Systemic Supervision

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Systemic Supervision

• Paula Boston, Director of Training LFTRC
• University of Leeds

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Aims

• Pro model musings
• Common factors in supervision
• What is systemic supervision
• Review several systemic principles that shape
  supervision
• Offer systemic skills that transfer to
  supervision
• Opportunities for practice

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Offer a perspective on pro model of supervision

• Shared language and orientation
• Depth of skill development and theoretical
  understanding
• Theory as secure base
• Clarity of expertise and limits
• Meeting professional body requirements
• Mentoring and gate keeping

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And on the other hand...

• Shared language and orientation self
  referential
• Depth of skill development and theoretical
  understanding- may limit development
• Theory as secure base can be rigid
• Clarity of expertise and limits how do you draw
  the line
• Meeting professional body requirements- may be
  disconnected to organization agenda
• Mentoring and gate keeping- may be complicated

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Common factors in supervision

• a structured relationship between a supervisor
  and supervisee . goal to help the supervisee gain
  the attitudes, skills, and knowledge needed to be
  a responsible and effective therapist.
• development of clinical skills
• offering support and praise
• clinical competence and professional competence
• supervisor has a responsibility not only to
  individual supervisees, but also to the
  profession, or field as a whole.

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• Much of the current writing about the supervisory
  relationship emphasizes the need for supportive
  collaboration (Carifio Hess, 1987 Carroll,
  1988 Williams, 1994).
• supervisory relationship as an indispensable
  element can vary from a collaborative to a more
  directive relationship . (Morgan, M. Sprenkle, D.
  2007)

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Back to pro model

• As has been suggested for clinical common
  factors, we believe that specific models are the
  medium through which the common factors work
  (Sprenkle Blow, 2004), and which provide the
  variety and diversity needed to match human
  complexity.

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• Furthermore, specific theoretical models will
  always be especially well matched with particular
  supervisors, and this synchrony will likely
  positively impact their effectiveness for these
  supervisors. call for family therapists to commit
  themselves to a model of treatment

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• hypothesis that a therapist will maximize his
  therapeutic effectiveness if his practice is
  consistently guided by a model that he has chosen
  for the fit that the model provides with his
  personal worldview. (Simon 2006)

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• A recent investigation of therapy skills
  suggested that experienced family therapists were
  more likely to use interventions that included
  taking both an expert stance as well as a
  collaborative stance less
• Less than five percent of the sample practiced
  exclusively from one domain (Cornille, 2002).

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What is systemic supervision?

• Draws on the systemic family therapy body of
  knowledge (models, skills, code of ethics)
  presumes previous mental professional training
• AFT registered supervisor
• Incorporates modern realism with post modern
  touch
• Tends toward supporting strengths, resilience,
  growth
• Draws on developments in the field Nice,
  evidence based practice, NHS and National
  policies
• Attends to context of the supervision manages
  different positions
• Variety of processes retrospective (verbal /
  video taped) and live. micro skills and general
  review

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Key elements

• Attending to the relationship between supervisee
  and client and supervisor and supervisee (meaning
  of supervision)
• Isomorphism modelling and parallel process
• Attending to power and hierarchy
• Developmental - ??? Balance of support and
  difference or opinion
• Supervisee centered agenda
• Preference for questions rather than
  statements..no interpretations! Advice and
  opinions

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continued

• Attention to language used
• Attention to nonverbal or process information,
  patterns
• Inclusion of use of self but not therapy
• May include considerations of organizational
  issues but is not interventive

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Techniques

• Modelling - Its the copying that originates.
  Michael White
• Opportunity for consumer position
• Doing with rather than to
• And is only part of the process, some of the time
  

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Review several systemic techniques

• Joining finding connections
• Learning narratives and history of supervision
• Circular questions mapping beliefs, behaviours
  and relationships
• Reflecting team discussion
• Internalized other interview

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• Externalizing identifying the issue, mapping
  its effects on therapist, constraints, unique
  outcome
• Solution focused goal setting, future oriented,
  preparing, small steps, scaling

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• Carifio, M. S., Hess, A. K. (1987). Who is the
  ideal supervisor? Professional Psychology
  Research and Practice, 18, 244250
• Cornille, T. A. (2002). How do experienced family
  therapists view their practice? An exploratory
  assessment of clinical skills and their relation
  to theories of family therapy. Contemporary
  Family Therapy, 24, 271288.
• Carroll, M. (1988). Counseling supervision The
  British context. Counseling Psychology Quarterly,
  1, 387396.

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• Morgan, M. Sprenkle, D. (2007) Toward a Common
  Factors Approach toward Supervision. J. of
  Marital and Family Therapy 33 (1), 117 Simon,
  (2006) The Heart of the Matter A Proposal for
  Placing the Self of the Therapist at the Centre
  of Family Therapy Research and Training. Family
  Process. 45 Issue 3, 331-345.
• Simon (2006) The Heart of the Matter A Proposal
  for Placing the Self of the Therapist at the
  Centre of Family Therapy Research and Training.
  Family Process 453. 331-345.

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• Williams, L. (1994). A tool for training
  supervisors Using the supervision feedback form
  (SFF). Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 20,
  311315