In the hour long introduction to compassionate supervision Michael will introduce a few important concepts that relate to deepening the relationship with our clients and supervisees, and also arriving at a point of being supportive and compassionate with ourselves in the work. We were not meant to be isolated in the work, but enlivened and connected.
Learning Objective Participants Can Expect From This Event
- Compassionate Supervision encourages supervisees to engage with the bite point of their work and remain curious. The bite point observes that moment of risk, stuckedness and boredom. Understanding that this moment contains both moments of annihilation and creation.
- Compassionate Supervision invites supervisees to use Resmaa Menakem’s VIMBASI as a spectrum of toys to use the self more working with clients. The scope of using a technology as immediate as this is to reduce proximal distance and increase a felt sense of the work.
- Compassionate Supervision enables supervisees to access their felt sense of awareness to access what may be held in a client’s unconscious. How do we as supervisors do this, when supervisees may hold fear of judgement from sharing missed opportunities for the work to progress.
Who is This Workshop Appropriate For?
- This workshop is for counsellors/psychotherapists/ students and others who would like to know more about the benefits of being compassionate in therapeutic work.
How May This Workshop Impact Your Practice?
- The workshop is to encourage attendees to use a felt sense of the work more. Why? Because there is knowledge held in the spaces between Supervisor and supervisee, and between supervisee and client. Pooling resource and imaginal possibilities for the work has been found to be enriching, encouraging and enlivens the experience of supervisor, supervisees and their work with client.
Course Content
Presenter

Michael Opoku-Forfieh was born and grew up in London, UK. He started his journey wanting to be an artist. After an initial degree in interior design, he worked for a period of time as a barista in a coffee shop before realizing his true calling was helping people. He worked as a youth worker, mentor and basketball coach, before returning to school to complete his counselling qualifications and begin his counselling practice. He worked for several years as a counsellor in prisons in London and the South East of England. Three years ago he moved to Canada with his wife and two sons and has established a counselling practice. Through the power of the internet he continues to support people in the UK as well as in Canada and across the globe including Hawaii, Malaysia and Nigeria. Specializing in racial trauma, racial identity and Black masculinity. Michael has been a clinical supervisor for seven years and has supported a number of supervisees to achieve BACP accreditation. Michael is a creative practitioner who empowers clients to embrace healing.