Personal Style of Supervision.
My supervision style is largely based on developmental models. I believe that over time, accumulative experiences sculpt right-hemisphere intuition. Counselors therefore become more attuned to the client’s inner world and better conceptualize client cases with clinical experience. As with many new experiences, the ambiguity of the counseling process generates a significant amount of trainee anxiety for novice counselors, whereas this anxiety is mitigated by prior experience for seasoned counselors. For this reason, supervision being provided to novice counselors requires more structure and direct instruction than when provided to experienced counselors.
Along with a developmental approach, my supervision style is also based upon Bernard’s (1997) discrimination model. This model includes four supervision areas and three supervisor roles (Borders & Brown, 2005). The four supervision focus areas are counseling performance skills, cognitive counseling skills, self-awareness, and professional behaviors. Counseling performance skills refers to competence in the effective use of verbal and nonverbal responses and techniques during counseling sessions. Cognitive counseling skills include case conceptualization and ability to apply theoretical constructs to client cases. Self-awareness is defined as the supervisee’s ability to understand how their own responses, beliefs, feelings, and motivations influence their work. Professional behaviors include adherence to legal and ethical standards and on-site procedures. Frequent topics that I address in supervision include modeling active listening and influencing skills such as confrontation (counseling performance skills); assisting the supervisee to conceptualize the client’s problems from a systems perspective and understanding how the client’s problems exist in an interpersonal context (cognitive counseling skills); assisting the supervisee to recognize how to use the self in counseling practice, specifically to demonstrate I-Thou empathic attunement and resonance (self-awareness); and addressing ethical concerns that occur in the context of the counseling relationship, such as imposition of values and multiple relationships.
Each of these four focus areas in supervision is addressed by one of the three roles: teacher, counselor, or consultant. In the teacher role, the supervisor provides direct and education. In the counselor role, the supervisor uses counseling skills to understand, motivate, and model behaviors for the supervisee, or facilitate the supervisee’s exploration of personal responses and feelings. In the consultant role, supervisors collaboratively problem-solve client problems via brainstorming.
The developmental level of the supervisor and supervisee impacts the supervisory relationship. Supervisors must be more advanced than their supervisees, yet also meet the developmental needs of the supervisee. As a supervisor, I often alternate between roles based on the needs of the supervisee. Novice supervisees are likely to prefer more structure in supervision. At this stage of counselor development, supervision is more effective when the supervisor assumes more of a teacher role. As supervisees become more experienced, they desire less structure and direct instruction. At this stage of counselor development, supervision is more effective when the supervisor assumes more of a consultant or counselor role.
Roles of Supervisors
The purpose of clinical supervision is to assist counselors to obtain professional competence in providing counseling services to the public while also protecting client welfare (Borders & Brown, 2005). Data has demonstrated that unsupervised counseling experience does not help trainees to develop competence (Wiley & Ray, 1986). The supervisor functions as an evaluator of competence, assisting the supervisee to develop professionally while also ensuring the client’s welfare and serving as a gatekeeper for the profession (Bernard & Goodyear, 2009).
From the outset of supervision, the supervisor must disclose and discuss their evaluative functions and performance criteria with the supervisee. As professional gatekeepers, supervisors will sometimes have the responsibility to screen out inappropriate supervisees to protect the public from harm. Supervisees must be informed of how they will be evaluated, and formative evaluations should be conducted to assure that the supervisee understands their current progress or lack thereof before summative evaluations are completed. Supervisors must create remediation plans for impaired supervisees. Since the supervisory relationship is hierarchical, there may be moments when the supervisor will direct the supervisee to take a specific course of action with the client. The supervisee must be informed of this vertical hierarchy.
Legal and ethical issues pertaining to clinical supervision include dual relationships and roles, supervisory competence, the need for consultation, informed consent regarding supervision, and vicarious liability (Borders & Brown, 2005). Dual relationships and roles are frequent among supervisory relationships, such as when faculty members supervise graduate students and teach them in other classes. Another frequent dual relationship and role occurs when the clinical supervisor is also the supervisee’s administrative supervisor. This occurs in 49% of supervisory relationships (Tromski-Klingshern & Davis, 2007). Supervision is distinct from a counseling relationship in that supervisee personal issues are only addressed during supervision when they impact the supervisee-client relationship and/or professional functioning (Borders & Brown, 2005). As with counseling relationships, sexual contact between supervisor and supervisee is prohibited.
Competence, consultation and vicarious liability. Supervisors must practice within the bounds of their own competence, and seek consultation regularly to ensure that they are not unconsciously playing out parallel processes or allowing biases to direct their actions. Informed consent is essential to the supervisory process, and supervisees need to be appraised of the supervisors approach, expectations, evaluation, fees, protection of client welfare, and the format of supervision. Supervisors share vicarious liability for supervisee actions, apparent in the 1974 Tarasoff case. They must ensure that supervisees are following legal and ethical guidelines.
Cross-cultural issues. The supervisory relationship can address cross-cultural issues between supervisor, supervisee, and client. Sensitivity to cultural variables such as gender, race, ethnicity, age, sexual/affective orientation, ability/disability status, and spirituality/religious beliefs are central to supervisee development. The discussion of cultural variables has a positive outcome on the supervisory relationship and supervisee satisfaction with supervision (Gatmon, Jackson, Koshkarian, Martos-Perry, Molina, Patel, & Rodolpha, 2001). Supervisors may have undetected biases that require them to consult with colleagues.
References:
Bernard, J. M. (1997). The discrimination model. In C. E. Watkins, Handbook of psychotherapy supervision (pp. 310-327). New York: Wiley.
Borders, L. D., & Brown, L. L. (2005). The new handbook of counseling supervision. New York: Routledge.
Gatmon, D., Jackson, D., Koshkarian, L., Martos-Perry, N., Molina, A., Patel, N., & Rodolpha, E. (2001). Exploring ethnic, gender, and sexual orientation variables in supervision: Do they really matter? Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 29(2), 102-113.
Tromski-Klingshirn, D. M., & Davis, T. E. (2007). Supervisees’ perceptions of their clinical supervision: A study of the dual role of clinical and administrative supervisor. Counselor Education & Supervision, 46, 294-304.
Wiley, M., & Ray, P. (1986). Counseling supervision by developmental level. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 33, 439-445.
My supervision style is largely based on developmental models. I believe that over time, accumulative experiences sculpt right-hemisphere intuition. Counselors therefore become more attuned to the client’s inner world and better conceptualize client cases with clinical experience. As with many new experiences, the ambiguity of the counseling process generates a significant amount of trainee anxiety for novice counselors, whereas this anxiety is mitigated by prior experience for seasoned counselors. For this reason, supervision being provided to novice counselors requires more structure and direct instruction than when provided to experienced counselors.
Along with a developmental approach, my supervision style is also based upon Bernard’s (1997) discrimination model. This model includes four supervision areas and three supervisor roles (Borders & Brown, 2005). The four supervision focus areas are counseling performance skills, cognitive counseling skills, self-awareness, and professional behaviors. Counseling performance skills refers to competence in the effective use of verbal and nonverbal responses and techniques during counseling sessions. Cognitive counseling skills include case conceptualization and ability to apply theoretical constructs to client cases. Self-awareness is defined as the supervisee’s ability to understand how their own responses, beliefs, feelings, and motivations influence their work. Professional behaviors include adherence to legal and ethical standards and on-site procedures. Frequent topics that I address in supervision include modeling active listening and influencing skills such as confrontation (counseling performance skills); assisting the supervisee to conceptualize the client’s problems from a systems perspective and understanding how the client’s problems exist in an interpersonal context (cognitive counseling skills); assisting the supervisee to recognize how to use the self in counseling practice, specifically to demonstrate I-Thou empathic attunement and resonance (self-awareness); and addressing ethical concerns that occur in the context of the counseling relationship, such as imposition of values and multiple relationships.
Each of these four focus areas in supervision is addressed by one of the three roles: teacher, counselor, or consultant. In the teacher role, the supervisor provides direct and education. In the counselor role, the supervisor uses counseling skills to understand, motivate, and model behaviors for the supervisee, or facilitate the supervisee’s exploration of personal responses and feelings. In the consultant role, supervisors collaboratively problem-solve client problems via brainstorming.
The developmental level of the supervisor and supervisee impacts the supervisory relationship. Supervisors must be more advanced than their supervisees, yet also meet the developmental needs of the supervisee. As a supervisor, I often alternate between roles based on the needs of the supervisee. Novice supervisees are likely to prefer more structure in supervision. At this stage of counselor development, supervision is more effective when the supervisor assumes more of a teacher role. As supervisees become more experienced, they desire less structure and direct instruction. At this stage of counselor development, supervision is more effective when the supervisor assumes more of a consultant or counselor role.
Roles of Supervisors
The purpose of clinical supervision is to assist counselors to obtain professional competence in providing counseling services to the public while also protecting client welfare (Borders & Brown, 2005). Data has demonstrated that unsupervised counseling experience does not help trainees to develop competence (Wiley & Ray, 1986). The supervisor functions as an evaluator of competence, assisting the supervisee to develop professionally while also ensuring the client’s welfare and serving as a gatekeeper for the profession (Bernard & Goodyear, 2009).
From the outset of supervision, the supervisor must disclose and discuss their evaluative functions and performance criteria with the supervisee. As professional gatekeepers, supervisors will sometimes have the responsibility to screen out inappropriate supervisees to protect the public from harm. Supervisees must be informed of how they will be evaluated, and formative evaluations should be conducted to assure that the supervisee understands their current progress or lack thereof before summative evaluations are completed. Supervisors must create remediation plans for impaired supervisees. Since the supervisory relationship is hierarchical, there may be moments when the supervisor will direct the supervisee to take a specific course of action with the client. The supervisee must be informed of this vertical hierarchy.
Legal and ethical issues pertaining to clinical supervision include dual relationships and roles, supervisory competence, the need for consultation, informed consent regarding supervision, and vicarious liability (Borders & Brown, 2005). Dual relationships and roles are frequent among supervisory relationships, such as when faculty members supervise graduate students and teach them in other classes. Another frequent dual relationship and role occurs when the clinical supervisor is also the supervisee’s administrative supervisor. This occurs in 49% of supervisory relationships (Tromski-Klingshern & Davis, 2007). Supervision is distinct from a counseling relationship in that supervisee personal issues are only addressed during supervision when they impact the supervisee-client relationship and/or professional functioning (Borders & Brown, 2005). As with counseling relationships, sexual contact between supervisor and supervisee is prohibited.
Competence, consultation and vicarious liability. Supervisors must practice within the bounds of their own competence, and seek consultation regularly to ensure that they are not unconsciously playing out parallel processes or allowing biases to direct their actions. Informed consent is essential to the supervisory process, and supervisees need to be appraised of the supervisors approach, expectations, evaluation, fees, protection of client welfare, and the format of supervision. Supervisors share vicarious liability for supervisee actions, apparent in the 1974 Tarasoff case. They must ensure that supervisees are following legal and ethical guidelines.
Cross-cultural issues. The supervisory relationship can address cross-cultural issues between supervisor, supervisee, and client. Sensitivity to cultural variables such as gender, race, ethnicity, age, sexual/affective orientation, ability/disability status, and spirituality/religious beliefs are central to supervisee development. The discussion of cultural variables has a positive outcome on the supervisory relationship and supervisee satisfaction with supervision (Gatmon, Jackson, Koshkarian, Martos-Perry, Molina, Patel, & Rodolpha, 2001). Supervisors may have undetected biases that require them to consult with colleagues.
References:
Bernard, J. M. (1997). The discrimination model. In C. E. Watkins, Handbook of psychotherapy supervision (pp. 310-327). New York: Wiley.
Borders, L. D., & Brown, L. L. (2005). The new handbook of counseling supervision. New York: Routledge.
Gatmon, D., Jackson, D., Koshkarian, L., Martos-Perry, N., Molina, A., Patel, N., & Rodolpha, E. (2001). Exploring ethnic, gender, and sexual orientation variables in supervision: Do they really matter? Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 29(2), 102-113.
Tromski-Klingshirn, D. M., & Davis, T. E. (2007). Supervisees’ perceptions of their clinical supervision: A study of the dual role of clinical and administrative supervisor. Counselor Education & Supervision, 46, 294-304.
Wiley, M., & Ray, P. (1986). Counseling supervision by developmental level. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 33, 439-445.
| supervisionpersonaldisclosurestatement_field.pdf |
