What my supervisees have to say about me
“I am a supervisor, Clinical and Safeguarding lead of a large counselling charity and counsellor in private practice. I have a busy case load and a busy life where it is essential to frame my work with professionally sound, consistent and safe support. Supervision with Allan is (and always has been) a joint endeavour where the focus is on developing reflective practice through attending to issues that arise within the client sessions examining the relationship between client, counsellor and supervisor which is often a fascinating and eye opening experience.
Through our work I believe I have strengthened my internal supervisor where I am better able to look critically at my practice and feel safe enough to bring this to supervision to be explored. I value the offer of his knowledge to support my work and the genuine interest he has in me as an individual which I believe is essential in the supervisory relationship.
A fabulous human being, one who is valued and very much appreciated.”
“I have been in supervision with Allan Kelly for approximately five years. I trained as an integrative psychotherapist and as a clinical supervisor. I now practise solely from my consulting room in a remote part of the UK to where I moved from London where I had headed a counselling service for staff and students in a higher education establishment.
I cannot speak highly enough of Allan work as a supervisor. It is often said that we take our ‘best work’ to supervision. However, Allan’s constructive and optimistic manner; his ability to put one at one’s ease and the feelings of safety that he communicates and provides, have a most important function: they enable less successful work to be examined and, therefore, for learning of value to take place.
Allan enables issues of concern in relation to clients’ lives to be brought to supervision in complete confidence, and for the client-psychotherapist relationship to be examined. Never far away are the parallel processes, in the relationship between the supervisee and Allan himself. The learning is rich and varied.
There are many aspects of Allan’s work which act as rôle-modelling for my own work as a supervisor. Allan’s boundary-keeping is superb, and is all done through the lens of his warm personality: critical thinking about less successful work, where it is required, is by the encouragement of self-supervision and by dialogue, where his interventions never fail to stimulate.
I would recommend Allan Kelly’s work most strongly and cannot thank him enough for his supervision of my work thus far: long may it continue!”
“I’m a Relationship Therapist and have been working with Allan 2 years. I joined him while still at an agency but, with his help, set up my private practice in outer and central London and have now left the agency.
Allan has been instrumental in building my confidence and my practice. He’s encouraged me to take on more challenging cases and to explore long-term work. Very structured in his work schedule, he’s nevertheless always there if I need to confer. I hugely appreciate his experience, deep reading and wry humour.
I’ve been able to grow and keep growing: I’m now applying for BACP accreditation and hope afterwards to take on supervisor training. None of this fazes Allan. He’s been there, done that with shiny brass knobs on: reassuring and inspirational.”
“I have been fortunate enough to work with Allan for over three years now, and I think he has a unique set of skills to offer as a counselling supervisor.
I feel the supervisory relationship we have built has been central to effective and fulfilling supervision. I experience Allan as warm, genuine, and honest, while possessing the humility and willingness to share his own therapeutic challenges. This has been incredibly helpful to me and allowed deeper insights into my own work.
Our supervisory relationship is one of trust and mutual respect and this has been conducive to creating a safe space for me to explore my own fears and anxieties both around my client work and in building my private practice as a therapist.
This has enabled me to find the courage to challenge myself, and ultimately challenge my clients when this is appropriate. As a result, my clients have also found the courage to face their own fears and anxieties, demonstrating a parallel process between the supervisory and therapeutic work which reflects my professional growth since working with Allan.
I find the role playing in supervision with Allan also offers a valuable experiential platform to engage with deeper insights such as exploring the transference/counter transference processes that may have been initially outside my awareness.
Finally, I have found Allan’s business background invaluable in helping me develop my own private practice in a creative and congruent way.
I would definitely recommend Allan as a counselling supervisor.”
“Allan has been my supervisor for a number of years now. Allan’s ability to communicate his knowledge, experience and wisdom clearly and eloquently, proved invaluable for my practice.
Throughout the years, Allan helped me on both, practical level – to grow and maintain my practice, even through some unexpected adverse circumstances, as well as personal level – by supporting my client work with his relational, emphatic, analytical and direct approach.
To anyone in doubt, Allan comes highly recommended.”