Applicants for these awards are required to write their philosophy of supervision, submit a tape of a supervision session with comments by supervisee and supervisor, and take part in a full day evaluation where they are asked to supervise and be supervised before two assessors and are interviewed on their theory of supervision and how congruent it is with their practice. Obviously, this venture will have wide-ranging implications for both counseling and counseling supervision throughout Europe. More recently a number of training courses in supervision have appeared in Britain, some within particular counseling orientations and others viewing themselves as integrative. The curriculum of these courses stresses experiential learning as a key factor in supervisor training but without neglecting the conceptual frameworks. By and large, these trainings are for experienced counselors who are beginning to supervise or see themselves as supervisors in the near future.
Training lasts for either one or two years, resulting in a certificate or diploma.
There are approximately 10 to 12 such courses in Britain at the moment. Counselors, both those in training and those qualified, are expected to be in supervision, although consultation is the term often used to designate supervision with a qualified counselor. There is some evidence for caution, however. In addition, countries are at various stages in the development of supervision. In some countries counseling is still without formal professional standards, while others have progressed to devising ethical codes and formal training programs.