Supervision
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Offering supervision to therapists working towards EMDR Accreditation as Practioners and Consultants.
I bring to EMDR supervision my experience of working in statutory, voluntary and private sector organisations holding a variety of roles; in depth experience of a range of therapeutic orientations; and decades of experience working with people from a variety of cultures and walks of life.
I see supervision as a collaborative process, within which I encourage you to explore all issues that concern you in your work. My aim as a supervisor is to support you in this challenging vocation; guide you in working ethically for the best interests of your clients; widen your self awareness as a therapist and encourage you to build upon your skills. I support each practitioner to discover and consolidate their unique strengths and professional identity.
I acknowledge the importance of unconscious process and that it may be revealed through paying attention to the therapeutic relationship. I also acknowledge that our identities are shaped by forces that are physical and neurobiological, emotional, intellectual, and transpersonal. I work with the knowledge that our inner worlds are profoundly impacted by social, cultural and economic factors. My approach is deeply integrative.
My supervision style has matured over the years as I have been influenced by some wonderful and gifted supervisors. I am grateful for the insights I have gained from humanistic, psychodynamic and body oriented therapists and I try to adapt these learnings to meet the needs of my supervisees. My experience of supervision is as follows:
1985 - 1991 - Training supervision, Gestalt and Existential
1991 - 2000 - Humanistic and Transpersonal supervision
2000 - 2009 - Psychoanalytic supervision
2009 - to date - Integrative and EMDR supervision
As a client I have experienced the following psychotherapeutic approaches:
Gestalt; Existential; Jungian Analytic; Biodynamic Psychotherapy; Transpersonal (Shamanic, Breath work, Family Constellations and Rebirthing) and EMDR.
Consultancy
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• HEALTHY MINDS STATES OF GUERNSEY, 2019 to date. Consultant on EMDR practice and trauma- informed psychotherapy for team members trained and accredited in EMDR.
• THE STYX OPERA ON FILM: REFRAMING TRAUMA ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION January 2022 ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaCe5p3XTvM Consulted to the Styx Opera Company on their Opera Persephone and the Underworld. A retelling of the story of Persephone’s imprisonment in the Underworld by Hades, and the search for her by her mother Demeter the goddess of the harvest. The roundtable discussion covered definitions and descriptions of trauma and its representation in culture and how stories and music can aid healing at a profound level.
• DWF LAW LLP Regulatory Compliance 2021 to date. Consulted on trauma informed practice to prevent legal teams investigating serious & fatal incidents from developing PTSD. Also advise on best practice for supporting clients impacted by critical incidents and their legal aftermath and signposting to appropriate services.
"I have worked regularly with Jessica for several years now. Such therapeutic provision is a rare departure for a law firm but to me it heralded a new approach to wellbeing. Sadly, we are regularly called in during the immediate aftermath of traumatic incidents often involving fatalities and we are obliged to speak to witnesses who have lost friends or colleagues, poring over what are sometimes graphic details. I wanted to be sure that as well as better protecting myself and my team, we were approaching cases in a way that sought to help those involved on a human level as well as legal.
Every meeting that I have with Jessica is different. We might discuss issues such as general trauma, PTSD and grief, or we might look at case specific matters or how to approach clients who are displaying erratic behaviours consistent with trauma. My sessions with Jessica have always allowed me to lead discussion sessions with my team to ensure they are equipped to deal with the kind of incidents they encounter. In our consultations Jessica and I have worked on creating a ‘trauma map’ which normalises responses to a tragedy and helps people make sense of their own and other people’s responses.
In our work we have a job to do in a context where we are bombarded with emotional information; while supporting others to manage. Knowing that a response can be predicted, that it will last for a period of time and then fade is incredibly empowering. We can share this knowledge with the people that we come in contact with and doing this helps us to feel competent and capable rather than flooded, triggered or overwhelmed."
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Vikki Woodfine,
Regulatory Partner at DWF Law LLP.
