Clinical Supervision for other professionals

What is Clinical Supervision?

Workforces usually comprise of professional workers from a variety of different disciplines - social work, psychology, nursing, counselling, occupational therapy and many others - each with their own idea of what clinical supervision is.

Though definitions of clinical supervision vary, the principal aims described in literature are fairly consistent and can be summarised as follows: 

• to enhance supervisees' skills, competence and confidence
  

• to provide a reflective space and emotional support
  

• to provide assistance with professional development
  

• to ensure that services to clients is safe, ethical and competent
  

• to ensure compliance with professional and organisational treatment standards & practices

I adopt the following definition of clinical supervision:

Clinical supervision is a formal and disciplined working alliance that is generally, but not necessarily, between an experienced and a less experienced worker, in which the supervisee's clinical work is reviewed and reflected upon, with the aims of: improving the supervisee's work with clients; ensuring client welfare; supporting the supervisee in relation to their work, and supporting the supervisee's professional development.

But I don't do clinical work ...

I use the term 'clinical' supervision, as distinct from 'managerial' supervision, to describe a process intended to support workers in human service organisations to provide a better, more confident and creative service to clients. In this case, the primary focus is the actual doing of the work and how workers can extend themselves in relation to their practice. By contrast, 'managerial' supervision almost exclusively centres on whether certain performance standards have been attained and organisational protocols followed (organisational outcomes). Tasks which fall to managerial/administrative supervisors include such things as performance reviews, workload planning and management, and general problem solving and decision making.

Supervision ... but we're all equals here

In its common usage, the word supervision implies a hierarchy of power, with one party favoured as the authority or master and the other typically a recipient of advice or direction. Clinical supervisors are often accomplished and/or experienced clinicians but are not deemed as an authority over the supervisee.

At different times and with different supervisees they may act as a teacher, coach, mentor, role model and/or advisor. This will vary according to many different factors, not least, the level of the supervisee's field experience. Whilst supervisees may require guidance and direction at times, I view effective supervision as a collaborative process, wherein supervisees take an active role in: choosing what aspect of their practice to focus on and explore, determining how the supervisor-supervisee dyad works together, offering feedback about the experience of the supervisory process and the relationship developing and being accountable to their own professional standards.

In this context, supervision is a process of guided reflection rather than simply a top-down exchange emphasising the organisation's expectations.

References for this section: Mental Health Coordinating Council (Bateman, Henderson & Hill, 2012); Amies & Weir (2001).

Please be aware I do not offer group Clinical Supervision, only 1:1

Information adapted from: http://www.clinicalsupervisionguidelines.com.au