I provide clinical supervision for counsellors and therapists working with trauma and dissociation. This includes complex PTSD and severe/sadistic/ritual abuse. I also work with vicarious traumatization, sometimes referred to as secondary PTSD. I have been working with trauma since 1983 and with dissociation/multiplicity since 1986. I have extensive training in both areas. Supervision encompasses both agency and private practice settings; the work may vary substantially in different settings. When requested, documentation of individual supervision sessions may be provided.

Mindfulness is the cornerstone of my work. It is congruent with the somatic elements of my approach and incorporates the psychobiological aspects of traumatic sequelae. The psychobiological approach reflects the impact of Bessel van der Kolk, Peter Levine's Somatic Experiencing training, and Foundation training from the Bodynamic Institute of Denmark. I use art, writing and playful silliness to cultivate creativity. (For more, see creativity.) EMDR is used occasionally. My experience with organizations is sometimes useful for agency staff.

I work and teach from a developmental perspective; I am interested in cultivating and expanding awareness about the functions of mind. (For more information about the transformation of consciousness, see Kegan.) This, in turn, supports shifts of epistemology. I also encourage reflective and meta-reflective processes; I believe this also supports the evolution of epistemology. (For more information about how professionals reflect-in-action, see Schön.) I regularly use an integrative evaluation form that asks for reflection. In my opinion, these personal evolutionary shifts are the hallmarks of all skilled counsellors.

The teachings of classical Buddhist psychology also challenge us as therapists to be clear about the inherent assumptions of western culture regarding the function of mind. I find this to be extremely helpful in the work of psychotherapy. Some clinicians wish me to include aspects of Buddhist thinking into their supervision. These are challenges about how you think, rather than what you think. (For more information, see Classical Buddhist Psychology.)

About Countertransference
I employ a broad definition of countertransference, as used by Margo Rivera, Ph.D. While a narrow version looks at "blind spots, unprocessed or unresolved personal fear and pain, or the defenses against it", a broader interpretation sees countertransference as ubiquitous, inevitable and an invaluable source of information when acknowledged. We tend to be unaware of countertransference unless it's causing us problems.

The more inclusive interpretation of countertransference includes understanding projective identification to incorporate thoughts, feelings, impulses, wishes, sensations and energetic phenomena. I find that it provides a functional, effective framework for therapists who have not been formally trained to consider somatic and energetic phenomena. Trauma therapists must also attend to traumatic countertransferences. Many women are especially uncomfortable with "offender countertransference" and therapists with their own abuse histories may have difficulty with "victim countertransference."

The therapeutic relationship is profoundly intimate; I have heard intimacy defined as "what only I can say to only you." For the most part, we are alone with these relationships. Clinical supervision is one of the ways in which we can work to support and challenge ourselves within the context of vulnerability that is engendered by the solitary nature of the work. In the words of Margo Rivera, from the Plenary of the 1991 Education/Dissociation Conference at OISE, Ontario:

In summary, good psychotherapy is an intimate interpersonal experience. I think if it doesn't touch us, if it doesn't stir us, then something's wrong. Countertransference has got to be inevitable, especially in a therapy situation where, day in and day out, one is being asked to contain unbearable material. When there are jarring discontinuities in the therapeutic relationship, new experiences place us in a position of not knowing and of having to learn. And having to learn yesterday.

I think it's crucially important that we come to understand our own countertransference patterns so that we can engage in a combination of continuing education, supervision, consultation, networking and, in many cases, therapy of our own. Only when we're honest and at least somewhat objective about all the ways in which we use ourselves in our work can we offer our clients the most effective therapeutic process possible with the least possible interference from our own personal limitations.

• get and keep a therapist of your own. When you are working with trauma, you are engaging with material that is by definition outside of awareness. Countertransferential responses are generated outside of our awareness. I believe it is our responsibility to keep exploring the edges, or liminal zones, of our awareness. Consider it beachcombing; the more familiar you are with the inter-tidal zone, the easier it will be to see new stuff when it appears!
• keep training. Trauma, dissociation, and PTSD for sure. But don't forget to touch all the bases - ethics, family systems, Famous Folk and Big Names, feminist therapy, somatic and energetic psychotherapeutic approaches, work with children, existential phenomenology... And if you're not a trauma therapist, but in the marital/child/financial/family/dance field, please be sure to take some training specific to PTSD and trauma.
• cross train. It works for counsellors as well as it works for athletes! Business and management, education, anthropology, religious studies, philosophy, history... Check out your local school board, university, library, college or an unrelated professional journal for notices about lecture and workshops. Often they are free. Not only does it make good sense to "keep up" in general, but metaphors are transferable across disciplines.
• don't expect your clients to "train you up." While tempting and sometimes philosophically safe, don't fall for it. Respect your client--find a workshop or read a book. Go to the library or internet, talk to a colleague or friend, or hit the phone. If it is your first client who is different from all previous ones and/or yourself, do your research. Genius IQ, person with a disability, gay or lesbian, stateless, illegal immigrant or disrobed cleric; listen to them carefully, and seek for yourself.
• participate in a group. Maybe it's a peer supervision group, a study group, an existential philosophy group or consciousness-raising group for counsellors. It helps to keep support and challenge alive, and balance the solitude inherent in the work of therapy.
• meditate. Mindfulness meditation cultivates awareness which in turn develops insight. Concentration meditation cultivates bliss. An old colleague encouraged "meditation, music and martial arts" as adjuncts to therapy.
• be aware of the different realms of existence. Practically, I encourage you to have a spiritual practice to keep the parameters of the world big and wide. Sometimes our work with our clients is in the Mystery Realm and we may be unaware of it. The work of Joseph Campbell is a good introduction to multi-dimensional functioning.
• grow something. Whether it's a garden, window-box or potted plant in your office, tend the needs of a plant. Fertilize, prune, mulch, water, and cultivate. It's a small way to keep yourself connected to spontaneously regenerative living systems.