When I was training to be a supervisor I was given a handout, adapted from 'Making the Most of Supervision' by F. Inskip & B. Proctor, it was so helpful to me not only for my training as a supervisor, but also for me as supervisee.
I have summarised this handout here, helping you to think about how you can maximise the benefits of your supervision sessions.
What is the purpose of counselling supervision?
Counselling supervision is an ethical requirement and resource, with the object of supervision being:-
"To enable the counsellor to give their best possible service to their clients"
The BACP Ethical Framework states that regular and frequent consultative supervision is an ethical requirement for all its members who are practising counsellors.
(if you are a member of an alternative governing body, please check their ethical frameworks requirements)
Why is supervision a necessary resource?
The highly personal nature of counselling work is taxing on the resources and judgement of the counsellor.
Supervision allows you to check in on many aspects of your work.
You may be working with people at their most vulnerable and distressed times
You may work with clients who leave you puzzled and confused
You may become case-hardened or burnt out, without realising it- leading to a failure to communicate empathically, respectfully or helpfully
You may become outdated in your practice with a need to upskill
You may develop haphazardly, and not realise you have lost sight of your core values and ideals
You may become exploitative of your clients-emotionally, financially or sexually-without realising it
Building a working alliance between yourself and your supervisor
Supervision is a working alliance between your supervisor and you as the counsellor.
The success of this working alliance is dependent on the active, intelligent and responsible participation of you as the counsellor.
You ultimately have charge of what you do, or do not, share in supervision, and are responsible for how you act on what you do take to the supervision sessions.
Supervision is a colleague-to-colleague contract, for trained counsellors the experience and expertise of you and your supervisor may be at least equal.
If you are a trainee your supervisor will have more experience and expertise, but the alliance is still on a colleague to colleague basis.
A working agreement for the alliance is mutually and individually contracted as to the respective rights, roles and responsibilities of you both.
It is necessary for you both to openly agree the roles, rights and responsibilities in a way that is clearly enough to defined to meet your shared purpose- the best service for you and your clients
Supervision is a helping relationship for you as the counsellor and will be successful to the extent that the core conditions are present.
This is a facilitative alliance for you as the counsellor. The core conditions that help facilitate this relationship are respect, empathy, and genuineness. These create an optimal climate for the growth of trust and honesty. Trust enables self-disclosure, and honesty allows openness of dialogue.
Within this alliance, you too are a facilitator, as you have responsibility to foster the conditions that encourage your supervisor to give of their best.
As the supervisee you have clear responsibility to your client to use the working alliance in a way which makes best use of your supervision.
The task and role of counselling supervision
"...the counsellor can offer an account of their work, reflect on it and receive feedback, and where appropriate, guidance, to enable the counsellor to gain an ethical competence, confidence and creativity..."
Offering an account of your work
The first major task for you as a supervisee is to find ways of increasingly giving your supervisor the most useful access to your work, so that together you can reflect on it and monitor it. Your supervisor will help with this process.
So, although it is your responsibility to give an accurate and relevant account of your work, your supervisor can help to fill out and expand your memory and understanding as you present your client material or other working issues.
Your supervisor may help you monitor the variety of tasks and changing roles relating to the tasks, which may prove useful to you in the coming weeks as you work with your clients.
There are 3 Tasks in Supervision
The 3 tasks in supervision offer you an account of your work, which allows you to reflect on your work, with the support and help of your supervisor.
These tasks allow your supervisor to offer 'feedback' and, where appropriate, guidance....in order to help you gain in ethical competence, confidence and creativity.
The 3 tasks are:-
The Normative task - This is the shared responsibility of the supervisor and yourself to monitor your standards and ethical practices as the counsellor.
The Formative task - This is the shared responsibility of your development in skill, knowledge and understanding
The Restorative task - This is the provision of the space, or the chance to explore opportunities elsewhere, for discharging emotions and recharging energies, ideas and creativity.
Conclusion
Supervision serves as a vital resource for counsellors. By effectively engaging with and maximising the benefits of supervision sessions, both you and your clients will experience significant advantages.
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