Without a doubt it has enhanced both my clinical, supervision and leadership skills. She leads me through a problem-solving exercise by gently challenging my assumptions, prompting alternatives, sharing suggestions from her own experience, or providing evidence from research. At the end of the session, I usually come away with a long list of jottings that might include anything from handy phrases to use in stressful situations to literature to research, to jobs to be tackled (and in which order of priority!) back in my workplace.

Working closely with Sam meant that her in-depth knowledge and insight of the clients with whom we were working, enabled her to give me crucial clinical support and guidance at this time of my development.

Sam helped me to use supervision time productively. With her guidance, I learnt to reflect upon and analyse my work in a constructive manner. I learnt, through her, to be critical of myself and what I could achieve.

To conclude, Sam played a key role in consolidating my continuing belief that supervision in the workplace is vital, in order to maintain enthusiasm, confidence, self-esteem and ongoing professional development.”

Her counselling approach to supervision means that she worked with me as a whole, raising my awareness of more personal areas that influence my work, such as my assertiveness. She has confidently supported me in leaving my "comfort zone" to experience new ways of seeing things. Consequently, this process has impacted positively on my professional and personal life.

Through supervision I have had the opportunity to reflect at a deep level on my role as a clinician not only providing treatment for my clients, but also truly understanding the therapeutic relationship that I have with them.

Sam is always creative at putting therapy into a wider context for the client as well as the clinician through supervision. She's been an inspiration to me (and the rest of the multidisciplinary team) through her supervision, clinical ideas and team working. She has really brought out my passion for working with clients with aphasia and cognitive-communication disorder.”

I was receiving excellent clinical supervision at work which covered my clinical, team and local development needs. What I needed was a space outside of work to reflect on wider decisions related to leaving a job I loved for a more senior post and an opportunity to gain some wider experience as a speech and language therapist in neuro-rehabilitation. The process of understanding my passion for speech and language therapy and desire for high challenge with high support and starting on a journey of job applications, interviews and ultimately choosing the right job for me, was supported by these sessions. Having the space to think through each stage equipped me to deal better with the overall process. Sam's supervision style elicits a "clear- thinking" me, which I can't always access on my own or when I'm in a busy, demanding work situation. She listens at a deeper level, she probes further and supportively challenges what I say as well a linking sessions by reflecting on things I have previously said. She always allows time to reflect on the session and summarise the key learning points or stage of the process and I am always surprised how far we have come in 90 minutes. This time at the end of the session also enables us to have closure on sensitive issues so I have never left feeling vulnerable.

I accessed supervision at a very specific time, but think that we all need that extra layer of supervision to help us see our work and personal lives from a new perspective and to gain that clarity of thought. It has also helped me mature as a therapist, supervisor and facilitator in all aspects of my life."

Not only have I benefited from protected time to reflect upon and discuss my successes and challenges in the workplace but also I have been encouraged to seize the opportunity to consider my skills in the context of long-term career development.

Sam’s experience allows her to support me with a wide range of clinical and management topics. She varies the level of direction that she gives to me according to my wishes on any given session, which means that I can be stretched in my thinking through guided questioning or simply seek Sam’s opinion on a particular matter.

We have reviewed the supervision sessions regularly thus allowing both of us to fine-tune the use of session time. This has allowed me to consider how I can prepare for each meeting to make the most out of the time that I spend with Sam, as well as ensure that I am communicating to Sam clearly what I need.

For me, supervision is a negotiated and flexible opportunity to talk about any aspect of my career that is a highly valued part of my work life. ‘"

She gently but assertively challenges my perceptions and encourages me to see situations from others’ perspective in trying to find ways to move forwards. In the environment of today’s working pressures, the benefit of her immensely skilled input stays with me well beyond the one and a half hours of our sessions."