Chika Anireto, FWACP, A-CBT from Nigeria

Chika is a medical practitioner and a therapist living in Nigeria. She is the Medical Director at the family medicine and psychotherapy clinic located in Abuja, where she sees outpatient clients with various medical conditions and practices Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) to help clients with depression, anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, postpartum depression, and other mental health conditions. She also gives presentations on mental health topics, including CBT, both locally and in other Nigerian states. She is a Beck Institute CBT Certified Clinician.

Chika began training with Beck Institute in 2018. She recently completed a round of individual supervision with one of our expert supervisors. The following is an excerpt from an interview that we conducted with Chika about her experience in the Beck Institute Supervision program.

Can you describe your experience in the BI Supervision program?

This program gave me access to a friendly supervisor who gave me a deeper understanding of CBT concepts and skills. Overall, I felt like I finally had someone trained to give me constructive feedback on my level of expertise as a therapist. Supervision was what I expected and a bit more.

My supervisor and I met online every two weeks for one-on-one sessions. During these sessions, he regularly provided constructive feedback on the recorded therapy sessions that I would submit for his review and answered my questions. We also talked through issues I experienced with clients all the time, which I found incredibly helpful.

I looked forward to sessions with my supervisor. I would see a case at work and wonder what his opinion would be about my planned treatment strategies. Our sessions were fun and at the same time we got a lot accomplished in terms of work and case conceptualization. I was sorry to see supervision come to an end. On the downside, there were regular connectivity issues (we met online). But we compensated by starting five minutes earlier.

What did you like most about the BI Supervision program?

I left supervision with increased confidence in my skills as a therapist. And my supervisor provided lots of references and materials that I found superb.

Did anything in the program surprise you? If so, what was it?

Yes. I was impressed by how flexible it was. I was worried going into it that I would not be able to meet up with the number of clients I was expected to record. But the Beck Institute supervision team came up with a plan that suited me.

What did you learn from the program? 

That I’m a good therapist with a strong grasp of CBT concepts. (Thanks to my trainers at Beck Institute!)

How are you using what you learned in your practice?

I’m working on developing a curriculum to train postgraduate doctors in CBT. I hope to collaborate with Beck Institute.

Can you share an example of how your supervisor helped you deal with a challenge you faced in your practice?

Yes, one case in particular comes to mind. I was working with a young woman with Functional Neurological Disorder. She had co-existing depression and anxiety. She had a difficult relationship with her parents and believed that she had to meet their expectations to feel personal worth. She constantly felt not good enough, anxious, and hopeless. She had suicidal thoughts at one point. I got stuck while working with her because, though she would report feeling better with treatment, she would relapse as soon as she returned home to her family. My supervisor suggested that I explore my client’s values with her. He explained that doing so would strengthen her sense of self and empower her to feel like an independent woman with her own goals and aspirations. I followed his advice, and after working on this, my client began to see what she really wanted in life and to see herself in a new light, separate from her family. It was incredible and very fulfilling to be a part of her turn around!

If you could share just one thing about this program with someone who is interested, what would that be?

I come from a background where I don’t have many people trained in CBT to compare notes with. So for me I’d say – if you have the prerequisite training and are not sure how you really compare with other therapists or you’re looking to sharpen your skills as a therapist, I’d recommend supervision.

Learn more about Chika by visiting her Beck Institute Certified Clinician profile, or explore our options for individual and group supervision today!