Supervision Style

When I was completing my MSW program and acquiring hours toward licensure, I was sometimes frustrated by supervisors who liked to analyze clients or talk theory but offered very little in terms of practical solutions.

I strive to be the kind of supervisor I would like to have had by doing the following:

• Suggest clear intervention strategies that supervisees can readily apply.
• Present multiple intervention options so supervisees can choose the approach that best suits the client and best fits within their own style.
• Address counter-transference while maintaining appropriate supervisor/supervisee boundaries.
• Discuss DSM-5 diagnoses as needed.
• Create an environment in which those I supervise are free to be honest and make mistakes, and feel safe in doing so.
• Discuss expectations on both sides, which augments freedom and creates a sense of safety within the supervisor/supervisee relationship.
• Enhance this feeling of safety by encouraging supervisees to have a sense of humor and by having one myself.
• View supervision as a collaborative process, using inquiry and discussion to promote discovery.
• Recognize in group supervision that the group’s knowledge and wisdom is greater than any one individual’s, including my own.