Ljubljana, 16.5.2015. Bratislava, 15.4.2010 Supervision supporting guidance counsellors Barbara Gogala

Ljubljana, 18.04.23

Bratislava, 15.4.2010

Supervision supporting guidance counsellorsBarbara Gogala


Supervision is…

• a method of professional reflection offering education and support to practitioners in helping professions

• process oriented form of counseling, mostly dealing with professional issues in the organizational contexts

• supervision improves personal and professional performance and organizational role of the professionals

Stress in the workplace (Hawkins, Shohet, 1992)


Non-work features: home personal relationships

The counsellor: Images of self Personality Coping skills

Job features: roles and relationships clients elusiveness of success organizational influence training

Stress responses: Anxiety Illness Burnout

Support: Within the organization Beyond the organization

As support, supervision is offering:

a. validation of a profesional as a person and as a worker

b. space to explore and express personal distress that may be brought up at work;

c. better planning and use of personal and professional resources

d. getting in touch with own emotions and their impact on counselling relationships


Educational function of supervision:

a. reflection upon the content and process of their work and

b. development of the understanding and skills within the work;

c. exchange of information and another perspective concerning his/her work;

d. fastening the transformation of theoretical knowledge into practice.


The developmental and educational model is based on

• experiential learning from John Kolb,

• humanistic approach to counseling – Rogerian approach,

• group dynamic theories and

• theories of communication.


Experiental learning


experience

reflection

abstraction

action

Material for supervision

• any issues bothering the professional

• any unsolved problems

• tentions in counselling relationships or in organization

• successfuly solved problems

• good practices

• searching for support, resources, solving dilemmas

Ljubljana, 18.04.23

Description of experience

• to be as detailed as possible

• supervisor follows the description with attention, stimulates the narration

• focuses on the information „between the lines“ (tone of speech, things that are being left out, changes in behavior, etc)


Reflection

• The core in supervision

• Involves cognitive and abstract processes as well as emotions, intuitions, sensations and bodily experiences.

• We need to step back and pose hard questions like: Why are things done this way? How could I do it differently?

• The ability to think about the past; in the present; for the future.


Abstraction - insight

• when everything suddenly “fits together”

• deeper understanding

• easy to recognize (laughter)

• needs to be verbalized


Transfer into action

• possible solutions

• brain storming

• role playing

• …


The importance of “here and now”

• Emotions appearing in the supervision group can reflect the emotions from the workplace situation. Even the hidden ones.

• Analysing ang getting in touch with the emotions and body sensations in the supervision situation gives important information about the problem presented in supervision session.


Methods - interventions

1. empathic listening with non verbal signs for attention,

2. underlying important themes,

3. questioning,

4. mirroring,

5. paraphrasing,

6. active listening and active understanding,

7. confronting,

8. summarizing.


Four levels of reflection (Michael Carroll)


Takes the professional deeper and deeper into reflection and wider understanding of the situation. At every level the supervisee can go back, which in some cases is the sign of the resistance to reflection.

Level ONE

Level one is a non reflective stance. It finds it difficult to go internal and look at wider pictures. Typical statement: This client is resistant, he is a problem.


Level TWO

Level two allows some distance from the event and begins to take an observer`s point of view. There is an acknowledgement of feelings and some empathy into the other person`s perspective and context. Typical statement: I can understand why he does that, but it does not excuse it.


Level THREE

Level three brings the awareness that both parts are responsible for the relationships and that both bring their history into the relationships. In opens more systemic way of looking at experiences. Typical statements: Let`s talk about that. How can I see it from multiple perspectives?


Level FOUR

Level four is the self transcendent position that means I begin to look at me and how am I setting up these situations I am in. Typical statement: What are my contributions to this?


Intervision – peer supervision, advantages

• members are taking roles as supervisors and/or supervisees, so they can practice skills in both roles;

• colleagues can be very emphatic, because they are facing similar problems;

• they have to learn to communicate efficiently, otherwise the group hardly works;

• we learn from other people`s experiences, we learn from the interaction in the intervision group;


Traps in intervision

• a clear and strong structure is needed to avoid competitiveness between members;

• a good balance between task and social level in the group has to be established.


ANSE – Association of National Organizations for Supervision in Europe – is…

• the association of national Organization for Supervision and Coaching in Europe.

• representing more than 8.000 qualified supervisors and coaches in the field of consulting in 22 European countries and more than 80 training institutions.

• taking care of professional interests on international level.

• in contact with professional organizations for supervision and coaching world-wide.


ANSE Activities

1. Conferences

2. Summer Universities

3. International intervision groups

4. Grundtvig learning partnerships: Counselling in a Multicultural Europe – A Key Competence within Life Long Learning?

5. partner in EUROCADRES project: Professional and Managerial Staff taking the responsibility to develop competences and attitudes for innovation


Members (blue – full members, green – associate members, red – network)


Documents

Ljubljana, 16.5.2015. Bratislava, 15.4.2010 Supervision supporting guidance counsellors Barbara Gogala