When we hear the word “test”, it can bring us back to our childhood, sitting at a desk, anxiously watching our teacher hand out an exam, worrying that we had not studied enough or will remember enough to pass. We often view tests as negative and hard, and feel as if we are better off without them. But tests are

Last week, we explored what we can do as mentors, professional supervisors or coaches to help our clients when they are challenged with their professional fidelity. We looked at the two most common reasons: dual relationships and misaligned values.  As a reminder, a dual relationship occurs when a person has more than one relationship with someone at work. For example,

Many of my sessions as a practitioner revolve around similar topics: work/life balance, stress and fatigue, managing the emotions of self and others, and building resilience and buoyancy. Most of these deal with interpersonal issues or long-term goals of transformation. A topic that sometimes slips by the wayside is a client’s fidelity to their profession.

We cover confidentiality when we are first getting to know a client, yet often it never comes up again. It is vital we and our clients know and keep in mind our role, our limits and our mandatory reporting laws in order to help reduce risk, a competency for all mentors/coaches or professional supervisors…

We have been focusing on the benefits of rest and how our clients require time to recharge. The hope when our clients take a sabbatical or vacation is that they get a break from their daily life and can focus on rest, new experiences and personal discoveries. We hope that they will return refreshed and excited to engage with normal life again, maybe with a new perspective and new ideas…

I often return to the term “posture before words” when considering the necessary skills of a mentor, especially the ability to be a good listener. While our words are important and should be chosen carefully, our active presence as a trustworthy and safe person in someone’s life is a powerful gift. Often the best thing we can do is show up with open hearts and listen attentively to what our clients need to say…

As Mentors or Professional Supervisors, we dedicate ourselves to helping others; we are natural caretakers and genuinely want to support and aid our clients. It can be hard to admit when we find ourselves out of our depth, but it’s nothing to be ashamed of; there are some issues we don’t have the proper experience or skills to address. There are times when we need to refer our client to someone with more specialised knowledge. We should remember that our client’s well-being is a group effort; we are part of a team our client can turn to in times of need. This is a wonderful thing as it takes some of the pressure from us, and allows our client to receive the most effective care…

Every time we meet a new person, shake hands and share names, what’s the first question we are asked? More often than not, it’s “What do you do for a living?” Maybe, what we really want to ask is, “Who are you? What are your values?” but these questions are so broad, and yet so personal, that we begin with

Every experienced mentor, coach and supervisor has had to handle clients who have been dealing with abuse. It is a painful moment to recognise that the client in our care is being mistreated, whether it is something seemingly small, like a condescending and controlling boss at work, to something dangerous and severe, such as a violent partner. It is in these moments that we have to ask ourselves, what is our responsibility…