Whenever I feel stuck thinking of all ‘the could’ves and should’ves and the familiar feeling that ‘I’m not good enough’ as a therapist, Amy’s questions always bring me back to how I want to be with this dilemma in terms of my ethics and values…Especially when a client’s situation is hope-depriving because of systems of oppression/marginalization, it is very easy for me to feel powerless over my work or to question whether this work can ever make the kind of difference the client really deserves. But Amy’s questions help me to not lose sight of the value of the work, and the small-but-meaningful difference it can still make (or has already made), and most importantly, invites hope that is crucial for continuing the work.
– Current supervisee, Private Practice
Amy’s attentiveness to power dynamics and her willingness to transparently question her potential complicity in them is a rare, yet liberatory approach to supervision. As a result of Amy modelling a power levelling approach, I have become more personally adept at taking this approach with the young people and families with whom I work. As well, coming to experientially know the affirming and freeing effects of power levelling has increased my belief in, and professional commitment to this way of working.
– Former supervisee, Skylark
Something I deeply appreciate about Amy is that her questions invite me to consider what informs my practice, where I situate myself in relations of power, which support me to remain curious. It is a difficult thing to remain / maintain a stance of curiosity… or rather it can be easy to begin to orient towards people in sessions or your coworkers with predictability (predicting problems, solutions, outcomes…). Working alongside/collaborating with Amy is a gift because it is a continuous reminder to not settle into a complacent place. I often bring Amy’s voice (and questions I’ve learned from her) with me into sessions if I am feeling stuck. This helps me maintain a stance of curiosity… and to come back in alignment with my values.
– Former supervisee, Oolagen
Amy’s transparency and willingness to speak about how power and authority might inadvertently get in the way of our preferred ways of being in relationship together… along with her invitation for me to think about how I might let her know if she misused her power in our working relationship, made me feel safer and gave me permission to take risks/be vulnerable…. This also fostered collaboration, and had me feeling that I had an integral role to play in co-creating how and what was important to each of us in our work together.
– Former supervisee, Oolagen
Community work can be challenging, and the longer I am in the field, the less time I find I am able to dedicate for my own self-reflection. This leaves me in a place where I don’t feel good or motivated about my work. Amy’s questions support me to keep my integrity in the work, and to be aware of the impacts of carrying my own intersections into the relationships I am building with the youth I am working alongside. Amy creates a safe and inviting space for me to be real and process my own impact in this work. I feel this time (with Amy) supports me to be a better worker to the folks I engage with. The questions Amy asks helps me be more conscious of the values I hold dear, and to remember all of the reasons why I choose to continue doing the work I do. Amy has a gentleness to her approach that is coupled with a genuine curiosity about the work. There is a spirit of continued co-learning in the room which is refreshing. I now know what it means to have meaningful “supervision” and support, and feel empowered moving forward in my career to advocate for what my needs are at work.
– Current supervisee, Skylark
I believe that Amy’s questions centre the clients’/supervisees’ voice and experience of what they are facing, and in doing so allows people to come to their own conclusions and new ways of thinking about their lives. Amy impacted me, not only on a professional level, but also on a personal level because of the constancy of her deeply held social justice values. Both as a supervisor and as a person, Amy’s values permeate her entire being. Amy’s openness to learning from me as a student, made me feel comfortable in developing my own skills and confidence, and to feel nourished as a student-therapist. Some of these comforts, values, and ways of caring are what continue to help me develop as a therapist currently in my new role as a clinician.
– Former supervisee, Skylark
In considering Amy’s questions, I realized that the answers were inside of me all along…Amy’s questions allowed me to see through the fog to the path forward…it’s liberating, empowering.
– Current supervisee, Skylark
Soon after I started my contract at Oolagen, Amy became an important support and mentor to me. She was quick to check in with me after challenging sessions with questions that helped strengthen my professional identity as a therapist and my confidence level. When my contract came to an end, Amy offered to interview both me and a client about the work we’d been engaged in, who would be transferring from me to her. Amy explained the intention behind inviting both my client and I to be interviewed together, in terms of offering us both an opportunity to reflect on the things that stood out to us in our work together, and to reflect on what we’d each be taking away from the work. By setting it up this way, it was an intentional way to dismantle the power-hierarchy between us. This creative and thoughtful act was very helpful and meaningful to both me and our client, and has inspired me to work this way in the future.
– Former colleague, Oolagen