Creative Supervision Conversations for Therapists and Coaches
How can creativity be catalysed in supervision? Taking an imaginative slant to a supervision issue loosens up thinking quickly and can introduce humour and playfulness into the session. Putting an entirely different conceptual frame around the situation can be enlightening and fun. Paradoxically, this is particularly useful when the mood has become overly heavy and serious. This course provides creative ideas for any supervisory relationship, whether the supervisee or supervisor are finding they’re hitting roadblocks, on the border of burnout, or having issues within the supervisory relationship. Good clinical supervision relies on the relationship between supervisor and their supervisee. No matter what the supervisory relationship, whether it’s online supervision, supportive supervision, clinical supervision, or professional supervision, it’s imperative for it to provide an environment for building a fundamentally supportive relationship to yield better results for the practitioner, the client, and the supervisor.
Often times in supervision, if we look at things differently we will achieve a different outcome. This Creative Supervision Conversations course will provide different methods, perspectives and ideas for your future supervision practice, or sessions with your supervisor, or supervisee. This course will enrich you and will provide techniques and ideas to increase your effectiveness as a supervisor and to help your supervisee grow professionally with ease. All therapists, supervisors and coaches can benefit from this course as it will assist with different and creative perspectives, particularly in a time of grief, loss and trauma that we have had throughout the world, post-COVID.
You will learn how to start new conversations in your supervisory sessions and how reflective supervision can enhance the supervisory relationship. You will uncover a different, creative model of supervision that will expand your therapeutic or supervisory practice to include creative thinking and curiosity. The course will also explore ideas for self-care that go beyond standard approaches. As a supervisee, you will explore modes and new ideas for working with your supervisor to get the most out of supervision. It is a course for both the supervisor and the supervisee to learn from.
As a supervisor, you will extend your repertoire significantly to meet every challenge of a professionally difficult conversation but in such a way that the relationships and trust will grow rather than suffer. Observations of modern practice and possible future ways forward will be explored. All this will be illustrated by case studies of creative therapeutic practice and how best to supervise creative practitioners to let them spread their wings.
You will be required to learn as you go through doing various exercises, so prepare to stop the recording at times and do the work. It will be fun! We have added two learning hours to this recording so that you are provided to with space to learn, reflect and improve through analysing various approaches and techniques.
Learning Objectives:
- Start new conversations in your supervision sessions
- How reflective supervision can enhance the supervisory relationship
- Uncover a different, creative model of supervisor practice
- Expand your therapeutic or supervisory practice to include creative thinking and curiosity
- Ideas for self-care that go beyond standard approaches
- Modes of working with your supervisor to get the most out of supervision
- Focused new ideas and questions for your supervision sessions, either with your supervisor, or with your supervisees
- Ways of working with supervisors and supervision to extend your repertoire
- Observations of modern practice and possible future ways forward
- Look at Case studies of creative therapeutic practice and how best to supervise creative practitioners
- How working creatively in times of grief, loss and trauma can improve outcomes for clients, supervisees and supervisors
CPD Information For Mental Health Professionals
Enjoy complete flexibility with 100% self-paced learning you can access anytime, anywhere, and on any device. Pay once for lifetime access.
Course Duration: 3 learning hours
Certificate and CPD hours: On completion you’ll receive a Certificate of Completion to support your CPD records.
Assessment: Complete a short quiz at the end (80% pass mark), which you can resit as many times as needed.
Lifetime Access: Your access to the course does not expire, so you can revisit key concepts anytime you want a refresher for practice.
CPD Eligibility: This program may be suitable for CPD for professionals such as:
- Psychologists
- Counsellors and Psychotherapists
- Social Workers
- Community Workers
- Mental Health Nurses
- General Practitioners (GPs)
- Occupational Therapists
CPD requirements vary between professional bodies, so please check with your association or credentialing body to confirm you can claim CPD hours/OPD points for this program and what evidence they require.
Course Content
Meet Your Instructor
The future of mental health care is digital - but many practitioners struggle to provide effective therapy through screens, lacking the specialised training needed to create genuine connection and therapeutic presence in virtual environments. Renee McDonald has spent over 20 years pioneering online therapy in Australia, becoming one of the country's leading experts in telehealth delivery and helping thousands of practitioners transition from traditional face-to-face work to effective digital therapeutic relationships.
As Director of Australian Online Therapy Training and author of Online Therapy: Processes, Tasks, Integration and Energetic Holding (Lambert Academic Publishing, 2019, reprinted 2020), McDonald brings unparalleled expertise to the rapidly evolving field of digital mental health. Her role as Senior Professional Member and Registered International Online Clinical Supervisor with the Association for Counselling and Therapy Online (ACTO) demonstrates her leadership in establishing professional standards for online therapy delivery. As one of the first practitioners in Australia to offer specialised training in online therapy techniques, she has helped shape how an entire generation of therapists approaches digital therapeutic work.
McDonald's expertise spans online therapy and telehealth delivery, relationship counselling, grief and loss therapy, trauma and PTSD treatment, couples therapy (EFT and Gottman methods), clinical supervision, and what she calls "energetic holding" in virtual therapeutic spaces. Her approach recognises that effective online therapy requires more than simply moving in-person techniques to video calls - it demands understanding how technology affects therapeutic rapport, presence, and the subtle energetic exchanges that facilitate healing. She specialises in training practitioners to create genuine intimacy and safety through screens, working with clients across different time zones and cultures, and maintaining therapeutic boundaries in digital environments.
What sets her training apart is pioneering experience combined with practical wisdom. McDonald doesn't just teach online therapy theory - she shows practitioners exactly how to establish presence, manage technical challenges, and create the "energetic holding" that allows deep therapeutic work to happen virtually. Her integration of mindfulness practices, coaching techniques, and traditional psychotherapy creates a comprehensive framework for digital therapeutic excellence.
For your practice, expect to gain specific techniques for building rapport online, tools for managing the unique challenges of digital therapy, and frameworks for creating therapeutic presence through technology. Her approach particularly benefits practitioners transitioning to telehealth, those wanting to expand their client base internationally, or clinicians seeking to develop expertise in the growing field of digital mental health.
Quick Win: McDonald's "energetic check-in" technique helps practitioners quickly assess and adjust their virtual presence - helping to transform awkward online sessions into deeply connected therapeutic encounters that clients can find as powerful as in-person work.
Qualifications
- MAppSocSc, Applied Social Science, Australian College of Applied Psychology (ACAP), 2008
- Post-Grad Dip Couns, Counselling, Australian College of Applied Psychology (ACAP), 2002
- B Couns (Coaching), Counselling and Coaching combined degree, Australian College of Applied Psychology (ACAP), 2017–2019
- PACFA Clinical Counsellor, Psychotherapist, and Accredited Supervisor
- Senior Professional Member and Registered International Online Clinical Supervisor, ACTO
- Advanced training: EFT, Gottman Method, trauma therapy, grief therapy, mindfulness, meditation
Authored Publications
- Online Therapy: Processes, Tasks, Integration and Energetic Holding (2019, Lambert Academic Publishing, reprinted 2020, textbook based on research and practice experience in online therapy)
Professional Experience
- Workshop Facilitator & Leader, Heart & Soul Movement™, 2014–present
- Managing Partner, The Shine Counsel (podcast and partnership), July 2017–2022 (5 years)
- Online Counsellor & Therapist, Dr Julian Medical Group (UK international platform), September 2018–June 2020
- Teacher and Educator, TAFE NSW (Ultimo, Loftus, and Sydney campuses), February 2006–2013 (7 years)
- Counselling Unit Manager, Clinical Supervisor, Clinical Counsellor and Psychotherapist, Enough is Enough (Anti Violence Movement), May 2004–September 2005
- Volunteer Telephone Counsellor and Crisis Supporter, Lifeline Australia, January 2001–September 2004 (3+ years)
Clinical Specialties
- Online therapy and telehealth delivery expertise
- "Energetic holding" in virtual therapeutic spaces
- Relationship counselling and couples therapy (EFT and Gottman methods)
- Grief and loss therapy, trauma and PTSD treatment
- Clinical supervision and professional mentoring
- Mindfulness and meditation integration
- International online counselling across time zones
- Sex-positive and kink-allied therapy approaches
- Open relationships and non-monogamy counselling
"I have a love of helping people have a better life, be it through self-discovery in therapy, through creativity, spiritual practice or through educating themselves."
Ready to master the art of online therapy and expand your practice into the digital age? Discover how Renee McDonald's pioneering methods can help you create genuine therapeutic connection through screens while building a thriving international practice that serves clients anywhere in the world.
Feedback & Reviews
This course includes:
- Lessons 5
- Topics 0
- Duration 3 hours
- Quizzes 1
- Language English