Practitioner Help Centre

Guidelines for Buddying

The purpose of buddying within the context of SoulAdvisor is to provide opportunities for mutual learning and support to assist in the positive professional development of TCIH practitioners and increase cross-disciplinary literacy within our field.

The values underpinning this are Collaboration, Openness, Respect and Empowerment. The approach to buddying relationships is to find a compatible professional partner with whom to bounce ideas, inspire each other and provide an affordable way to keep oneself accountable. Nurturing ourselves professionally in order to continue to improve our capacity to heal the world, is SoulAdvisor’s intention in providing a buddying framework.

The aim of a buddying relationship is to enhance professional and personal development. Often we know what we would like to achieve and have the desire to move forward in our professional development. Being able to discuss and nut out these ideas helps them to manifest and keeps us accountable. Professional buddying allows us to be allies in each other’s growth.

The mechanism to activate Buddying through SoulAdvisor is this:

  • If you are interested in Buddying and available to a buddy at this point, you can place a ‘buddying flag’ on your listing.
  • All potential buddies will be clearly labelled on their SoulAdvisor listing and searchable from within your SoulAdvisor dashboard or from the website footer.
  • When choosing a buddy, we suggest having a Discovery call to test the water if you feel that someone may be a good fit for you.
  • Once you have mutually agreed to buddy with each other, we encourage you both to work through this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Buddying provided by SoulAdvisor and then download and sign this document. 

Buddies can:

  • Act as a sounding board for ideas
  • Share opinions on directions or actions that each other might be taken professionally.
  • Perhaps provide insider knowledge of a different modality to allow cross-referencing of approaches.
  • Fill in the gaps in each other's knowledge bases
  • Provide inspiration or perspectives regarding client treatments 
  • Share opportunities and collaborate where possible
  • Provide an affordable (free) way to keep each accountable and moving forward towards desired goals

Essential elements of the relationship:

  • Confidentiality. Unless a legal or ethical boundary is crossed, what is discussed in the mentoring relationship is treated as confidential.
  • Trust
  • Mutual respect
  • Positivity and gratefulness for the shared time

FAQs

Who can buddy?
All members of our SoulAdvisor practitioner community, whether having Premium, Standard or Free membership,  are encouraged to consider buddying and see if it is for them. Once you have chosen a buddy, we suggest having a trial period to fine-tune the way you work together to make sure that it is mutually beneficial and that you would like to continue. Our suggestion is 3 sessions to start with.

How do I find a buddy?

You can find a buddy by using the SoulAdvisor search functionality through your dashboard or in the website footer, or by simply scrolling through practitioners offering particular therapies. Therapists who are up for buddying and currently unpaired will have a flag on their listing.

Who can initiate the buddy relationship? 

In the context of SoulAdvisor, all practitioners offering buddying can be reached by the SoulAdvisor message service or by making a Discovery Call. Practitioners are encouraged to be proactive in reaching out to buddies and once decided it is useful to have a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)  as to how often and how you will meet, how long each session will be and how you will both decide on the usefulness of the relationship. 

How long does the relationship last?

The relationship may last weeks, months or even years. This is entirely up to you. We suggest the timing and renewal terms be made clear in the MOU.

If the buddying relationship is not working, for whatever reason, either party may decide to terminate the arrangement and the terms of this will be noted in the MOU.

What are the expected benefits of buddying?

  • Sometimes being a solo practitioner can present challenges so being able to share the day-to-day happenings of our professional life can be very grounding.
  • Being able to cross-reference areas of expertise and experience helps add to one's professional repertoire.
  • Practising communication skills related to clarity, transparency and realistic goal setting can enhance professional skills. 
  • Creating a positive flow towards identified professional goals by having a regular session to keep you accountable.
  • Reduces the ‘silo’ effect between disciplines within TCIH and provides different perspectives
  • Enhance a person-centred and supportive community culture within our TCIH field of endeavour.

How should we set up the relationship?

Both parties should be clear about what they expect from the relationship, how frequently they will meet and how long the relationship will last. The Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) will outline the considerations and is to be considered as a focus of discussion and agreement before being signed by both partners.

What if the relationship is not working?

It is a good idea to set up a way of monitoring the relationship between buddies and setting a trial period, which we suggest should be three meetings, before deciding on time limitations for the buddying arrangement. This will allow further refinement of the buddying agreement after the third meeting to best support both of you.

If the relationship is not working for either party, for any reason, it should be discontinued.

How do I become a buddy?

The skill set that a buddy needs is based on good interpersonal communication supported by knowledge of their own area of practice and a desire to learn and grow. Simply go to your listing dashboard and create a flag that indicates you are interested in buddying by following the instructions here.

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