Published in OT Insight (2024), Vol. 45(5).
For kaiwhakaora ngangahau | occupational therapists at all stages of their career, professional supervision offers an invaluable opportunity to grow, reflect, and refine their practice.
Supervision is considered a critical component of continuing competence by the Occupational Therapy Board of New Zealand, and therefore regular supervision must be incorporated into the practice of all kaiwhakaora ngangahau | occupational therapists. Supervision offers a crucial space for personal reflection that can result in improved services for clients while enabling the supervisee to continue to work in effecitve ways in what is often challenging, human service work. According to Davys and Bedoe, (2019)
“Professional supervision is a professional conversation which takes place within clear boundaries of accountability, learning and reflection. The relationship is collaborative and allows for mutual exploration and ownership of the process.” (p. 35-36)
Supervision serves many functions however, ultimately it should enable the supervisee to reflect on their practice, identify opportunities, solutions, and to grow in responsive ways that will provide optimal clinical service to their clients. In this article, we will explore how to get the most out of supervision and consider the key benefits for kaiwhakaora ngangahau | occupational therapists.
Find The Right Fit Between Supervisor And Supervisee
Supervision starts with finding the right fit for both supervisee and supervisor. The right fit strengthens the supervisory relationship and has been found to be the single most important factor to influence the quality of supervision (Ducat et al., 2016). Therefore to find the right fit, consider the following:
- If possible, people should be allowed choice in deciding whom to supervise or be supervised by.
- Meet for whakawhanaungatanga | getting to know each other before committing to the partnership. This step is important for setting the foundation of the relational aspect of successful supervision.
- When choosing a supervisor, look for qualities such as warmth, care, honesty, interest, curiosity, reliability and commitment to the supervision relationship (Weld 2023).
The aim of supervision is one of support and reflective listening to grow professional competency and knowledge so establishing a supervision partnership with good fit is crucial. There must be scope to cover a range of professional issues including clinical, organisational and personal issues relating to work.
Explore The Kaupapa of The Supervision Together
To build a strong base for the partnership, spend time exploring its kaupapa.| principles and ideas which act as a foundation for action. Discuss the supervisee’s professional and personal needs in order to clarify the role of supervision for them. When the purpose and scope of supervision is fully explored and discussed, it clarifies the supervisor’s role and facilitates the creation of clear boundaries within the relationship. This would occur in the process of contracting the parameters of supervision.
Create a Safe Space For Supervision:
A professional partnership should be a safe space for the exploration of experiences (Weld, 2023). Michelle Bihary (2020) argued that positive relationships create a safe space for a person to access their executive function. This is relevant to supervision, as the creation of a safe supervision space will allow for the supervisee to see situations broadly and to be creative, innovative and reflective. As trust develops, the supervisee can use the safe space to reflect and replenish themselves for their important work ahead.
Nicki Weld (2020) talked about supervision as having a restorative function by likening it to “Base Camp” (p. 52). This is a place to rest, and get tools in good working order before heading back out to climb the next mountain. While at base camp she discussed the process of surfacing, reinforcing and reconnecting the supervisee to their existing strengths and practice knowledge which then invites them to build on these in flexible and manageable ways in the future. This is a useful analogy as it addresses the different functions of supervision that cover clinical, organisational and personal areas of work.
Seek Additional or Alternative Supervision
Sometimes it is appropriate to have more than one supervisor at a time because alone, one supervisor cannot always enable reflection or guidance across the many aspects that professional practice touches on. Seeking additional support in specific areas of learning may be required in areas such as cultural practice, or psychological or spiritual understanding. It can also be helpful to seek the input of a supervisor who comes from a discipline other than occupational therapy (psychologist, social worker), especially if the supervisee works in a specialized or emerging area of clinical practice.
Equally, it is important to consider when to move on from a supervisor altogether and find someone new to work with. It can be healthy not to stick with the same supervisor for too long and to get a fresh perspective or experience a different approach to supervision. Supervisees should not feel obliged or beholden to the supervision relationship if it is time for a change.
Actively Participate in Your Own Supervision
It is crucial to prioritise, prepare for, and actively participate in supervision. This is constructive in that, it encourages the supervisee to explore current learning needs, to unpack the challenges and successes of professional work, and to reflect on what they personally bring to their work.
Preparing well for supervision is prioritising it. This sentiment is echoed by Weld (2023,) when she stated that the supervisee commits to being an active participant in the reflective learning process, and what they bring to the supervision session to explore, provides the content for discussion. When a supervisee is able to prepare for supervision in advance and to determine what they would like to cover and what they would like to get out of the conversation, the session is much more effective. Of course, the supervisor is there to be curious and to probe using deeper questions to facilitate robust critical reflections. Here are some good preparatory questions a supervisee can ask themselves to help develop the content of the session:
- What do I need to unpack in relation to my work today?
- What have I noticed this past month that has resulted in new learning in my work? What has this been like and how does it integrate into my practice?
- What have been the points of challenge, where my comfort zone has been breached? What has been useful during this process and what have I learned?
- Where have the successes been this past month? What have I learned from these?
Be Prepared to Explore Your Emotional And Cognitive Boundaries.
Clinical practice for occupational therapists often results in challenging emotions, thinking and knowledge, values and ethics, and personal reserves. This is especially true for novice practitioners or practitioners new to a clinical position where they can be getting used to being exposed to clients pain, suffering and trauma.
Once trust is established, supervision is a safe space for the supervisee to bring those things that don’t feel right, that are putting them at the edge of their comfort zone or the boundaries of their personal and professional scope. These emotional or cognitive challenges can be educational, serving to provide the material for reflection and therefore professional development. (Skovholt, 2016). From time to time, it is important that the supervisee brings such challenges to supervision, and not to always stay in the comfort zone.
Summary
Being a proactive supervisee in all aspects of the supervision process can make the difference between adequate superivison to it being a place of learning, reflection, sense making and replenishment. This starts with finding the right fit and clearly contracting the scope of supervision. The authors challenge you to prepare wholeheartedly for supervision each month and to lean into exploring all aspects of yourself that you bring to your work. Aim to bring your whole self into the trusting, safe space that allows for vulnerability and clarity. This will ulimtately enhance your practice and help you to feel more grounded in your mahi | work.
References
Bihary, M. (2020). Leading above the line, Applying neuroscience to build psychologically safe and thriving teams. Michelle Bihary.
Davys, A., & Beddoe, L. (2021). Best practice in professional supervision: A guide for the helping professions. (2nd ed.). Jessica Kingsley.
Skovholt, T. M. & Trotter-Mathison, M. (2016). The resilient practitioner: Burnout and compassion fatigue prevention and self-care strategies for the helping professions. (3rd ed.). Routledge.
Weld, N. (2023). Applying the therapeutic function of professional supervision: Attending to the emotional impacts of human service. Routledge.
