Chapter 14: Using Supervision To Support Counselling Flashcards
Observe and direct the execution of; observe and direct the work of; keep watch over someone. To oversee
Supervise
The supervisor and supervisee usually agree and sign a supervision agreement which is similar to the counselling contract agreed between the counsellor and client. It normally includes:
Names and contact details of supervisor and supervisee
Length and regularity of sessions
Cost and payment arrangements
Emergency contact arrangements
Confidentiality and its limits
Boundaries
Which clients are being supervised and how many
Describe 10 purposes of supervision
- To provide a regular space for supervisees to reflect on the content and process of their work
- To develop understanding and skills within the work
- To receive information and another perspective concerning one’s work
- To receive both content and process feedback
- To be validated and supported both as a person and as a worker
- To ensure that as a person and as a worker one is not left to carry alone difficulties, problems, and projections
- To have space to explore and express personal distress, re-stimulation, transference or counter transference that may be brought up by the work
- To plan and utilize their personal and professional resources better
- To be proactive rather than reactive
- To ensure quality of work. To ensure working ethically and safely
How does supervision support working ethically and safely?
Supervision is a great support and a keystone for ethical practice. Your supervisor is like a third eye overseeing your work and may pick up on some of the ethical issues that may not be immediately obvious.
Some possible issues you might take to supervision are:
Child protection issues, ethical dilemmas, confidentiality and its limits, risk of suicide or serious harm, how to refer a client, issues around the counsellor’s support and self-care, limits of proficiency
How does supervision support the process of counselling work:working with the counselling relationship?
Supervision will ensure that you are working within your role as a counsellor and that the relationship is established and contained. It will help you reflect on all aspects of the therapeutic relationship.
Some possible issues you might take to supervision are:
- Your role as a counsellor within a particular setting or agency
- any aspects of your relationship with your clients
- where are you are in the counselling work: beginning, middle, or end
- boundaries of the relationship
- dealing with “stuckness“
- managing endings
How does supervision support the following process involved in counselling work: working with difference and diversity
Supervision is a crucial element for helping you to work with the wide range of client issues and diverse range of individuals you will encounter in the counselling room. Some possible issues to take the supervision are:
- your own prejudices and stereotypes
- your blocks to empathy
- A personal lack of understanding and ignorance
- identifying personal learning needs
Supervision is particularly useful in helping the counsellor identify “blind spots“ – issues which are out of the counsellors awareness. This is often about exploring reactions which are getting in the way of fully empathizing with the client. The supervisor is skilled in picking up on unspoken thoughts and feelings which can then be brought into the room and explored to develop greater insight
How does supervision support the following process involved in counselling work: working with a user-centered approach
Since it is crucial to establish the focus for the counselling work and remaining focus on the clients issue, supervision can be a place where you present your client work and will facilitate an exploration of whose needs you’re focussing on in the counselling work.
Some possible issues to take to supervision are:
- how to identify what your clients needs are
- how to respond to the clients changing needs
- keeping focussed on the client
- exploring whose agenda is uppermost
How does supervision support the following process involved in counselling work: working with self-awareness
Part of the role of supervision will be for your supervisor to pick up on any personal issues that may be affecting the counselling process or blocking your ability to work effectively with your client. Self-awareness issues should be directly relevant to your counselling work; the place for working on personal issues is in your own personal therapy.
Some possible issues to take to supervision include:
- exploring “triggers“
- identifying issues to take to personal therapy
- bringing issues into supervisees awareness
- identifying themes in supervisees responses
How does supervision support the following process involved in counselling work: relating theory and skills to client work
Ideally, supervision will be with a supervisor from within your theoretical model. Supervisor will be able not only to explore with you how your theory helps you understand your clients personality, history, and patterns of relating, but also ensure that you are working from within a coherent framework of theory and skills
Some possible issues to take to supervision are:
- how to understand the clients issues within a theoretical framework
- exploring skills and interventions to facilitate change within a theoretical framework
- Learning about mental health issues
What are the seven processes involved in working therapeutically explored throughout the textbook that supervision can support?
- Working ethically and safely
- Working with the counselling relationship
- Working with difference and diversity
- Working with a user-centered approach
- Working with self-awareness
- Working with in a coherent framework of skills, theory, and techniques
- Working self reflectively
As a supervisee, how can you fully utilize the time you have in supervision?
Prepare and prioritize what you want to take to supervision, and reflect on and consider why you have chosen certain things to discuss and what you want to achieve by doing so. you could write a list, which would also help to get your thoughts and feelings in order. It is important to ask yourself why you are prioritizing certain things – it could be that you don’t want to talk about the clients you find a challenging, where you might feel incompetent, unsure or lost, but these are the most important issues to take to supervision.
Can use interpersonal process recall or IPR to help the counsellor reflect on their work.
According to the Inskipp and Proctor model of supervision, this function of supervision is a stage which explores the counselors well-being, thoughts, and feelings. It allows the counselor to look at how they are affected by their clients pain, distress, and difficulties and how they impact on them. It provides a space for counselor self-care
Restorative
According to the Inskipp and Proctor model of supervision, this function of supervision is a stage where the focus is on ethical issues and considerations. This might be around boundary issues or other ethical dilemmas.
Normative
According to the Inskipp and Proctor model of supervision, this function of supervision is a stage where the focus is on the counsellors learning and development. It might be here that topics for professional development are identified, and the skills and techniques used to work with a client can be honed and developed
Formative
What are the risks of a counsellor working without clinical supervision?
- The counsellor does not have the opportunity to reflect on and learn from their practice
- there is no one monitoring the counsellors standard of practice
- ethical concerns are not monitored or explored
- boundary issues that may arise in client work are not challenged
- The counsellor is not supported in their work
- The counsellors limits of proficiency are not challenged
- continued professional development issues are not appraised or addressed
- The counsellor would not be working within the guidelines of their professional body
- professional wisdom is not shared or passed on
