BAPAM is pleased to support the Peer Supervision Group for psychosocial practitioners who work with performing arts clients.
This group, whose inaugural meetings took place in 2018, opens up the conversation between performing arts and psychological practice. It is developing a growing professional network for counselling, coaching and psychology practitioners who work with performing artists of all kinds. The group meets regularly, roughly every 8 weeks, in central London.
As well as discussing clinical cases and case issues, there is interactive exploration, mutual consultation and support on more general professional practice issues, including ethical issues, boundary and confidentiality areas. Such exchanges of expertise and experience enable members to reflect on and refine best practice in working with performers. The Group offers members the chance to share specialist expertise of particular problem areas and to provide interventions, guidance, information and professional support within a rigorous evidence-based practice and practice-based evidence framework in this developing field. The Group acts as a forum not only for encouraging and developing the highest standards of practice but also for identifying, promoting and supporting new research in the field.
Members of the group use a variety of approaches and come from a range of career backgrounds. Some members bring specialist expertise within the field, for example, working with people in particular arts professions or with certain types of problem. The Group is sensitive to BAME, LGBT+ and other dimensions of difference.
It is hoped that specialised supervision of this type will become available and accessible to many more practitioners on the BAPAM Directory and the Group is keen to encourage this in whatever ways it can. Members are happy to offer advice and suggestions to practitioners wanting to start their own peer supervision group and to find ways of welcoming practitioners new to the Directory to join.
Practitioners interested in finding out more, joining the London group or starting a group of their own are invited to contact Dr Carol Chapman by email at carol@carolchapman.co.uk.