me the nudge I needed to ʼleave the nestʼ and become a fully licensed MFT.
Q: How did your work together impact you?
A: Justine helped me rewrite the narrative I had given myself about who a therapist is and how a therapist acts, effectively encouraging me to find my own authentic voice as a therapist. This alone is the most significant and valuable thing for a high-masking autistic woman like myself. Due in large part to Justineʼs supervision style, instead of acting out what I thought therapy should be, I am confidently doing therapy.
Q: Anything else you would like to share with a prospective supervisee?
A: Justine has such a wide range of professional experiences and ambitions that she is truly able to meet you where youʼre at while motivating you to go as far as you want to go. Especially if youʼre the sort of person who is quirky, nerdy, geeky, artistic, black sheep-y, etc Justine will dovetail really well with your style.
And on a very personał note, you cannot have anyone better in your corner when things get tough. I discovered this when, unfortunately, I had a rupture of trust with another supervisor. Yet instead of derailing my licensure, Justine helped me orientate to a new direction and implement the steps necessary to continue working towards my professional goals and priorities.