Sharing EP Practice: Personal Reflections of Supervision

Tim Watson, Educational Psychologist

Introduction

I have been an educational and child psychologist for over 20 years and have experienced like most, some excellent examples of supervision and those that have been less so. From my personal and professional experience, good quality and trusted supervision is essential and should be a core element of a psychologist’s development.

Currently, I count it a real privilege to supervise several educational psychologists, assistant psychologists and safeguarding leads, pastoral managers and SENDCos in schools. At the end of each session as a supervisor, I am acutely aware that I have been on my own humble journey of learning.

The evidence from my own lived experience is that the supervision relationship will be distinctive to each supervisor and supervisee, depending on the context and the stage the supervisee is at in their own professional growth. It is recognised that the nature of the supervision may need to adapt and change over time.

Models of Supervision

I believe that all facets of psychological practice are suitable topics for discussion in supervision. This is highlighted by Proctor and Inskipp in their reference to the following three aspects of supervision (Proctor & Inskipp, 1985).

• ‘The restorative’ process recognises the emotional impact of work on practitioners.
• ‘The normative’ relates to the expectancies of quality standards, observance to policies and procedures and achieving best practices
• ‘The formative’ focuses on developing supervisees' skills, understanding and capacities (Hawkins & Shohet, 2006).

There are many theories and methods that exist as regards supervision. My approach involves a combination of principles taken from a ‘person centered’ stance, as well as those from ‘a solution oriented’ model and from Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP). This eclectic method is possibly best captured in the ‘integrative process model’ further developed by Hawkins et al, where the relational and systemic aspects of supervision are integrated into a single theoretical model.

Reflective Practice

Dunsmuir and Leadbetter (2010) highlight specific skills within a supervision competencies framework. These include values, context, knowledge, skills, and evaluation. They also emphasise that reflective communication involves listening attentively, avoiding the use of power, communicating decisions thoughtfully, and displaying empathy and warmth in the process (Dunsmuir and Leadbetter, 2010).

Based on self-reflection, I believe that supervisors should know their own values, beliefs, strengths and needs. This increased awareness can further enable an individual to be 'present', which in turn can be seen as a 'portal' to the cycle of being reflective. The reciprocity within this cycle can be considered as a circular act of giving, receiving, and returning (Corey et al., 2020).

Cognitive regulation, emotional skills, identity, personality-based perspectives, and social skills are all critical to the social and emotional learning that can occur during supervision. This combination allows for developing intra and interpersonal self-regulation skills (Boyd-Macmillan, 2020). This self-regulation underlies the mechanics for social and emotional learning – an essential element of reflective supervision. It is also a reminder that how people think can sometimes matter more than what they think (The Learning Passport, 2020). It is generally accepted that the relational aspect of supervision is paramount to its success. Carl Rogers' person-centred approach to interpersonal relationships is well documented (Rogers, 1995). His approach refers to the importance of congruence and unconditional positive regard, two elements which are essential if trust is to be established between a supervisor and supervisee. The practice of mutual reflection, combined with joint attention and attunement, helps to develop this climate of trust, thereby valuing the supervisee's thoughts and feelings (see DDPI, 2015).

Porges (2017) refers to connectedness being a biological imperative and that we should use each other as a resource. Cozolino (2017) also comments that humans connect and communicate across a social synapse, regulating each other through relationships, building each other's brains through engagement, a soothing presence, showing interest and being attentive.

Siegel (2017) adds to the importance of shared experience by challenging practitioners to help each other organise our experiences, information, and narratives. He also suggests getting beneath each other's conversations if needed. Hughes (2017) emphasises that communicating and sharing experiences is essential to reflective practice - acceptance of experiences, curiosity about experiences and empathy towards experiences.

In summary

Outlined below is my summary of the benefits and purposes of supervision:

References:

Boyd-MacMillan, E. & DeMarinis, V. (2020). Learning Passport: Curriculum Framework (IC-ADAPT SEL high-level programme design). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press & Cambridge Assessment.

Cambridge University Press & Cambridge Assessment. (2020). The Learning Passport: Research and Recommendations Report. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press & Cambridge Assessment

Carl R. (1995). Way of Being. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin

Corey, G et al (2020) Clinical Supervision in the Helping Professions: A Practical Guide. Third Edition American Counselling Association. Wiley: New Jersey

Cozolino, L (2017). May 12th-14th, the "Attachment and Trauma" Congress, London: International ISC

DDPI, (2015) Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy and Practice Rating Scale, DDP Network

Dunsmuir, S and Leadbetter, J, (2010) Professional Supervision: Guidelines for Practice for Educational Psychologists. Leicester: The British Psychological Society.

Hawkins, P. Shohet, R. (2006) Supervision in the helping professions, Maidenhead, McGraw Hill

Hughes, D (2017) Building Bonds of Attachment; Awakening Love in Deeply Traumatised Children. Third Edition. London: Rowman and Littlefield

Porgess, S (2017). May 12th-14th, the "Attachment and Trauma" Congress, London: International ISC. Proctor, B. & Inskipp, F. (2001). Making the most of Supervision (2nd Edition). London: Cascade. Rogers,

Siegel, D (2017) May 12th-14th, the "Attachment and Trauma" Congress, London: International ISC