Working under supervision means that a counselor or psychotherapist uses the services of another counsellor or psychotherapist to review their work with clients, their professional development, and often their personal development as well. Supervision is a professional service, rather than a managerial role, and for counsellors who work in institutions, supervision and management will normally be entirely separate. The supervisor acts not as a ‘boss’, but as a consultant ("Counseling and Therapy Supervision", (2002-2015)).
Supervision Models
There are several models of supervision that have been developed from the school of practice. The six-category intervention analysis involves equal value being placed on each one of the intervention styles that can be used interchangeably and in combination at a point in supervision. The six styles within the six-category model is divided into two main areas, authoritative and facilitative. The authoritative portion focuses more on assertive styles that are used by the supervisor to help them focus on what the person being supervised is doing in practice. Perspective concerns giving advice to the individual being supervised and explicitly directing his or her behavior. Information is the style the supervisor looks to instruct, and communicate knowledge and inform the supervisee. The confrontative style of supervision is focused mainly on being upfront with the supervisee. This is done by giving clear, specific, direct feedback as well as challenging certain beliefs and attitudes (“Models of Clinical Supervision,” (1995)).
Facilitative focuses on the supervisor not being as directive and eliciting information about the wellbeing of the supervisee. Cathartic is when the supervisor tries to enable the individual supervised to let go of tensions and emotions such as anger and grief. Catalytic is a supervision style that encourages the supervisee to be reflective, self-directive, and also problem-solving. In the supportive supervision style, the supervisor’s main concern is to confirm and validate the value and the worth of the supervisee (“Models of Clinical Supervision,” (1995)). The triadic model is a three-way interaction between the supervisor, supervisee, and the client. The supervisor supplies the skills and knowledge of the techniques to the person who is supervised that has an important influence up and relationship with their client (“Models of Clinical Supervision,” (1995)).
Describe benefits (to you and your clients) of supervision during your counselor training and after your formal training is complete.
The benefits of supervision during my counseling training is that it will allow me to get an inside look of what counseling include. Being supervised allows me to observe what makes someone a good counselor and what is needed to become one. Being supervised by someone who has more expertise than I do in my specific field allows me to learn everything that is needed for me to become a successful counselor. Asking questions to the person who is supervising allows me to gather notes and gather an understanding of what makes an efficient and helpful counselor. In order to become a licensed counselor, there will need to be a certain amount of hours supervised by a licensed counselor. The amount of hours that I need to be supervised gives me ample time to learn all I need to in order to become successful.
Being successfully trained and