Click below for application form 2023-2024
Applications now welcome
Programme Dates to follow
Application form below
Professional Diploma in Cross-Professional Supervision
& The Wisdom Model™ for Clinical Supervision
Supervision Training at An Croí
An Croí Wisdom Institute has evolved into an important centre for research and training in the field of Supervision training led by Dr Geraldine Holton, who is a respected innovator in the field of supervision in Ireland. She developed, delivered and was director of Ireland’s first Masters Programme in Supervisory Practice, initially at Milltown Institute and later at All Hallows College Dublin DCU. She is the director and key tutor of the Professional Diploma in Cross-Professional Supervision, now delivered by An Croí Wisdom Institute. She continues to be innovative by developing new opportunities for training in supervision and provides ongoing Continuing Professional Development workshops for caring professionals. Through her doctoral work, she coined the term cross-professional supervision and developed a cross-professional approach to supervision and the unique Wisdom Model of Supervision, an integrative generic model that equips supervisors to work across professions. Geraldine is the founding chair of the Supervisors Association of Ireland (SAI) and currently serves as president of the association.
Hybrid Programme Delivery of Online and In-Person
Programme Details 2023-2024
Times: Fridays 4 pm-8 pm (Zoom Session) & Saturdays 10 am-5 pm (Zoom Sessions or in-house)
Dates for 2023-2024 to be confirmed
Professional Diploma in Cross-Professional Supervision
& The Wisdom Model™ for Clinical Supervision
An Croí Wisdom Institute offers a professional training for practitioners from across professions in Cross-Professional SUPERVISION, with key master practitioner and experienced leading trainer in the field, Dr Geraldine Holton, who established Ireland’s first master’s programme in supervision and is the founding president of the Supervisors Association of Ireland, co-author of The Soul of Supervision and co-founder of An Croí Wisdom Institute.
What is a Professional Diploma?
A professional diploma is a practitioner award that is recognised by relevant professional bodies. The Professional Diploma in Cross-Professional Supervision at An Croí Wisdom Institute is a training programme for experienced practitioners from across professions that is recognised by the Supervisors Association of Ireland (SAI) and meets the requirements for full membership of that organisation and the European Association for Supervision and Coaching ANSE. Graduated participants from counselling and psychotherapy backgrounds have also been accredited as supervisors by other professional bodies, including the Irish Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP), and the National Association of Pastoral Counselling and Psychotherapy (NAPCP} provided they meet the foundational requirements of membership of that organisation.
What is Supervision?
Supervision is a process that provides an opportunity for those in the helping professions and, increasingly, those in business, to reflect on their work as practitioners. It is a learning relationship that fosters healthy work practices and can enhance work satisfaction and reduce the risk of burnout by providing a safe container for reflective practice where supervisees can explore issues and discover new ways with the support of a trained supervisor. The three main functions of the supervisory process are 1) Educational, 2) Supportive and 3) Managerial, which is the ‘community of practice’ dimension that ensures that standards are maintained.
What is a Cross-Professional Supervision?
The term ‘cross-professional supervision’ was first coined by Dr Geraldine Holton. She devised and delivered Ireland’s first masters programme in supervisory practice, and it was this unique training programme, comprised of participants from across the helping professions, that provided the research ground, for more than a decade, for the development of a generic and integrative model of supervision which she later termed ‘cross-professional supervision’. Practitioners from across a variety of helping professions, including practitioners from healthcare, social work, counselling/psychotherapy, psychology, education, leadership, security work, spiritual practitioners, complimentary therapy and carers, participated in a learning group, in a training that would equip them to work as supervisors across professions. This was very innovative at a time when uni-professional supervision was the norm and has contributed to the recognition of supervision as a profession ‘in its own right’ with a set of tasks and skills that are transferable across professions. Research was conducted on this learning group, out of which the cross-professional approach and Wisdom Model™ developed.
What is the Wisdom Model for Clinical Supervision?
Dr Holton builds on the work of Dr Michael Carrol, Dr Maureen Conroy and Dr Tobin Hart, among others, to develop a theoretically and technically integrative and generic model rooted in transformational learning theory, different ways of knowing, contemplative psychology and reflexivity. Theory and practice are brought together in the core principles of the Wisdom Model™ of Collaborative, Contemplative, Creative and Compassionate, all of which focus on a way of being as a supervisor. These comprise the key elements of the Cross-Professional approach and the Wisdom Model™ for clinical supervision, which honours the wisdom generated in the supervisory relationship and names the ‘wisdom task’ as an additional task for attention in supervision which deals with what might be referred to as the ‘soul space’.
Programme Content
- Supervision Models. Approaches, Theories and Frameworks
The training engages with a variety of models, approaches, theories and frameworks that include clinical supervision, spiritual direction models, psychotherapy and counselling-based models, developmental and Integrative models. The grounding approach and model of the training programme, based on Dr Holton’s research, is Cross-Professional Supervision and the Wisdom Model™ for clinical supervision. Throughout the programme participants are assisted in developing a personal supervisory orientation and personal philosophy of supervision, which is grounded in the programme’s theory and practice and is presented in the format of a professional learning portfolio.
- The Supervisory Process and Ethical Supervision
The programme provides practical training in the tasks and skills involved in supervision and provides an opportunity to learn how to work with creative modalities including Wisdom’s Garden™, SoulCollage® Jungian Sandplay Therapy, and to practice skills of the approach and model under supervision. Participants engage with the theory and skills necessary for one-to-one supervision, group supervision and organisational supervision. Attention is given to ethical considerations, codes of practice and developing frameworks for ethical decision-making.
- Learning to Supervise
Practitioner training and experience are developed through practice in the learning group, external practice under supervision and participating in ongoing external supervision for the duration of the programme. The professional learning portfolio is a key component of the programme that brings together the learning around the Cross-Professional approach and the Wisdom Model™ for clinical supervision. It focuses on developing a philosophy of supervision, reflective, clinical and professional practices and creative expression.
Course Commitment & Investment
The programme involves 100 class hours over a calendar year with monthly sessions Friday 4-8 pm (video conferencing) & Saturdays 10am-5pm (in person or online). This programme involves blended learning approaches, including online video conferencing, our learning platform and experiential practice.
Programme Investment €1800 payable in instalments.
Learning Environment
In keeping with the underlying philosophy of the programme, the learning environment fosters transformational learning and seeking wisdom while attending to different ways of knowing, all in an atmosphere of hospitality and collaborative learning.
The training seeks in a creative way to support a practitioner’s competency, effectiveness, and restoration by providing a holding space for reflective learning that also engages a variety of creative modalities.
Blending theory and practice, the training provides the foundations necessary for supervising others in a variety of settings and contexts. The programme engages trainees in creative modalities and invites the whole person into the learning environment, engaging the affective, intuitive, thinking, physical and spiritual self. Cognisant of best practice and accreditation requirements, this one-year training programme is grounded in the experience of being a trainee supervisor working with supervisees under supervision.
Learner Profile
This training is suitable for practitioners from across the helping professions such as social care, counselling/psychotherapy, nursing, education, expressive arts, spiritual and pastoral practitioners. It is also suitable for trained supervisors who wish to learn more about ‘The Wisdom Model ™ for clinical Supervision’ and a Cross-Professional (CPS) approach. Candidates will typically have a minimum of five years experience in a helping relationship or related leadership or teamwork.
The programme aims to:
- Enable participants to acquire a critical awareness and insight into the practice of supervision in various settings
- Facilitate participants in acquiring a sound skills base and an advanced understanding of the complex processes of supervision congruent with them through the art of reflexivity and creative, critical thinking.
- Challenge participants to develop and articulate their own theoretically grounded approach to the art of supervision
- Encourage participants to evaluate critically the scholarship related to supervisory practice.
- Provide continuing professional development for those already trained in supervision who wish to up-skill
- Train participants in the theory, skills and approaches to effective Supervision, discover what is unique to The Wisdom Model™for clinical supervision and a Cross-Professional approach and introduce creative modalities for supervision.
Programme Director and Core Facilitator
Dr Geraldine Holton is co-founder and co-director of An Croí Wisdom Institute and is the core tutor for the programme. She is an experienced trainer whose training programmes are highly rated by participants as collaborative and transformative experiences of adult learning. As Director of Ireland’s first Masters programme in Supervision and the Professional Diploma at An Croí she is regarded as an innovative leader in the field. Geraldine focuses on experiential learning and different ways of knowing. Her background in adult learning and professional practice has been the foundation for her leadership in the field. Her approach is creative and contemplative and is grounded in sound theory and practice with transformational learning, engaging creative modalities and seeking wisdom at the core of her work. She is the founding chair of the Supervisors Association of Ireland and served for thirteen years in that role. She is currently president of the organisation (SAI). He has also successfully forged links internationally for supervision with ANSE. She is co-author of ‘The Soul of Supervision’.
“The core of wisdom supervision is rooted in transformational learning theory and reflective practice. It involves learning to be present, conversational, collaborative, specific, creative and wise in order to maintain professional standards and to ensure practitioner’s competency and effectiveness.” Dr. Geraldine Holton The Soul of Supervision
For further information, contact: Dr. Geraldine Holton, An Croí Wisdom Institute,
Monasterboice, Drogheda, Co. Louth Ireland 353-41-9805050 or 0876240071
email:ancroiwisdominstitute@gmail.com Website: www.ancroi.ie