Philosophy of Supervision Component 1 Philosophy of supervision

Philosophy of Supervision

Component 1: Philosophy of supervision Martin, F. A. , & Cannon, W. C. (2010). The necessity of a philosophy of clinical supervision. Retrieved from http: //counselingoutfitters. com/vistas 10/Article_45. pdf

Philosophy of supervision What is it? A document or a well thought out process that “encapsulates the beliefs about supervision that the supervisor holds” (p. 1) “serves to guide the work of clinical supervision and to inform supervisees about important aspects of supervision” (p. 1) What it is not? A mere reinstatement of beliefs about therapy

Philosophy of supervision ◦ These beliefs arise from ◦ One’s experience delivering clinical services, ◦ Having received supervision, and ◦ A careful and studied understanding of clinical supervision (p. 1)

What has influenced my perceptions about supervision? Think back to a supervisor with which you would consider having had a positive experience. What made supervision with this person the most memorable? How did this shape you as a clinician? What are the other positive things you remember?

What has influenced my perceptions about supervision? Let’s review your experience as a supervisee. Think back to a supervisor with which you would consider having had a negative experience. What made supervision with this person negative? How did this shape you as a clinician? What are the other negative things you remember?

Characteristics of philosophy 1. What do I believe about conducting therapy? 2. What do I believe about clinical supervision? 3. What is the role of the supervisor? 4. What is the role of the supervisee? 5. How do I define the good clinical supervisor?

1. What do I believe about conducting therapy? How do people change? What causes mental-emotional dysfunction? What basic assumptions do I make about the nature of being human? What characterizes a mentally healthy person/system? What are the characteristics of a competent/”good” therapist?

2. What do I believe about clinical supervision? What is my definition of clinical supervision? What do I want to achieve through clinical supervision? What are my personal and professional assets that contribute to effective clinical supervision? What kind of relationship do I want to develop with supervisees?

3. What is the role of the supervisor? Need to give thought to this It’s not enough to emulate the style of a supervisor you experienced as positive in you past Many roles available: ◦ Being a model as a therapist ◦ A teacher ◦ A consultant ◦ A supporter ◦ An evaluator

3. What is the role of the supervisor? Is a good supervisor one who answers all the questions? Does the supervisor see self as the “expert” or a “fellow traveler”? How does the supervisor maintain availability to the supervisee? How much does the supervisor expect the supervisee to be self-disclosing? How do you conceptualize the Supervisory Role? This conceptualization should be transformative not summative, integrative not conclusive, and growth-oriented not status-affirming.

4. The role of the supervisee? Supervisee comes into supervisee relationship and has his/her own thoughts about supervision. The role of the supervisee should largely be defined by the supervisor. This can be accomplished through an informed consent process. This is where the Supervision Contract becomes critical. The Supervision Contract lays out the expectations for the role of the supervisee.

5. How do I define the good clinical supervisor? THE GOOD CLINICAL SUPERVISOR (HANDOUT) REFLECTION TOOL (HANDOUT)

Good and useful things Have you developed your own style? Having a supervision style encompasses more than just emulating past supervisors What are the “gifts” you received from other supervisors? What from your positive experiences can you keep? What would you like to add to these? ◦ These likely influence your “Philosophy of Supervision”