Emma’s Supervision Story
Q: What prompted you to reach out to Justine as an "outside" supervisor?
A: I worked with Justine after graduate school because I needed a space that I could be fully myself in.
After meeting Justine during an exceptionally rough graduate school experience, I trusted her to give intentional feedback while being supportive of my own autonomous decisions in my work.
Q: What was your experience of your work together?
A: I loved working with Justine. The implicit trust she gives her supervisees is perfect for those who don't need hand holding but still want a guide to check in with.
Justine's supervision is ethical, practical, collaborative, thoughtful and connected. It differed from other supervision I was getting at the time because I never felt expected to practice like her; I was supported in practicing like ME.
Q: How did your work together impact you?
A: The self-of-the-therapist work I did with Justine helped me recognize how I not just want but need to show up in my clinical and professional relationships in alignment with my whole person, not just the "therapist" part of me.
Justine's ability to dig into ethical considerations and support critical development of ethical decision making was one of the most reassuring parts of my work.
Justine struck an awesome balance between supporting me practicing ethically and supporting me in reasonably pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the therapy room.
Q: Anything else you would like to share with a prospective supervisee?
A: My preclinical years involved a lot of personal growth that needed to be integrated in a way that individual therapy couldn't realistically support. Justine's balance between supervisor, therapist, mentor, protector, Self, and guide helped me see the holistic approach to being a therapist that I was told wasn't possible by other supervisors.
Because of Justine's support, I entered the field feeling more self-assured, curious, and less self-protective than I thought was possible. I have gotten to know some really some excellent supervisors over the years, and Justine is genuinely one of the best.