Many times when I am working with someone new in supervision they ask questions about what external supervision is for, and how to use it, and are often curious as to what other people use this supervision opportunity for. It seems to me that within organisations the spirit of confidentiality around supervision can be so strong that colleagues do not share with each other how they use their external supervision, how they found their supervisor, or even what the value of external supervision can be. I hear these questions from a broad range of different professions that I work with, and sometimes not only from new supervisees. So I thought I would write a series of blogs, looking at the answer to some of these FAQ. The purpose being to clarify how you use your supervision, to open up the conversations between supervisors and supervisees about how supervision is being used, and maybe to pass the blog onto others who may have these questions. Rather than answer these questions myself, I asked a range of supervisees to give me their view and answers to these questions. This particular blog will explore:
- What kind of things do you discuss in external supervision?
- How do you decide what to discuss in external supervision?
What kind of things do you discuss in external supervision?
As I supervisor, I see external supervision as a safe place for the supervisee to discuss anything about their work, their workplace, their clients, as well as about how their work is impacting on home, and how home might be having an impact on work. Supervision is not counselling, however I am also clear that there is space to talk about home, family, and personal matters in supervision, because work will always have a relationship with how we feel outside of work and vice versa. A range of supervisees have told me that the answer to what they discuss in supervision can depend on how they are and where they are at when they arrive at supervision. Things they may consider including in the discussion are:
- Client situations, challenges, complex cases, exploration of work completed and possible interventions moving forward
- How I’ve handled client work and if I have concerns if there could have been a better way to do so
- Involvement/collaboration with other agencies
- Professional development and career development
- Self-care
- Checking on compassion fatigue
- Agency policies and procedures
- Looking deep within myself for changes that need to be made
- Situations or things that are repeating patterns or preying on my mind
- Issues that I feel I have not grasped fully
- Situations where I want to reflect and stretch my thinking
- Personal situations having an impact on me or my work
- Unpacking feelings and strategies I have put in place and consider how my own ways of working/beliefs/values are impacting both practice in action and how I evaluate.
- Workplace issues
- Managing work-life balance
- Changing own behaviour to change outcomes
- Goal setting
- How I can get the best out of my team, how I can work with different people/personalities better, how I can value myself and what I bring to the team
- Work “problems” usually people management, that’s a huge one for me, managing relationships, both professional and with stakeholders
- Operational things such as how the programme I run should be structured
- Breaking down my cases where I’m getting not as much traction such as working with reluctance
- Checking whose moemoeā I am really trying to carry out (the whanau’s or my own desires for whanau)
- Case reflections
- Biculturalism
- Time management and work-life balance
How do you decide what to discuss in external supervision?
Each person will have their own way to decide what to discuss at each supervision session, some plan ahead and some flow in the moment. Some suggestions from a range of supervisees are:
- It’s usually what is ‘on top’ or has been particularly perplexing in recent times.
- I usually keep a list of things that come up throughout the month that I would like guidance on/to unpack further.
- Things I sense that I want to discuss/explore/process about client work to ensure that the client is well supported.
- Anything that is high risk.
- I usually make a list of things I wish to share, both good and not so good, for clarification.
- I prioritise the list of what it is I want to explore in supervision.
- I have no set format – may revisit goal from previous session or any changes over time.
- I keep a log, so if something comes up in the intervening time, I make a note to bring it to supervision to review. I also tend to do a bit of a check in with myself in the days leading up: what’s on top for me, any interaction or social work encounter that was “tricky”. My supervisor usually starts asking how I would like to utilise this time.
- It can be spur of the moment; or it can be issues that I may be struggling with around a particular whānau or any workplace concerns
- I pull out something that I feel I am repeating, haven’t resolved myself, is recurring, is impacting me in some way or something I don’t understand.
- Write down things during the month that come up but often there is something that stays at the forefront or quietly continues to niggle in the background and this is what I take. Occasionally there is nothing until I sit down and start.
- Whatever is the most pressing problem on my mind that week is usually what gets discussed. Sometimes it can be something that has been simmering away for a long period of time and maybe keeping me awake at night.
- Sometimes my Manager tells me to take an issue to supervision (probably because I have voiced it as an issue and either she can’t help or its inappropriate that she offers any advice).
- If it’s stuff I know I have to be super diplomatic or naïvely enquire to my boss or internal supervisor, then I just run it past my external supervisor first.
So some decide through planning ahead and some decide based on the moment. There is no right or wrong way as long as the work is purposeful and meaningful. The final word, when thinking about how to use supervision and what to bring goes to a supervisee who said, “Navigating various perspectives, personalities, and practise is often less about ethical and contractual expectations, than it is about understanding, empowerment and boundaries. The reflection work [of supervision] can be powerful in this space.”