Why Clinical Supervision Matters
Starting out as a therapist is courageous, exciting—and overwhelming. You carry your training, your values, your hopes, and inevitably, your fears. Clinical supervision isn’t just a requirement; it’s a lifeline. It helps you:
• sharpen your skills
• safely navigate complex or unfamiliar cases
• deepen your clinical judgment
• avoid burnout and ethical pitfalls
• grow into the therapist you want to be
My Supervisory Style: Warm, Supportive, Straightforward
I offer supervision that reflects how I practice therapy: relational, integrative, practical. You’ll get honest feedback, encouragement, and space to experiment—all in a grounded, compassionate environment.
Here’s what you can expect:
• Empathy + candour: I believe in being compassionate but also direct. I strive to hold safety so you can stretch.
• Tailored supervision: I meet you where you are—your learning style, your strengths, your gaps.
• Relational focus: We’ll explore not only what happens in your sessions but the relational dynamics—between you and your clients, your assumptions, and your blind spots.
• Practical tools and theory: I draw from evidence-based models but emphasize what you can use concretely.
My Background: What I Bring to Supervision
• Professional credentials: I hold a Master of Education in Counselling Psychology from the University of Toronto. I am a Registered Psychotherapist (CRPO), member of OAMHP.
• Years of experience: I have spent many years working with individuals, couples, and families in therapy, including complex cases: anxiety, depression, trauma, grief and loss (including ambiguous loss), relationship conflict, divorce, midlife transitions, neurodiversity issues, caretaker burnout, and more.
• Multiple prior lives: Before becoming a therapist, I worked in roles that sharpened many of the skills therapists need—storytelling, interviewing (journalism), life transitions, ritual and ceremony (as a licensed officiant), teaching (college and university level) and advocating (mental help). I have 6 years of post graduate academic training both in psychology and in fields that feel theoretically related in terms of its focus on human behaviour. These inform how I see systems, culture, identity, and meaning in therapeutic work.
• Modality breadth + specialization: My training includes EFT, EFFT, EMDR, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT), IPT, RLT, Gottman, Narrative, Attachment-based models, IFS, CBT, ACT, Mindfulness, and more. I integrate models depending on client, issue, and context.
This combination gives me a mature, nuanced perspective especially helpful when supervising newer therapists who want to integrate multiple modalities or work with difficult relational, trauma, or transitional work.
Who I Supervise & What I Offer
I supervise therapists, counsellors, RPs-(Qualifying), interns, and practitioners in early stages of independent practice. My supervision works well for those who:
• wish to deepen their relational, trauma-informed, and couples/families work
• want to use modalities like EMDR, Parts work, EFT/EFFT, Gottman etc., or integrate them with their primary approaches
• are navigating complex cases: trauma, grief, neurodiversity, burnout, relational rupture, divorce, blended families, ethical issues
• prefer hands-on, interactive supervision: case presentation, role play, co-therapy observation or video review, feedback, reflection
What Supervision Looks Like: Structure & Logistics
Component Details
Format Individual or Dyadic supervision (can explore group supervision in certain cases).
Frequency: Often weekly, bi-weekly or monthly depending on stage, caseload, and your needs.
Duration: Typical sessions are 50-60 minutes; extended as needed.
Medium: In-person (Hamilton area), via video/online, or phone as needed.
Focus: Areas Case conceptualization, ethics, developmental growth, modality training, relational dynamics, self-care, managing counter-transference, etc.
Resources Readings, suggested trainings, video or audio resources, possibly live observation or recorded session review.
How Supervision Supports Growth & Ethical Practice
Supervision isn’t just about what works—it’s about how you work: how ethics, identity, culture, attachment, power show up in your sessions; how you, as a therapist, carry your own history into your work. I help you:
• recognize blind spots and biases
• prevent burnout, overwork, or vicarious trauma
• maintain clarity about roles, boundaries, and professionalism
• integrate self-compassion and reflective practice into your style
Investment & Access
• I offer competitive rates for supervision and am open to discussing a small sliding scale depending on your status (intern, RP-Qualifying, etc.). I often suggest finding a partner to cut costs in half. This is why many supervisors have group supervision sessions.
• I serve therapists in Hamilton, Burlington, GTA, and also provide remote supervision across Ontario.
• Scheduling works like my regular therapy slots — generally mornings and early afternoons Monday through Thursday.
What I Expect from You
To make supervision effective, here’s what supports the work:
• openness to feedback
• willingness to reflect on your own experience and patterns
• consistent case work, including bringing work in that stretches you
• ethical commitment and curiosity
Getting Started
If you’re a newer therapist (or someone transitioning into a new modality or caseload), I’d be honoured to walk with you as supervisor. Here are the next steps:
1. Free consultation call – 15-20 minutes to talk about your background, goals for supervision, modality interest, availability, and whether I might be a good supervisory fit.
2. Agreement / contract – specifying roles, confidentiality, norms, expectations, scheduling, fees.
3. Initial sessions – we begin with case presentation, discussion of theoretical orientation, strengths, needs.
If you’re ready to deepen your clinical confidence, expand your skill set, and do therapy in a way that feels aligned, grounded, and sustainable, let’s talk. Contact me at cortney@ontariotherapist.com to arrange your free consultation.