Regression,Self-Disclosure,and the Teach or Treat Dilemma: Implications of a Relational Approach for Social Work Supervision

This paper presents a brief review of a relational approach to clinical supervision and argues for its application in social work settings. Although an integral and essential part of practice, clinical supervision is underrepresented in the practice literature. Given this paucity of writings on supervision, the recent book by Mary Gail Frawley-O'Dea and Joan Sarnat, The Supervisory Relationship: A Contemporary Psychodynamic Approach, stands out as a seminal contribution because the authors present a fully developed relational model of supervision that fills a major gap in the development of contemporary relational theory and practice. We selectively review the basic concepts and principles of Frawley-O'Dea and Sarnat's model and apply this supervisory approach to current social work practice. Our focus will be on exploring three controversial and much-debated topics: self-disclosure, regression, and the teach or treat dilemma. Case vignettes from two supervisory experiences will serve to illustrate how a relational approach enhances both the treatment and the supervisory relationship.     

Trust,Power and Safety in the Social Work Supervisory Relationship: Results from Australian Research

Social work, as a discipline, places considerable importance on the provision of supervision, promoting it as a key process supporting critical reflection and practice improvement. A supervision relationship built on trust has the potential to provide a safe context within which practice issues can be explored. This article reports on an Australian study of social work supervision and the ways in which a trusting supervision relationship supports safe practice and critical reflection. A context of trust within the supervisory relationship is found to promote safe practice, providing the basis for what supervisees felt was satisfying supervision. Within a trusted and supportive supervisory relationship participants wanted and valued challenge which was seen to promote professional growth and positive client outcomes. Whether this occurs, however, depended on how power was exercised and how safe they felt in the supervisory relationship. The research argues the need for social work to reclaim supervision through a revitalised commitment to advancing supervision practice, research, and research-based policies.     

On Parallel Process in Social Work Supervision

The recognition and study of parallel process in social work supervision offers both the social work supervisor and supervisee a rich learning opportunity at the moment when an impasse seems unworkable. The parallel process is an unconscious replication in the supervisory session of therapeutic difficulties which a supervisee has with a client. This replication may originate with the supervisor unwittingly modeling behavior that is then taken by the social worker into the therapeutic interaction with the client. This paper reviews the need for social workers to grasp the dynamics of the parallel process, discusses the literature for the historical development of the phenomenon, addresses supervisory methods that will uncover the process, and illustrates the supervisor's stages of exploration and modeling in addressing the parallel process.     

The therapy-supervision dialectic

It is widely agreed that supervision has an emotional load which should be dealt with in the supervisory relationship as means of increasing effectiveness in the learning process. This situation makes it difficult for the supervisor to keep adequate distance between supervision and therapy. Current literature on this subject offers no tools for this matter. This paper suggests a model that uses some basic ideas derived from Winnicott's thinking. Our model integrates the dynamic forces operating in the supervisory space and can be used as a compass to help the supervisor in his or her movements while preventing crossing the boundary between supervision and therapy.     

Contemporary Trends in Supervision Theory: A Shift from Parallel Process to Relational and Trauma Theory

This paper describes how relational theories of supervision and one aspect of contemporary trauma theory coalesce to offer a conceptual shift in supervision theory and practices. The paper gives a brief overview of the concept of parallel process in supervision. Following this, the paper summarizes current literature that questions the universal nature of parallel processes in supervision. Next, the characteristics of supervision, when framed in relational theories, are offered. Last, the paper describes how the understanding of trauma theory’s triadic self of victim-victimizer-bystander is a useful construct in understanding impasses in supervisory relationships. Supervisory vignettes are utilized to illustrate the theoretical constructs.     

Multicultural supervision: lessons learned about an ongoing struggle

This article examines the experiences of seven diverse therapists in a supervision course as they wrestled with the real-world application of multicultural supervision. Existing literature on multicultural supervision does not address the difficulties that arise in addressing multicultural issues in the context of the supervision relationship. The experiences of six supervisory candidates and one mentoring supervisor in addressing multicultural issues in supervision are explored. Guidelines for conversations regarding multicultural issues are provided.     

Supervisor multicultural competence and its relation to supervisory process and outcome

This study investigated the direct and indirect effects of marriage and family therapy trainees' perceptions of their supervisors' multicultural competence in supervision on the supervisory working alliance, trainees' multicultural competence (case conceptualization abilities in etiology and treatment), and perceived supervision satisfaction. Path analyses revealed supervisor multicultural competence to be positively associated with supervisory working alliance and perceived supervision satisfaction. In addition, supervisor multicultural competence seemed to have a negative effect on trainee etiology conceptualization abilities. Finally, results suggested supervisory working alliance to be a significant mediator in the relationship between supervisor multicultural competence and supervision satisfaction. Findings are discussed within the context of theoretical, empirical, and practical implications for multicultural supervision.     

The Contribution of Role Characteristics and Supervisory Functions to Supervision Effectiveness

This study examined the factors that contribute to the perceived effectiveness of supervision for child welfare workers. Specifically, we examined role characteristics such as: exposure to child abuse cases, years of work experience, and role stress, as well as the supervisory functions of administration, education, and emotional support to effectiveness of supervision. The findings revealed that the supervisory function of administration, as well as social workers’ high exposure to child abuse cases and role stress, correlated negatively with perceived supervision effectiveness. In contrast, the use of the supervisory functions of education and support correlated positively with perceived supervision effectiveness. The findings suggest that high exposure to child abuse cases and role stress can impair social workers’ ability to benefit from effective supervision. In addition, the study highlights the importance of the supervisory functions of support and education and their positive impact on this population of social workers in Israel.     

Bringing It All Back Home: Individual and Group Supervision in Family Therapy Training*

Literature in family therapy training neglects to address the usefulness of individual supervision. Just as family members struggle to integrate needs for autonomy with needs for family membership, so the individual family therapy trainee has individual concerns. Psychoanalytic literature fully recognises the power of the emotional responses of the psychotherapist, but is uncertain how to handle these reactions, especially in terms of the parallel process between psychotherapy and supervision. The integration of individual process-centred supervision with live group supervision and training provides a structure within which to maximize the supervisory experience.     

Female MSW Students' Satisfaction with Practicum Supervision: The Effect of Supervisor Gender

This report of a spring 1995 study involving 78 female MSW students at the University of Georgia compares the degrees of satisfaction with field practicum supervision of those with female and male field instructors respectively, using previously published measures of supervision satisfaction. One statistically significant but practically unimportant difference was revealed favoring male supervisors. The results are discussed in terms of past literature on gender in clinical supervision; areas for future research are also suggested. The little existing empirical research appears to support a gender-neutral policy for matching MSW students with practicum supervisors.     

THE INVISIBLE MIRROR: IN-HOME FAMILY THERAPY AND SUPERVISION

Home-based family therapy intervention programs, designed as a preventive strategy for multi-problem, at-risk families, are a rapidly growing phenomenon in mental health agencies. However, a review of the literature reveals little information on clinical supervision, which is a major component of home-based family intervention. The purpose of this article is to provide an alternative supervisory approach, in-home supervision, for training therapists who do home-based intervention.     

THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF SUPERVISORY SYSTEMS: A MODIFIED DELPHI STUDY

Few empirical data exist to demonstrate the efficacy of marriage and family therapy (MFT) training and supervision. In order to lay the foundation for a comprehensive model of MFT supervision and faciliate supervisory precess research, variables improtant to the outcome of MFT supervision were identified. A panel of AAMFT Approved Supervisors generated 771 variables thougth to be essential to superisory outcome and rate 398 of these variables as very improtant to the outcome of MFT supervision. The variables were collapsed into five categories and further divided into 37 conceptual clusters. The existing superisory literature tht supports the results of the study and implications of the study are discussed.     

Mechanisms for Building Working Alliances in Clinical Supervision

While social workers and researchers acknowledge the importance of a positive working alliance between service providers and clients, less is known about mechanisms for developing working alliances between supervisors and supervisees. The Alliance Building: Learning to Engage (ABLE) model was developed to measure and enhance the supervisory relationship. The ABLE model consists of a tool for continuous measurement of the supervisory working alliance as well as several research supported resources. This two part study assessed the reliability and validity of the ABLE supervision tool (ABLE-S), and then a randomized control trial pilot study was conducted to determine if the use of ABLE in supervision improves the professional quality of life and occupational self-efficacy for supervisees. Analyses revealed the ABLE-S tool is a reliable and valid form for measuring supervisory working alliance, but the use of ABLE in supervision did not have a significant effect on supervisee outcomes compared to the control group. The findings suggest additional training on proper implementation of ABLE and expanded measurements to capture several confounds inherent in the supervisory context are needed in future studies. Practical implications of using ABLE include effective strategies for promoting positive supervisee development and reducing negative effects of stressful work environments that often exist in the social service field.     

Participant Supervision: Supervisor and Supervisee Experiences of Cotherapy

Participant supervision is a unique application of live supervision in which a supervisor and supervisee see clients conjointly. Although minimally discussed in the family therapy literature, it has notable advantages, chief among them being a shared clinical experience that increases attunement to supervisee skill and development, the modeling of skillful intervention, and a higher degree of collegiality. However, it is not without its challenges, including supervisee vulnerability and anxiety, diffusion of responsibility, and limited time for case discussion. This article highlights the experience of one supervisor and three doctoral‐level supervisees engaging in participant supervision over the course of a 2‐year period. Using illustrative examples, we discuss our experience of the advantages and challenges of participant supervision, and provide recommendations for establishing a collaborative relational context within which supervisory benefits can be maximized.     

FIELD NOTES: A CONCEPTUAL APPLICATION OF ATTACHMENT THEORY AND RESEARCH TO THE SOCIAL WORK STUDENT-FIELD INSTRUCTOR SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP

This article conceptualizes an attachment-based model of the student–field instructor relationship, based on empirical research concerning internal working models of attachment, which continue into adulthood and serve as templates for life-long relating. Supportive relationships within a noncritical context are salient for effective supervision; attachment theory provides a framework for developing supportive supervisory relationships and augments existing theories of supervision. Ideal and problematic supervisory relationships are presented followed by recommendations for interventions and future research. The supervisory relationship will be most successful when the field instructor is guided by attachment theory and its conceptualization of a "secure base" (Bowlby, 1988).     

Safety as a Fifth Dimension in Supervision: Stories from the Frontline

Child and family practice is recognised as a field of social work that has become increasingly complex. While evidence is growing in relation to effective supervision, there has been little research about the attributes of an effective supervisor, or the components of effective supervision. This paper reports on research undertaken in Victoria, Australia, which explored practitioners’ and supervisors’ experiences of effective supervision in this field. Data collection involved in-depth interviews with experienced supervisors and supervisees in order to explore the concept of effective supervision from participants’ perspectives. The data were systematically interrogated using a thematic inductive process, designed to enhance the voice of participants in the research. The study findings confirmed the complexity and centrality of the supervisory relationship, with the experience of a safe supervisory relationship proving essential. The importance of contemporary knowledge, leadership skills, and an enabling organisational and community context were also highlighted.     

Less assessment and more suggestions please: Factors contributing to effective supervision of counsellors at different experience levels

Abstract

Twenty-two supervisors and 60 supervisees working in community counselling services in Melbourne were asked to rate the importance of 46 supervisory behaviours to good supervision, as well as listing behaviours that contribute to and detract from good supervision. In general, supervisors saw good supervision as relating primarily to feedback to the supervisee, while supervisees were interested in learning new skills and gaining assistance with conceptualisation in supervision. The responses confirmed evidence of differing supervisee and supervisor perceptions of supervision seen in previous research of students' supervisory needs in America.

Differences in responses from supervisees in this sample to the American sample suggest some cultural differences and some differing needs attributable to different levels of experience. Responses in the current research support a developmental model of supervision; that supervisees have different needs as they gain experience. Applying a process model to behaviours believed to contribute to and detract from good supervision revealed that the bulk of responsibility for a good supervisory relationship is attributed to supervisors. Neither supervisors nor supervisees indicated a high level of supervisee qualities and skills that contribute to good supervision. This has obvious training implications.     

A typology of supervision in child welfare: Multilevel latent class and confirmatory analyses of caseworker–supervisor relationship type

Based on survey data collected from 1460 public- and private-agency child welfare caseworkers in Illinois, this study examines the nature of child welfare supervisory relationships by empirically identifying a discrete set of modal caseworker–supervisor relationship types as defined by a combination of positive and negative supervisory support. This study also examines the degree to which differences in the nature of caseworker–supervisor relationships are attributable, respectively, to supervisors, supervisor–caseworker dyads, and agency settings. Results suggest the existence of qualitatively distinct caseworker–supervisor relationship types that coalesce into discrete mixtures of relationship types at the supervisory team level. In contrast, results suggest that little, if any, of the overall variability in supervisory relationship type is attributable to the agency level. Findings concerning the interrelationships among relationship type and caseworkers' job satisfaction and perceptions of their work environment underscore the salience of individual caseworker–supervisor dyads, and suggest the importance of relationship building as means to improve the effectiveness of supervision.     

In the Shadow of Death: Relational Paradigms in Clinical Supervision

The process of clinical supervision is a complex undertaking that is influenced by multiple factors, including the personalities and characteristics of the supervisory dyad, developmental considerations, social attitudes, ecological factors and the parallel process. The supervisory interchange becomes even more difficult and complex when it occurs in the context of HIV and AIDS related practice, which introduces the reality of untimely death accompanied by grief and loss. In this paper, I will review the literature in regards to developmental aspects of the supervisory relationship, transference and countertransference paradigms and the parallel process. These particular issues will be framed within a relational perspective and the ways it shapes the supervisory process. The focus of this paper will be clinical work with clients diagnosed with HIV and AIDS and the impact of death and dying on the supervisory paradigm. The literature review will be elaborated on through a clinical vignette followed by an extended discussion.