TRAINING COUNSELLING

SUPERVISORS
 Counselling Supervision

The Counselling Supervision series, edited by Michael Carroll and

Elizabeth Holloway, has a clearly defined focus on counselling
supervision issues and emphasizes the actual practice of counsel­
ling supervision, drawing on up-to-date models of supervision
to assist, inform and update trainee and practising counsellors,
counselling psychologists and psychotherapists.

Titles in the series include:

Counselling Supervision in Context

edited by Michael Carroll and Elizabeth Holloway

Training Counselling Supervisors: Strategies, Models and Methods

edited by Elizabeth Holloway and Michael Carroll
 T RAINING COUNSELLING
SUPERVISORS

Strategies, M ethods and Techniques

Edited by
Elizabeth Holloway and Michael Carroll

SAGE Publications
London • Thousand Oaks • New Delhi
Editorial selection and introduction © Elizabeth Holloway
and Michael Carroll 1999
Chapter 1 © Elizabeth Hollowav 1 999
Chapter 2 © Michael Carroll 1 999
Chapter 3 © Julie Hewson 1 999
Chapter 4 © Susan Neufeldt 1 999
Chapter 5 © Willem Lammers 1 99<)
Chapter 6 © Hardin Coleman 1 999
Chapter 7 © Maria Gilbert and Charlotte Sills 1 999
Chapter 8 © Francesca Inskipp 1999
Chapter 9 © Shoshana Hellmann 1 999

First published 1 999

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
permission in writing from the Publishers.

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication data

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available from the British Library

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ISBN 0-761 9-5787-1 (pbk)

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Printed in Great Britain by Biddies Ltd, Guildford, Surrey
 Contents

Notes on Contributors vii

Acknowledgements xi

Introduction Elizabeth Holloway and Michael Carroll 1

1 A framework for supervision training 8

Elizabeth Holloway
2 Training in the tasks of supervision 44
Michael Carroll
3 Training supervisors to contract in supervision 67
Julie Hewson
4 Training in reflective processes in supervision 92
Susan Neufeldt
5 Training in group and team supervision 1 06
Willem Lammers
6 Training for multi-cultural supervision 130
Hardin L.K. Coleman
7 Training for supervision evaluation 1 62
Maria Gilbert and Charlotte Sills
8 Training supervisees to use supervision 1 84
Francesca Inskipp
9 The portfolio: A method of reflective development 211
Shoshana Heilman

Index 233
 Notes on Contributors

Michael Carroll, PhD. is a chartered counselling psychologist

and Fellow of the BAC. He has been Director of Studies in
Psychology and Counselling at Roehampton Institute London and
Director of Counselling and Training at Right Cavendish, London.
He is consultant to a number of organizations in both the public
and private spheres.

Hardin Coleman, PhD. is an Associate Professor in the Depart­

ment of Counseling Psychology at the University of Wisconsin­
Madison. He received his Masters in Counseling Psychology from
the University of Vermont and his doctorate in Counseling Psy­
chology from Stanford University in 1 992. His primary area of
research is in multi-cultural counselling training for counsellors.
He co-edited Multicultural Counselling Competencies with Donald
B. Pope-Davis in 1 997.

Maria C. Gilbert, MA (Clin Psych), has extensive experience in

adult education and psychotherapy, as well as in the supervision
and training of psychotherapists and psychotherapists' super­
visors in Integrative, Transactional Analysis and Gestalt psycho­
therapy. She is a Teaching Member of both the Gestalt
Psychotherapy Training Institute in the United Kingdom and of
the International Transactional Analysis Association. Currently
she is head of the Integrative Psychotherapy and the Supervision
trainings at the Metanoia Institute in West London.

Shoshana Hellman, EdD, was born in Israel. She has a BA from

Hebrew University in Jerusalem in English and French literature
and a teaching certificate, an MA in linguistics from the Sorbonne
in Paris and a doctorate from Columbia U niversity, New York, in
counselling psychology. Since 1 980, she has worked as a super­
visor for school counsellors for the Ministry of Education in Israel.
viii TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

She also teaches courses in counselling and supervision at the

university level.

Julie Hewson, BA (Hons) postgraduate, Cert. ED Dip SW, CQSW,

TSTA, CTA, BAC Registered Supervisor and Assessor of Super­
visors, registered with UKCr. She is the Director of the Iron Mill
Centre in Devon and Cornwall providing Counselling, Psycho­
therapy and Supervision training and Management Consultancy
Services. She is currently delivering the first Supervision Training
in the Czech Republic and regularly works in Dublin and Zurich.
Julie is pursuing a PhD. entitled 'Shame in the Supervisory
Process' .

Elizabeth 1. Holloway, PhD., is a professor in the Department of

Counseling Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
and has directed clinical training centres at the Universities of
California, Oregon and Wisconsin. She is a Fellow of Division 1 7
(Counseling Psychology) o f the American Psychological Associa­
tion and holds a Diploma in Counseling Psychology of the
American Board of Professional Psychology. Elizabeth is author of
Clinical Supervision ( 1 995, Sage).

Francesca Inskipp, is an Accredited Supervisor and Fellow of

BAC. She is co-director of CASCADE, a training organization for
supervisors. She has been involved in the training of counsellors
and supervisors since 1 973, and has published several books and
audiotapes on supervision, counselling skills and on counsellor
training.

Willem Lammers, is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist

with a specialization as a Teaching and Supervising Transactional
Analyst in the field of psychotherapy. He is the founder and
director of the lAS Institute for training in counselling and super­
vision in Maienfeld, Switzerland. Besides his tasks as a trainer, he
runs a practice for supervision and organizational consulting.

Susan Allstetter Neufeldt, Ph.D., is training clinic director and

lecturer in the Counseling /Clinical/school Psychology Program
 NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS ix

at the University of California, Santa Barbara . Author of Super­

vision Strategies for the First PracticulIl, she has written and lectured
widely on the topic of reflectivity in the training of therapists and
supervisors.

Charlotte Sills, MA, MSc (Psychotherapy), PGCE, Dip Syst Int.

Psych. U KCP Registered Psychotherapist. She is a counsellor and
psychotherapist in private practice and has worked as a trainer
and consultant in a variety of settings. She is a qualified Trans­
actional Analysis clinician and a Teaching and Supervising
Transactional Analyst. She is author of a number of publications
on counselling and psychotherapy. Charlotte is head of the Trans­
actional Analysis Department at Metanoia Institute in West
London.
 Acknowledgements

Our thanks to the chapter authors - they have contributed gener­

ously from their experience and wisdom and put up gallantly
with our editorial demands. To Susan Worsey, Melissa Dunlop
and Kate Scott at Sage - our thanks for on-going support and
patience throughout the project.
A special mention to Leo Canny, Josephine Murphy, Liam
McCarthy and Margaret O'Shea and the supervisor trainees in
Ireland who have brought a humour and groundedness to our
ideas.
Chapter 1 adapted from E.H's chapter in C. Edward Watkins Jr.
(1997), Handbook of Psychotherapy Supervision, pp. 249-76, repro­
duced by permission of John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Introduction
Elizabeth Holloway and Michael Carroll

Throughout Britain, Europe and the United States trainers are

using innovative programmes to teach the professional role and
skills of supervision. Educating the supervisor, regardless of the
supervisor's primary professional identification or setting, is
linked intrinsically to the theoretical, empirical and practice
knowledge of both counselling and teaching. The practice of
supervision is nested in a dyadic relationship of committed fel­
lowship, emotional challenge and strategic collaboration. From
this multifaceted phenomenon, in the best of times, there emerge
new knowledge and skills, increased professional confidence, and
a sustained engagement in one's work. How, as trainers, do we
explicate this knowledge, demonstrate these skills of supervision
and judge competence?
Even though a number of articles and books have been used,
very effectively, as training methodologies, as far as we know this
is the first book specifically geared to methods for educating
supervisors. It has taken supervision some time to reach this stage
in its own development. The history of supervision has two
strands, one emerging from the USA and the other from Britain. In
the US supervision, there has been an emphasis on empirical work
and the creation of supervision models. The work of supervising
is concentrated in training environments for practicum, intern­
ships, and residencies. There are only a couple of organized and
sustained training packages (Holloway, 1 995; Neufeldt et al.,
1 995). Although training material has been available, more typi­
cally seasoned counselling practitioners were expected, without
much formal training, to don the mantle of supervisor. Prior to the
1 980s, counselling-bound models of supervision relied on the
training methods used in their counsellor mode and worked on
the principle that the same methods and skills that made the
individual a good counsellor would now make them a good and
2 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

effective supervisor. In the early 1 980s, Bernard ( 1 98 1 ) had trans­

lated her 'discrimination model' into a training event and Logan­
bill, Hardy and Delworth ( 1 982) had introduced the
developmental model of supervision later expanded by Stolten­
berg and Delworth ( 1 987). In the late 1 980s, Holloway introduced
a social role systems model. It was the advent of social and
developmental role models of supervision which heralded more
awareness of the need for specific training in supervision.
While the US supervisory scene relied on theory and research as
a basis for any supervisory training, quite the opposite was true in
Britain. From its earliest days within the counselling arena, super­
vision started as a training methodology and its literature and
theory emerged from supervisory training. Proctor (1 986) was one
of the first trainers of counselling supervisors in Britain and
formulated her three supervisory tasks (normative, formative,
restorative) as training outlines in the first instance. Hawkins' and
Shohet's (1 989) seminal text on supervision emerged from their
training work for supervisors and their process model, with an
awareness of the organizational dimension, was primarily a train­
ing tool for supervisors. In the 1 990s, the floodgates opened
somewhat and an array of supervisory books emerged. It is
probable that the majority of these were written by practitioners
who were already training supervisors and used their books as
the end-product of that process rather than the beginning (for
example, Carroll, 1 996; Inskipp and Proctor, 1 993, 1 995; Page and
Wosket, 1 994). Again, it is noticeable that this literature emerged
from those who were using social role models of supervision. For
those still using 'counselling-bound' models there continued to be
a reaction to formal training in supervision. Bramley, for example,
writes:
No doubt supervision too is about to come under inspection in this
regard and therapists will flock to 'recognised' training courses that
will spring up all over the country to meet the demands. While
welcoming any move to keep up standards and protect the public, I a m
worried about too much standardisation; too much concern about
career prospects and making sure one is part of the professional 'in
crowd' at the expense of the patient, who would benefit much more
from his therapist's supervisor if she had been allowed to develop the
art of supervision gradually, as her own expertise and knowledge as a
practitioner increased, rather than in a rushed once and for all qualify­
ing course. (1996: 182)

In spite of this debate, by the mid 1 990s it was estimated that there
were forty-three training courses in supervision in Britain - not
 INTRODUCTION 3

just short courses, but programmes leading to Certificates (usually

one year), Diplomas (two years) and at least two Masters pro­
grammes in Clinical Supervision.
The supervisory role, as a recognized function of counsellor
training, led to the development of ethical codes and guidelines.
In the US, the 1 993 Ethical Guidelines for Cou nseling Supervisors
from the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision
(USA) is in no doubt about the importance of training for super­
visors:

Supervisors should have had training in supervision prior to initiating

their role as supervisors. Supervisors should pursue professional and
personal continuing education activities such as advanced courses,
seminars and professional conferences, on a regular and on-going
basis. These activities should include both counseling and supervision
topics and skills. (Section 2.01 /2.02)

The American Psychological Association in 1 996 recognized

supervision training as a required practice skill for psychologists
and includes ethical guidelines for practice.
The BAC Code of Ethics and Practice for the S upervision of Cou nsel­
lors (1 990) is no less demanding. In the section on 'Issues of
Competence' it stresses the requirement for supervisors to engage
in 'specific training in the development of supervision skills . . .
monitor[ing] their supervision work . . . monitor[ing] the limits of
their competence . . . evaluating their supervision work' (Section
B.3). The professional organizations in both the UK and USA have
taken the position that supervision training is no longer not
needed or a luxury, but a necessity and a requirement for those
who choose or are chosen to become supervisors.
Mainland Europe, in the meantime, has taken a broader
approach in the training of supervisors. They expanded the venue
and relevance of supervision into a more generic professional role,
no longer confining it to counselling, psychotherapy and social
work. Supervision has become an inter-professional activity with
the trained supervisor able to work across professions. The cross­
professional model utilizes existing individual and organizational
interventions. Supervisors become skilled at working not only
with their own specialization, but with individuals, small groups
and organizations inter-professionally. This movement, taking the
skills and roles of supervisors and applying them in ever­
widening contexts, is almost akin to seeing supervISIOn as a
profession in its own right. It may well be that professional,
4 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

trained supervisors will become the new supporters of the people­

workers of the future.
In recent years, there has been spirited collaboration among
trainers from all of Britain, Europe and the United States. Four
international conferences on supervision (held in London in 1 992,
1 997 and 1 998; Hanover, Germany, in 1 996) have brought together
practitioners, supervisees, supervisors, trainers in supervision,
researchers in supervision, and supervision theorists to present
current work, to share ideas and to listen to differences.
This book is a celebration of these recent years of fruitful
collaboration across different countries, training models and pro­
fessions. These authors from the USA, Britain and Europe, all of
whom actively engage in the training of supervisors, focus on
aspects of supervisory training. There is a recognition that the
trainer 's challenge is multi-layered: identify those factors of
supervision that are potentially influential to the process and
outcome of supervision and then determine how to teach these
factors. The emphasis on knowing not only 'what and how to do'
supervision, but more importantly, what are the critical factors in
supervision process that result in effective teaching of the super­
visor, keep supervisors engaged in effective supervision of the
therapist, and delivering efficacious service to the consumer.
This book is not a full curriculum in what could be a formal
training course in supervision. A number of sources have outlined
curricula for training supervisors (Bradley, 1989; Clarkson and
Gilbert, 1 99 1 ; American Association for Counseling and Develop­
ment, 1 988; Hawkins and Shohet, 1 989). This book describes what
trainers are doing to teach critical elements in the practice of
supervision. It focuses on educating supervisors in crucial themes
that are embedded in the core of the supervision process. Each of
these authors has uncovered his or her understanding of one
critical factor in the teaching of supervision. They have described
their models for teaching within the context of their practice.
The text is organized to provide a continuity across the ele­
ments addressed by the authors and allow for their own creative
ways of addressing the topic. Each chapter starts with a brief
description of the author's focus in their work as trainers. The
supervision topic of their interest is then discussed theoretically
and is conceptually described. Finally, case studies and / or exer­
cises for teaching are provided. We have designed this text to be a
working document, one that we hope trainers will turn to in the
design of their own teaching strategies and to stimulate their own
 INTRODUCTION 5

creatIvIty. The topics that have been chosen are by no means

inclusive of the many different techniques and models being used
to educate supervisors. We do hope, however, that we have given
the reader a substantial 'helping' in the practice of educating the
supervisor.
In Chapter 1 , Elizabeth Holloway describes an overview of
training in supervision. Her Systems Approach to Supervision
(SAS) model is a comprehensive view of supervision within the
context of organization and relationship. The SAS approach
emphasizes training case conceptualization and strategies for
supervisory intervention. Chapter 2 focuses on the generic tasks
of supervision. Using his research, Michael Carroll systematically
brings the reader through each of the seven generic tasks of
supervision, outlining how trainee supervisors can be instructed
and coached in each of them. In Chapter 3, Julie Hewson looks, in
detail, at how supervisors can understand and be trained in
'contracting' in supervision, using not just theory, but her own gift
for the visual. In Chapter 4 Susan Neufeldt posits supervision as a
'reflective' process and analyses what that means: she provides
frameworks for helping supervisors to develop skills of reflection
and to teach these skills to the supervisees. In Chapter 5, Willem
Lammers takes a multi-professional approach, to examine team
and group supervision within its ever-widening dimensions.
Training for multi-cultural supervision is described by Hardin
Coleman in Chapter 6. His focus illuminates the multi-cultural
competencies needed in the profession. Maria Gilbert and Char­
lotte Sills, in Chapter 7, tackle how supervisors can be trained in
the difficult supervisory task of evaluation, and in Chapter 8
Francesca Inskipp provides a model for educating supervisees in
how to use supervision effectively. Shoshana Hellman describes,
in the final chapter, the integration of a portfolio system for
supervisors that is a self-instructional and peer collaboration
process used in the training of supervisors in Israel.
As always, space confines us and not included are training
supervisors in parallel process, training for ethical supervision
and training in the supervisory relationship, to name a few, but
we know there are other editors, other books and lots of experi­
enced trainers who will fill the gaps in good time. Our editorship
of this book has itself been a symbol for us. A Canadian in
America and an Irishman in England, two international souls
learning, laughing and listening across that vast expanse of water.
The process has taught us both about how much enjoyment there
6 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

is in learning and writing together. Our hope is that the future will
see much more of this kind of collaboration widened by authors
across countries, languages and cultures where supervision is
being practised.

References

American Association for Counseling and Development ( 1 988) Standards for COIlI1-
seling Supervisors. Virginia: AACD Publication.
Association for Counselor Education and Supervision ( 1 993) Ethical Gu idelines for
Counseling Supervis ors . Alexandria, VA: ACES.
Bernard, J. ( 1 98 1 ) Inservice training for clinical supervisors. ProfcssiOJwl Psychulogy,
12: 740-8.
Bond, M. and Holland, S. ( 1 998) Skills of Clill ical Supervisiall for Nurses. Bucking­
ham: Open University Press.
Bradley, L. ( 1 989) Coul1selar Supervision: Prillciples, Process. alld Practice. Muncie, IN:
Accelerated Development Inc.
Bramley, W. ( 1 996) The Supervisory Couple ill Broad-Spectrum PsycllOthempy. London:
Free Association Books.
British Association for Counselling ( 1 990) Code of Ethics and Practice for the
Supervision of Counsellors. Rugby: BAC
Carroll, M. ( 1 995) The Generic Tasks of Superuision. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of
Surrey.
Carroll, M. ( 1 996) Counselling Supervision: Theory Skills alld Practice. London:
.

Cassell.
Clarkson, P. and Gilbert, M. ( 1 991 ) The Training of counsellor trainers and
supervisors. In W. Dryden and B. T horne (eds), Tminillg and Supervision for
COllnselling ill Actio/I. London: Sage.
Hawkins. P. and Shohet, R. (1 989) Supen'isioll ill the Helping Professiolls, Milton
Keynes: Open University Press.
Holloway, E.L. ( 1 995) Clinical Supervisioll: A Systell1s Approach Thousand Oaks, CA:
.

Sage.
Holloway, E.L. and Acker. M. ( 1 989) The EPICS (Engagell1ellt alld POlI'Cr ill Clillical
Supervision) Model. University of Oregon (private publication)
lnskipp, F. and Proctor. B. ( 1 993) The Art, Cmft alld 7ilsks of COllllsellillg Supen'isioll .
Part I: Making the Most of Supavisioll. Twickenham: Cascade.
Inskipp, F. and Proctor, B. (1995) The Art. Cmtt alld 7ilsks of Coullsellillg Supen'isioll.
Part 2: Becomillg a Supervisor. Twickenham: Cascade.
Loganbill, C, Hardy, E. and Delworth, U. ( 1 982) Supervision: a conceptual model.
The Coul1sellillg PsycilOlagist, 1 0: 3-46.
Neufeldt, 5., Iversen, J.N., and Juntunen, c.L. ( 1 995) Supavisioll Strntegies for tile
First PracticulIl. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
Page, S. and Wosket, V. (1994) SlIl'CI'l'isil1g the COlIlIseilor: A Cyclical Model. London:
Routledge.
Proctor, B. ( 1 986) Supervision: a co-operative exercise in accountabilitv. In M.
Marken and M. Payne (eds), El1ab/illS alld Ellsllrillg: SlIperl'isioli ill Practice.
Leicester: National Youth Bureau.
 INTRODUCTION 7

Skovholt, T.M. and Ronnestad, M.H. ( 1 992) The Evolving Professional Self: Stages and
Themes in Therapist and Counselor Development. New York: Wiley.
Stoltenberg, CD. and Delworth, U. (1987) Supervising Corn/seTors and Therapists. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Thompson, J. (1 991) Issues of Race and Culture in Counselling Supervision Training
Courses. M. 5c Dissertation: The Polytechnic of East London.
.
1 A Framework for Supervision
Training
Elizabeth Holloway

My work is held in a university that invites me to choose my

question and then frees me to pursue it. The university knows full
well that no definitive solution awaits me, but trusts that the
pursuit will uncover new perspectives and relevant meanings for
me and my fellow professionals. And so, what I have done over
the last twenty years is practice, teach, study, and write about
professional training. Early on as a graduate student it was my
practice of supervision that fuelled my motivation to ask ques­
tions about this method of teaching. What was really going on in
the conversation of supervision? What incidents in supervision
were critical to a person learning to be a therapist? I spent the first
ten years of my work recording, transcribing and analysing the
talk of supervision. Empirical findings from these studies were
interesting, informative, and dispelled some assumptions held
about the supervision process. For example, supervision with a
novice trainee is largely a teacher/ student relationship in role,
attitude and behaviour. These interactions are characterized by
supervisors offering their opinions and suggestions and super­
visees asking questions of clarification, or extending and agreeing
with supervisors' ideas.
However interesting at the manifest level, these descriptions left
out a large part of my experience in supervision. How was I
thinking about supervision in the moment, as I designed training
approaches or reacted to particularly intense interactions with
supervisees? The empirical methods I was using were not
uncovering the questions that emerged out of my experience. And
so I sought a way to uncover the talk of supervision. What are the
perceptions and attitudes that supervisors have about their role
and actions? What do supervisees need at different junctures of
 A FRAMEWORK FOR SUPERVISION TRAINING 9

their training? How do they name what they need? These among
many other questions set me off talking with supervisors and
supervisees to learn of their experience. Again I was interviewing,
recording and transcribing, but in these cases I was looking for
emergent understandings of the phenomena as remembered and
articulated by the participants themselves.
This pursuit of understanding supervision has taken me to
countries in Europe and Asia where I have met trainers and
supervisors who have added immeasurably to my understanding
of the practice of supervision. I remember in my early days in
Britain when Terri Spy would look at me at the first tea break and
say, 'Well, is it done?' I knew immediately what the 'it' was - a
book on my model of supervision - a Systems Approach to
Supervision (SAS) (Holloway, 1 995). It wasn't until two years later
I was able finally to exclaim in response, 'Yes, Terri, IT is done!'
Yet, it is not at all done, for as I continue to be involved in
different contexts of supervision practice the model has
transformed itself (alphabetically!) to SAM-LP (Systems Approach
to Mentoring in the Legal Profession), to SAM-A (Systems
Approach to Mentoring in Academics), and to SAT-MT
(Systems Approach to Training Multidisciplinary Teams). How­
ever, this is all in the making and Terri's question will prevail for
a decade to come. For now, I present in this chapter the original
framework for SAS.

Purpose of the SAS model

To me, supervision can be depicted as an instructional method

that is hand held, parsimoniously constructed in the moment,
accountable in the long term and remarkably intense as an inter­
personal construction. One becomes, as a supervisor, a 'conversa­
tional artist' . The purpose of the Systems Approach to Supervision
(Holloway, 1 995) is to guide supervision teaching and practice by
providing a framework based on empirical, conceptual and prac­
tice knowledge to guide supervision teaching and practice. Those
factors that have consistently been identified as salient to the
process and outcome of supervision (Bernard and Goodyear, 1 992;
Holloway and Neufeldt, 1 995; Russell, Crimmings and Lent, 1 984)
have been used to build a dynamic model that can assist in
systematic assessment of (a) the supervisee's learning needs, and (b)
10 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

the supervisor's teaching interventions in idiosyncratically defined

contexts. The model can be used as a frame of reference for an
individual practitioner to think through a dilemma, for case con­
sultation of supervision, or for training in supervision. It provides a
strategy for systematically using a 'case method' approach that
encompasses the presentation of client and supervisee histories,
accompanied at times with examples of the supervision interaction,
and followed with a conceptualization of the supervision situation
and suggestions for interventions. It is an effort to understand
supervision by offering a common language that is relevant to
supervisors and educators across different theoretical points of
view. The model is meant to raise questions about what each of us
does as a supervisor rather than to tell a supervisor what to think
and what to do.
The SAS framework provides four components of support for
educators and practitioners to uncover their own thinking, atti­
tudes, decision-making and behaviours: (a) a descriptive base, (b)
guidelines stating common goals and objectives, (c) a way to dis­
cover meaning as it relates to participants and the profession, and
(d) a systematic mode of inquiry to determine objectives and strate­
gies for interaction during supervision. The confines of this chapter
prevent the detailed discussion of the SAS structure, but none the
less the heuristics of the model will be presented. The reader is
referred to Holloway (1 995) for a complete presentation of the
theoretical and empirical underpinnings of the components of
SAS.

Goals of the SAS model

The primary goal of supervision is the establishment of an on-going

relationship in which the supervisor designs specific learning tasks
and teaching strategies related to the supervisee's development as a
professional. In addition, the supervisor empowers the supervisee
to enter the profession by understanding the skills, attitudes and
knowledge demanded of the professional and guiding the relation­
ship strategically to facilitate the supervisee's achievement of a
professional standard. The overall goals of the SAS model are:

1. The goal o f supervision is to provide a n opportunity for the

supervisee to learn a broad spectrum of professional attitudes,
knowledge and skills in an effective and supportive manner.
 A FRAMEWORK FOR SUPERVISION TRAINING 11

2. Successful supervision occurs within the context of a complex

professional relationship that is on-going and mutually involv­
ing.
3. The supervisory relationship is the primary context for facilitat­
ing the involvement of the learner in reaching the goals of
supervision. The essential nature of this interpersonal process
bestows power to both members as they form the relationship.
4. For the supervisor, both the content and process of supervision
become an integral part of the design of instructional approa­
ches within the relationship.
S. As the supervisor teaches, the supervisee is further empowered
by (a) acquiring the skills and knowledge of the professional
work, and (b) gaining knowledge through experiencing and
articulating interpersonal situations.

Dimensions of the Systems Approach

Seven dimensions have emerged from the empirical, conceptual

and practice knowledge bases of supervision. These dimensions
have been integrated conceptually into the SAS model as the
seven factors depicted in Figure 1 . 1 . The seven factors are repre­
sented as wings connected to the body of supervision, that is, the
relationship. Task and function are represented in the foreground
of the interaction with the more covert influences of supervisor,
supervisee, client and institution in the background. The relation­
ship is the core factor and contains the process of the supervision
interaction. This is the foundation of SAS. It is understood that the
components of the model are also part of a dynamic process in
that they mutually influence one another and are highly inter­
related. The graphic model is used to identify anchor points in
this complex process and to encourage supervisors to discover
and name the most salient factors in a particular piece of work as
related to: (a) the nature of the task, (b) what function the
supervisor was carrying out, (c) the character of the relationship,
and (d) what contextual factors were relevant to the process.

The relationship of supervision

In the SAS model relationship is the container of dynamic process

in which the supervisor and supervisee negotiate a personal way
 The Institution The Client
(Contextual factor) (Contextual factor)

SAS Analysis
Figure 1.1 The SAS model: tasks, functions, relationship and *= Critical Discovery
contextual factors (Holloway 1 995; copyright by Sage Publications, • = Supervisor's Dilemma
Thousand Oaks, CA. Reprinted with permission of the author.)
 A FRAMEWORK FOR SUPERVISION TRAINING 13

o f utilizing a structure o f power and involvement that accom­

modates the trainee's progression of learning. This structure
becomes the basis for the process by which the supervisee will
acquire knowledge and skills - the empowerment of the super­
visee. Both the supervisor and supervisee are responsible for
establishing a relational structure that is flexible enough to accom­
modate the trainee's particular professional needs in an intense,
collaborative learning alliance. The supervisor, however, exercises
the guiding function (that is, how the supervisor is different
from the supervisee) of evaluation and support within the struc­
ture of this professional rela tionship. The structure and character
of the relationship embody all other factors and in turn all factors
are influenced by the relationship.
There has been considerable research on the relationship and
process of supervision (Carroll, 1 996; Holloway, 1 992; Russell,
Crimmings and Lent, 1 984). From the empirical base and practice
knowledge, I have identified three essential elements: (a) inter­
personal structure of the relationship - the dimensions of power
and involvement; (b) phase of the relationship - relational devel­
opment specific to the participants; (c) supervisory contract - the
establishment of a set of expectations for the tasks and functions
of supervisioll (see Figure] .\).

Interpersollal structure

Because of the centrality of relationship to the SAS model I have

included a more extended description of the empirical literature
that influences this dimension of the modeL Note that research on
relationships from a variety of contexts and disciplines is inte­
grated into the conceptualization. Power and involvement are
helpful constructs in understanding the nature of the supervisory
relationship. Supervision is a formal relationship in which the
supervisor's task includes imparting expert knowledge, making
judgements of trainees' performance, and acting as a gatekeeper
to the profession. Formal power, or power attributed to the
position, rests with the supervisor, and in this regard the supervi­
sory relationship is a hierarchical one. However, the exercise of
power cannot be accomplished independently. The mutually
influential process of relationship and the on-going interaction
between individuals allow for a shared influence to emerge.
Power may take very different forms depending on the personal
14 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

and institutional resources available and the type of involvement

of the individuals, a point of view not always given consideration
(Hinde, 1 979).
Three preferred methods have been used in supervision
research to describe the power of the supervisor: French and
Raven's sociological typology ( 1960); Strong, Hills and Nelson's
( 1988) circumplex model; and Penman's ( 1980) communication
matrix. However, Leary's (1 957) circumplex model, on which both
the Strong et a1. (1 988) and Penman ( 1980) classification systems
are based, provides a framework to place power in a relational
system that includes an involvement or affiliation dimension
which, in his view, every relationship has by definition. This
theory of interpersonal relations undergirds the SAS interpersonal
structure of the supervision relationship (power through involve­
ment). Although the relationship takes on a unique character that
can be defined by power and involvement, the participants bring
their own history of interpersonal style. These interpersonal histo­
ries influence how the supervisor and supervisee ultimately pres­
ent themselves in forming their new relationship.
Involvement might also be referred to as intimacy that includes
'attachments', the degree to which each person uses the other as a
source of self-confirmation (Miller, 1 976). This type of 'involved
affiliation' influences the exercise and effect of power in the
dyadic relationship and is crucial in creating more individualized
versus more role-bound relationships. Both participants deter­
mine the distribution of power or the degree of attachment to one
another (Morton, Alexander and Altman, 1 976). The degree of
relational influence potential will determine the degree of social
bonding and thus the persuasiveness of the relationship. As the
relationship develops, the participants will utilize more personally
relevant interpersonal, psychological and differentiated informa­
tion to make predictions of each others' behaviour and thus
reduce interpersonal uncertainty. The basis of mutuality adjusts to
these new levels of personal knowledge (Morton, Alexander and
Altman, 1 976).

Phases of the relationship

In the development of informal relationships two factors have

consistently been observed. First, as a relationship evolves, the
participants rely less on general cultural and social information
 A FRAMEWORK FOR SUPERVISION TRAINING 15

and more o n idiosyncratic information o f the participant. Predic­

tions regarding the other person's behaviours come from informa­
tion that differentiates the person from other members of his or
her corresponding social group. The other becomes unique in the
eyes of the perceiver, and the relationship is said to have moved
from a non-interpersonal to an interpersonal one (Miller, 1 976). As
the relationship evolves to an interpersonal one, there is a process
of reduced uncertainty. After initial interactions, participants come
to know one another better and are thus more accurate in their
predictions about the other person's reactions to their messages.
With decreased uncertainty, they are better able to use control
strategies and communicative modes that will reduce the level of
conflict in the relationship. Participants also become increasingly
more vulnerable and more willing to risk self-disclosure, whereas
in the initial stages genuine self-disclosure is seldom observed
(Morton, Alexander and Altman, 1 976). Extrapolating from the
friendship studies, it could be suggested that the advanced super­
visees, having a blueprint for the relationship of supervision from
previous experience, were able to truncate the discomfort of
uncertainty and resultant need for reassurance by relying on
known general expectancies for supervisory roles. Thus, they
could move more quickly to establish specific expectancies of an
interpersonal (as opposed to non-interpersonal) relationship by
self-disclosing aspects of self-relevancy to their counselling per­
formance. On the other hand, the beginning level supervisee
might still be discovering the role expectations of the supervisor
and supervisee, because these general cultural, social and formal
rules must be discovered before moving to an interpersonal
relationship.
The development of an interpersonal relationship promotes a
focus on shared idiosyncratic rules created just for that particular
relationship. Nevertheless, supervision is a formal, professional
relationship defined by certain relational rules and is more role­
bound than friendship relations. Supervision initially provides a
general expectancy base for certain interactive behaviours; how­
ever, as the relationship develops, it is individualized around the
learning needs of the supervisee and the teaching approaches of
the supervisor. These idiosyncratic reciprocal rules the partici­
pants will need to learn in the interactive process (Miller and
Rogers, 1 987).
In and of itself, phase does not determine the level of involve­
ment in the relationship. Individual differences also playa part.
16 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Altman and Taylor (1 973) have named the process of providing

more personal information 'social penetration', which is signifi­
cantly affected by both the phase of relationship as well as by
personal characteristics. Some individuals, because of their perso­
nal or cultural history, have a predisposition to reveal themselves,
while others are more reluctant. There is evidence that still other
factors may influence the course of supervision. For example,
Tracey, Ellickson and Sherry's ( 1 989) research demonstrated that
both the individual presentational style of the supervisee (defined
as 'reactance potential') and the urgency of the client's problem
(whether a suicide threat or not) had a significant effect on the
participants' need for a more structured and supportive approach.
Research studies ultimately demonstrate the absolute need to
consider all of the contextual factors that influence supervisory
behaviours in devising any strategy in supervision.
SAS has described the relationship phases of supervision in a
way that reflects the convergence of findings in friendship (Berger
and Calabrese, 1 975; Morton, Alexander and Altman, 1 976) and
supervision research (Mueller and Kelt, 1 972; Rabinowitz et al.,
1 986) . Mueller and Kell's ( 1 972) labelling system - beginning,
mature and termination - has been used to describe phases of the
supervisory relationship identified in the empirical literature (See
Table 1 .1 ; Holloway, 1 992; Worthington, 1 987).

Supervision contract

Each supervisor and supervisee will have idiosyncratic expecta­

tions of roles and function in supervision. Some will be the result
of experience in engaging in supervision and others will be more
directly related to the personal and cultural characteristics of both
participants. As in any working relationship the clarity of these
expectations directly affects the relationship and the establishment
of specific learning goals. Because the supervisee is in a position
of relatively less evaluative and expert power, the supervisor has a
responsibility to ensure that the supervisee is clearly informed of
the evaluative structure of the relationship, the expectancies and
goals for supervision, the criteria for evaluation, and the limits of
confidentiality in supervision.
Inskipp and Proctor (1 989) and Proctor (1 997) have identified
the contract as critical to establishing a way of being together in
the supervisory relationship. Not only do the participants nego-
 A FRAMEWORK FOR SUPERVISION TRAINING 17

Table 1 . 1 Phases of the supervisioll rcla tiol1�hip

Developing phase
Clarifying relationship with supervisor
Establishing supervision contract
Supporting teaching interventions
Developing competencies
Develuping treatment pions

Mature phase
Increasing individual nature of relationship, becoming less role bound
Increasing social bonding and influence potential
Developing skills of case conceptualization
Increasing self-confidence and self-efficacy in counselling
Confronting personal issues as they relate to professional performance

Terminating phase
Understanding connections between theory and practice in relation to particular
clients
Decreasing need for d irection from supervisor
Source: Holloway, 1995: 51.
Copyright by Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA. Reprinted with permission
of the author.

tiate specific tasks, but they also define the parameters of the
relationship. The negotiation of norms, rules and commitments at
the beginning of any relationship can reduce uncertainty and
move the involvement to a level of trust that will promote the
degree of vulnerability needed for the task to be done. This
clarification sets up both content and relational characteristics to
be expected in the relationship and establishes a trajectory for
types of interactions in which the supervisor and supervisee will
engage. The supervisor, by initiating the contract, is dealing
directly with the inherent uncertainty of the system. By acting
openly and purposefully, the supervisor increases the probability
that both participants will behave congruently with established
expectations (Miller and Rogers, 1 987). More importantly, the
supervisee will receive an opportunity to participate in the con­
struction of the relationship.
The supervisor must be alerted to the changing character of the
relationship and thereafter initiate discussion on renewed goals
and relational expectations. Not only will the trainee's learning
needs change as experience increases or clients develop, but also
his or her increasing skill and interpersonal confidence will influ­
ence issues of relational control. On-going negotiation of topics
and processes is built on the initial contract for teaching and
18 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

learning and the quality of relationship that the participants have

built. The supervision session often begins with the supervisor
asking the supervisee what he or she would like to discuss - a
negotiation of the topic of conversation (Poulin, 1 992). Although
there may be shifts in direction throughout the course of the
interview, these are often points of subtle negotiation between the
participants.

Tasks of supervision

In the Systems Approach to Supervision the teaching tasks and

supervisory function are used to describe the action of the super­
vision process. A task is defined as 'a definite piece of work
assigned or expected of a person' (Random House College Diction­
ary, 1 984). The tasks of supervision are defined by a body of
professional knowledge that defines the counsellor role. It is from
this larger pool of knowledge that the supervisor and student will
choose those specific learning goals that match the individual
needs of the supervisee. The numerous characteristics and skills
identified in the literature can be grouped into five broad areas
(Carroll, 1 996; Holloway, 1 992). Categories of teaching objectives
include: counselling skills, case conceptualization, professional
role, intra- and interpersonal awareness, and self-evaluation. Each
of these categories is defined as follows:

Counselling skills

The task of developing counselling skills focuses on what action

to take with the client, or on any of the specific skills that the
supervisor identifies as both fundamental to counselling knowl­
edge and specifically relevant to a particular supervisee. Counsel­
ling skills might include communication patterns, empathy,
personalization, and techniques of counselling such as symptom
prescription, desensitization, and reinforcement.

Case conceptualization

Case conceptualization involves the supervisor and supervisee

understanding the client's psychosocial history and presenting
problem. It requires the development of a conceptual framework
 A FRAMEWORK FOR SUPERVISION TRAINING 19

that is applicable across many different types o f clients, and that is

simultaneously congruent with the therapist's ideas of human
development and change.

Professional role

Professional role relates to how the supervisee will use appro­

priate external resources for the client; will apply principles of
professional and ethical practice; will learn tasks of record­
keeping, procedure, and appropriate inter-professional relation­
ships; and will participate in the supervisory relationship.

Emotional awareness

Emotional awareness refers to the trainee's self-awareness of

feelings, thoughts and actions that result from working with the
client and with the supervisor. Both intra- and interpersonal
awareness are relevant to counselling and supervision.

Self-evaluation

Self-evaluation is the willingness and skill to recognize one's own

limits of competence, and effectiveness as it relates to client
treatment and participation in supervision.

Functions of supervision

A function is 'the kind of action or activity proper to a person or

thing; the purpose for which something is designed or exists; to
perform a specialised action or activity' (Random House College
Dictionary, 1 984). Role labels have been useful in providing a
common language for describing supervisor functions in educa­
tional and mental health supervision (Bernard and Goodyear,
1 992; Carroll, 1 996; Ellis and Dell, 1 986; Ellis, Dell and Good, 1 988;
Hess, 1980). The five primary functions in which the supervisor
engages while interacting with the supervisee are: monitoring/
evaluating, instructing / advising, modelling, consulting, and
supporting/ sharing. Notice that here these roles have been trans­
formed (from a noun to a verb) and simplified in order to
emphasize their dynamic nature as well as to suggest a more
20 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

cohesive approach to the role of supervisor. Each of these func­

tions can be characterized both by behaviours typical of its
respective social role, and by the form of relational power govern­
ing it.

Man itoring/ev(I/u(lting

The monitoring and evaluative function is restricted to instances

when the supervisor communicates judgements and evaluation of
the trainee's behaviour as it relates to his or her professional role.
In these instances, because the reward and coercive power of the
supervisor is being exercised, the hierarchy of the relationship is
accentuated and communication is largely controlled by the
supervisor (that is, it is uni-directionaD. The supervisor's act of
monitoring and evaluating performance is a function of super­
vision and is distinguished from the criteria for evaluation. In
training situations, the evaluation may be a formal and standar­
dized procedure, whereas supervision that takes place between
peers or after training is often less explicit. In any case, the
supervisor's opinion and judgement, implicit or explicit, is
important.

Instructing/(Idvisi ng

The instructing / advising function consists of the supervisor pro­

viding information, opinions and suggestions based on profes­
sional knowledge and skill (Holloway and Poulin, 1 994).
Characterized as a 'teacher-student' communication it is largely
controlled by the supervisor (that is, uni-directionaD emphasizes
the hierarchy of the relationship and is marked by considerable
interpersonal distance.

Modelling

The supervisor acts as a model of professional behaviour and

practice, both implicitly in the supervisory relationship, and expli­
citly by role-playing for the supervisee or client. As a mentor, a
more implicit process, the supervisor becomes a role model of
professional practice and conduct. Communication, here, is
largely bi-directional: interpersonal distance is reduced because
the exercise of referent power is a collaborative process.
 A FRAMEWORK FOR SUPERV ISION TRAINING 21

Cons/II tills/explori n g

The supervisor facilitates the solving of of clinical and pro­

fessional problems by seeking information and opinions from the
supervisee. Again the use of expert and referent power is most
relevant. Com munication is bi-directional and interactive as the
participants collaborate on fact-finding and problem-solving.

S /Ipport i IIg/s/w ring

The supervisor supports the supervisee through empathic atten­

ticm, encouragement and constructive confrontation. Supervisors
often support trainees at a deep interpersonal level by sharing
their own perception of trainees' actions, emotions and attitudes.
This direct communication may inclu de confrontation, which can
increase the affiliation of the participants if done constructively
and appropriately. Communication is bi-directional and inter­
active, and the participants are highly engaged with little
interpersonal distance.

Task + function = process

Supervisor tasks and functions are the combination of the super­

visor and supervisee working together on a particular type of
problem with a particular approach; in other words, what objec­
tives and what teaching/learning strategies are adopted. This
pragmatic, heuristic approach is characterized by the presence of
task and function in the on-going interchange between supervisor
and supervisee. The interrelatedness of identifying what is the
teaching task with deciding how one will function to accomplish
that task is known as the process of supervision. It is possible to
identify the factors of task and function of on-going interaction
and then use this information to chart the supervisor's use of
skills. Hypothetically a supervisor may engage in any of the
teaching objectives with any of the functions or strategies. Realis­
tically, there are probably some task and function matches that are
more likely to occur in supervision; for example, the use of a
supporting function when working with interpersonal emotional
awareness, or an advisory function when focusing on counselling
skills. Using this method of matching task and function, super­
visors can analyse the effectiveness of a prior session and plan the
22 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

supervisory focus and strategies for subsequent sessions. The

efficacy of matches between task and function in the interview can
be examined because the analysis includes the trainee's immedi­
ate response to the supervisor's interventions as well as more
long-term indices of supervisee learning, placing the immediate
discourse within the context of the on-going teaching goals.

Teaching exercise for analysing process style

In a teaching setting, participants can actively use the matrix

(Fig 1 .2) to plot their development of skills. Have supervisors
listen to an audio- or videotape of their supervision interaction.
Have them use the matrix to identify functions or tasks, or use
particular combinations. The completed matrix of 1 5-20 minutes
of interaction with a particular supervisor's style of supervision
will give a picture of the supervisee and the process. Specific
knowledge about supervisory actions can encourage the super­
visor to question or reflect upon past behaviour. Are the choices of
task and function primarily a reflection of the supervisor's com­
fort with a particular style of presentation? Are there choices that
are more frequent with a particular supervisee? Or at a particular
phase of the supervisory relationship? Do the choices of task and
function facilitate the empowerment of the supervisee? Questions
can be generated from the simple identification of task and
function and can encourage further exploration of factors influ­
encing the supervisor's actions. Have supervisors consider the
factors that have influenced their choice of learning objective and
the approach to working with the supervisee. Although some­
times these factors are apparent, just as often they may exist only
at a latent, rather than manifest, level of the interaction. The
contextual factors of supervision are defined and uncovered in
supervision interviews and, in some cases, in participants' com­
ments on their supervisory behaviours. This exercise will intro­
duce the concept of contextual factors and lead to the next part of
the model.

Contextual factors of supervision

Contextual factors of supervision are conditions that are related

empirically and practically to the supervisor's and supervisee's
 A FRAMEWORK FOR SUPERVISION TRAINING 23

choice of task and function and the formation of the relationship.

These factors are: the supervisor, the trainee, the client, and the
institution or organization. The description of these factors com­
pletes the SAS model (see Figure 1 . 1 ) . Whereas task and function
are inferred from the process of communication, contextual factors
are sometimes not obviously differentiated from the actual inter­
actional process. Participants in an interaction are perceiving,
intending, and understanding their own and the other person's
messages 'inside their head' as they are engaged in the conversa­
tion. Factors that might influence information-processing and
decision-making in supervision must be inferred by the observer.
Although such inferential information is useful, it is different from
information that might be gained from asking supervisors or
trainees to reflect on their own or the other's actions ( Holloway,
1 995; Neufeldt, Karno and Nelson, 1 996; Schon, 1 983; Skovholt
and Ronnestad, 1 992).

S upervisor factors

The ideal supervisor has been described as a person who exhibits

high levels of empathy, understanding, unconditional positive
regard, flexibility, concern, attention, investment, curiosity and
openness (Carifio and Hess, 1 987). Although such personal qual­
ities are valuable in any relationship, these descriptors focus
almost entirely on the intra- and interpersonal characteristics of an
individual. They implicitly suggest that supervisors are born and
not made. All individuals bring to supervision their own inter­
personal characteristics, knowledge, abilities and cultural values.
Even so, supervisors express these characteristics uniquely as the
foundation on which the supervisory role is built. Supervisors can
enhance their own interpersonal style by the manner in which
they use their repertoire of interpersonal skills and clinical knowl­
edge to be deliberate, systematic and relevant in their profeSSional
role.
In SAS, five factors have been identified in the empirical or
conceptual literature as relevant to the supervisor's performance.
These are: professional experience in counselling and supervision;
theoretical orientation to counselling; expectations concerning
roles, for the supervisor and supervisee; cultural characteristics
including race, ethnicity, and gender; and self-presentation. Brief
 Supervisor Functions Supervision Tasks
Supervision Tasks
Monitoring/evaluating Counselling skill
c:
Advising/instructing o Case conceptualization
Modelling
Consulting/exploring
:�
n;
iii
c:
Professional role

o Emotional awareness
a
Supporting/sharing Cl. (t;: Self-evaluation
QJ .... ·e
:3 c: .!! Q)
u 8 ct 2
Monitoring/
evaluating
�I--�----r---�---r--�
Advising!
instructing
Process
�I--�----r---�---r--�
Supervisor ....uncl:lons Modelling Matrix

Key for SAS Intervention

.= Strategic Intervention
Figure 1 .2 The Process Matrix (Tasks and Functions) (Holloway
. = O riginal lntervention
1 995; copyright by Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Reprinted with permission of the author.)
 A FRAM EWORK FOR SUPERVrSION TRAINING 25

definitions are included here to clarify their functional meaning in

the SAS model.

PROFESSI O N A L E X P E R I E N C E . It has been suggested in the super­

vision literature that the supervisor engages in a developmental
process of change that unfolds as the supervisor gets involved in
the unique demands of the supervisory role (see Wa lsh, 1994) .
Whether this i s accurate remains to b e determined. Empirically, at
least, the amount of experience in counselling and supervision
appears to be related to the types of judgements made by super­
visors regarding self-disclosure, supervisee performance, and
instructional approach to supervision.

THEORETI C A L O R I E NTATION . The supervisor has the task of teach­

ing the supervisee the application of theoretical principles of
counselling as they are relevant to the individuals and cases
trainees will encounter. Thus, supervisors rely explicitly and
implicitly on their own knowledge base to determine what to
teach as well as how to teach it. Some theories of supervision
generally maintain that the supervisor 's method is intrinsically
linked to the counselling approach. Cross-theoretical approaches
have tried to create models unique to supervision that are not
wholly dependent on theories of counselli ng. Nevertheless, super­
visors' theoretical orientation to counselling or to particular
aspects of human behaviour remains important when und er­
standing their thinking and action.

ROLES. Social role theories outline the behaviour considered to

be a part of the supervisory relationship, specifically the role of
the supervisor. The most frequently recognized roles are those of
teacher, counsellor and consultant, but the roles of evaluator,
lecturer and model of professional practice have also been used to
describe supervisor behaviours and attitudes (Goodyear and
Bradley, 1983; Hess, 1 980).

C U LT U R A L C H A I< ACTER ISTICS. The supervisor brings to the rela­

tionship his or her way of viewing human behaviour, inter­
personal relations and social institutions that is largely influenced
by cultural socialization. Because cultural perspective is relevant
to the conceptualization of both professionalism and mental
health, the SAS model considers cultural values as salient to the
supervisor ' s attitudes and actions Cultural cha racteristics include
gender, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and
26 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

personal values that strongly influence an individual's social and

moral judgements (Carroll and Holloway, 1 999). In the SAS
modet the relationship of supervision is understood from a
perspective of power and involvement - inherent qualities in
cross-cultural and cross-gender interactions that indicate the com­
plex, sometimes subtle, but always critical aspects of supervisory
work.

SELF-PRESENTATION. In SAS, the term self-presentation is used to

refer to each participant's interpersonal presentation of self. This
term originates in the social psychological literature concerned
with impression formation. In the interpersonal psychotherapy
literature, such behaviours are referred to as 'a person's style of
relating', habitual ways of behaving that have been learned early
in life and are maintained through adulthood (Teyber, 1 988). It
might be argued that in supervision self-presentational style is
always a factor; however, it is under particular conditions that
style becomes prominent and decidedly the primary factor in the
course of communication.

TEACHING EXERCISE FOR SUPERVISOR REFLECTION. Ask supervisors

to pair up and engage in a dialogue of reflection on their history
and thinking about being a supervisor and being supervised.
Have one person take the role of the interviewer and the other
person of the interviewee. Have the interviewer guide the super­
visor in talking about each of the five elements in the supervisor
wing of the model. At the completion of the dialogue each
participant should write a brief memo (a single page at most). The
supervisor might reflect on what he/ she learned about him/
herself as a supervisor. The interviewer might reflect on what new
things he/she learned about the interviewee, and /or supervision,
and / or the experience of being the interviewer. Dyads can then
switch roles and repeat the exercise. About thirty minutes per
interview and memo-writing (total sixty minutes) should be allot­
ted for this exercise.

Supervisee factors

Who is the ideal supervisee? The psychological health and perso­

nal character of the therapist has been considered to be of primary
importance in the traditional training of the analyst. In-depth
personal therapy has been regarded as a critical element in the
 A FRAMEWORK FOR SUPERVISION TRAINING 27

training process (a) to enhance the therapist's ability as an

unbiased clinical observer and to mitigate the effects of counter­
transference; (b) to demonstrate experientially the validity of
therapy as a treatment; (c) to model first-hand the techniques
of psychotherapy; and ( d ) to improve the psychological health of
the therapist and ameliorate the stresses of practice (Wampler and
Strupp, 1 976). In the 1 980s, as models of supervision began to
attend to the actual process and strategy of supervision (Goodyear
and Bradley, 1 983; Hess, 1 980; Loganbill, Hardy and Delworth,
1 982; Stoltenberg, 1 981 ), researchers beca me interested in charac­
teristics of the supervisee that might influence the supervisory
relationship (d. Holloway. 1 984; Russell, Crimmings and Lent,
1 984; Worthington, 1 987) . The trainee's cultural experience, gen­
der. cognitive and ego-development, professional identity, experi­
ence level in counselling, theoretical orientation to counselling,
and self-presentation were identified in the empirical and con­
ceptual literature as important factors in supervision. In SAS,
these characteristics of the supervisee have been grouped into five
supervisee fa ctors: experience in counselling, theoretical orienta­
tion in counselling, learning style and needs, cultural character­
istics, and self-presentation. A brief definition follows.

EXPERIENCE I N COUNSELLI NG. Experience level has been a fre­

quently studied factor in supervision research. The trainee's famil­
iarity with the professional role and tasks of counselling appears
to be related to the supervisor's expectation of supervisee compe­
tence and the supervisee' s needs. The experience of the learner
has also been connected to the need for support and structure in
supervision. Experience in counselling should not be confused
with cognitive or ego-developmental factors tha t may influence
the trainee's performance or the supervisor 's choice of supervi­
sory method . In SAS, developmental cognitive and ego character­
istics of the supervisee are d iscussed under iearning style and
needs, and self-presentation, respectively.

THEORETICAL ORIE NTATION . The theoretical orientation of the

supervisee has not received much attention in the research lit­
erature ( Holloway, 1 992; 1 995); however, most supervisors would
concur that the views a supervisee holds about human behaviour
and change will certainly be a part of supervision. Perhaps,
because much research in supervision has been about supervisees
early in their professional training, there is not a clear theoretical
28 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

designation expected of these individuals. Instead, the focus is on

the development of a personal model of counselling that matches
generally expected principles of personality and counselling the­
ory.

L EARNING STYLE / NEEDS. In the SAS model, learning style and

needs refer generally to that identified group of developmental
factors relevant to the trainee's approach to and perception of the
supervisory experience ( Holloway, 1 995). Developmental charac­
teristics such as conceptual level (Harvey, Hunt and Schroder,
1 96 1 ) and ego-development (Loevinger, 1 976) have been exam­
ined in light of the acquisition of counselling skills such as
empathy and clinical hypothesis formation (for example, Borders,
Fong and Neimeyer, 1 986). Stoltenberg and Delworth ( 1 987) pre­
scribed matches between the developmental characteristic of con­
ceptual level and the degree of structure in supervision. For
example, the greater the tolerance for ambiguity and the more
relativistic the thinking, the greater opportunity for the supervisor
to offer a more unstructured approach to supervision. Unfortu­
nately, there are few empirical findings to guide the supervisor in
choosing those strategies that would reflect a structured versus an
unstructured learning environment.
Poulin's ( 1 992) dimensionalization of reflected interviews of
expert supervisors found that the supervisor thought of super­
visee characteristics in three categories: as a person, a counsellor,
and a student. Within these categories the supervisor counselled
trainees' learning needs within the context of the style in which
they learned and their readiness to assimilate and make use of the
knowledge (see Holloway, 1 995).

CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS. This area includes gender, ethnicity,

race, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and personal values that
may be central to an individual's group identity, similarly to the
cultural factors of the supervision. In SAS, cultural values are seen
as salient to the trainee's attitudes and actions toward their clients
and supervisors; that is, in any interpersonal situation. Research
in this supervision area is relatively limited, although there has
been significantly more research on the relation of cultural vari­
ables to counselling relationship and effectiveness (d. Atkinson,
Morten and Sue, 1 989; Pedersen, 1 985; Sue and Sue, 1 990; Tyler,
 A FRAMEWORK FOR SUPERVISION TRAINING 29

Brome and Williams, 1 99] ). The structure of power and involve­

ment in the supervisory relationship may be particularly complex
in a cross-cultural context because of the added complexity of
power in society in general between oppressed and non­
oppressed groups (Martinez and Holloway, 1 997; Nelson and
Holloway, 1 999; Solomon, 1 983). There has been limited research
on the relation of gender and role (supervisor/ supervisee) to
process characteristics of power and involvement (Nelson and
Holloway, 1 990). Although similar studies examining ethnic or
racial minorities in cross-cultural situations do not exist at this
time, it is likely that the positional power of the supervisor or
supervisee might be in contradiction to the usual social arrange­
ments and thus conceivably be problematic.

SELF-PRESENTATION. Self-presentation is a social-psychological

term that refers to the regulation of one's behaviours to create a
particular impression on others (Jones and Pittman, 1 982). A brief
discussion of this construct appears under 'Supervisor factors:
self-presentation' (this chapter, p. 23). The trainee's interpersonal
and emotional characteristics in supervisory and counselling rela­
tionships have been included in the research of self-presentational
behaviours (Ward, Friedlander et al., 1 985). Constructs such as
interpersonal patterns (Friedlander, Siegel and Brenock, 1 989),
reactance, potential defensiveness and counter defensiveness have
been studied in relation to the process of supervision and relation­
ship variables (Tracey, Ellickson and Sherry, 1 989).

TEACHING EXERCISE FOR SUPERVISEE REFLECTION . Ask supervisors to

pair up and for one to be in the role of supervisee while the other
is the supervisor. You might also want to add an observer role to
provide feedback on the interactional process. Have the super­
visor engage the supervisee in a discussion of each of the five
factors on the SAS supervisee wing. This exercise is practice for
collecting information about the supervisee's experience and char­
acteristics and using it to plan training interventions. Supervisors
might think of using these topics for discussion in their first or
second supervisory interview with a new supervisee. This inter­
action generally takes about thirty minutes with an additional
fifteen minutes for feedback and discussion of the critical aspects
of the interaction and the supervisee's training needs.
30 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Client factors

The client is always present in the supervISIon. Indeed, the

supervisor's raison d 'i'trc is to ensure that the supervisee can
deliver effective service to the client. Yet, ironically, there is little
research that examines client change or characteristics as an
outcome or in relation to the supervision process (Holloway and
Neufeldt, 1 995). In SAS there are three client factors: client charac­
teristics, client iden tified problem and diagnosis, and counselling
relationship.

C LIENT C H A R A CTERISTICS. An important and frequently resear­

ched area has been on the variety of client attributes in relation to
the process and outcome of psychotherapy. Characteristics and
variables that have been studied include social class, personality
traits, age, gender, intelligence, race and ethnicity. Some of these
characteristics have some real practical value in determining the
appropriateness of brief versus long-term therapy and pre-mature
termination (Garfield, 1 994). The reievance of these general client
characteristics, rather than specific diagnostic attributes, has not
been studied within the context of supervision and l or training.
However, in practice, the supervisor frequently considers the
client age, ethnicity, gender and race in determining the appro­
priateness of the match between counsellor and client as well as in
problem-solving various difficulties that may emerge in the coun­
selling relationship. The literature on matching client gender and l
or ethnic minority status with therapists suggests that although
there appears to be a preference for ethnically similar counsellors,
this is not consistently evident in the empirical literature (Cole­
man, Wampold and Casali, 1 994). It behoves the supervisor to
recognize that variables such as social desirability, attitudes and
values may play an important role in the potential effectiveness of
the counsellor. Ineffectiveness may be attributed to the lack of
similarity between client and therapist rather than discussing in
depth other characteristics of the client and l or counsellor that
may be inhibiting progress.

I DENTIFI E D PROBLEM A N D DI A CNOSIS. The identification of the

client's problem is often the first topic for discussion in super­
vision. This might include a formal DSM IV assessment and
diagnosis or a more problem-solving description of the client's
presenting concern. New clients may be introduced to the train-
 A FRAMEWORK FOR SUPERVISION TRAINING 31

ee's caseload after careful screening by the agency and /or the
supervisor. Supervisors in practice often screen clients for begin­
ning level trainees to ensure that they will be assigned only cases
appropriate to their level of competence. Supervisors also may
choose cases for trainees based on the supervisor's areas of
expertise. Occasionally, clients may be dealing with issues that are
similar to a life circumstance that the supervisee has not yet
resolved, and the supervisor then refers the client rather than risk
the almost certain counter-transference that would emerge in the
therapeutic relationship. Additionally, other characteristics of
the client are relevant to the supervisor 's and trainee's choice of
topic of supervision and the manner in which they engage with
one another. The supervisor is responsible for ensuring that the
client will receive adequate treatment from the supervisee. In part,
this assessment of the match between the supervisee's area and
level of competence and the client's needs will depend on the
severity of the client's problem. Axis IV of the DSM V is reserved
for rating the severity of the psychosocial stressors in an individ­
ual's life. The degree of stress is then examined in light of the
client's mental condition, or the nature of the problem and past
adaptability to living, in order to determine the course of treat­
ment. If a client is severely depressed or aggressive and is
experiencing a very high number of stressors, then the supervisor
and counsellor may need to do a specific assessment for suicide
and / or homicide potential.

C HARACTERISTICS OF THE COUNSELLING RELATIONSHIP. The counsel­

ling relationship is an important basis from which to understand
the impact of different treatment strategies as well as the effective­
ness of the supervisee in creating a therapeutic relationship (Hol­
loway and Neufeldt, 1 995). The re-enactment of the relationship
dynamics in the supervisory situation is a familiar phenomenon
to supervisors and has been named the 'parallel process' (Doehr­
man, 1 976; Ekstein and Wallerstein, 1 958). Parallel process occurs
when the central dynamic process of the counselling relationship
is unconsciously acted out by the supervisee in the supervision
relationship. The supervisee may be experiencing d ifficulty with
the client and feels powerless to change the situation therapeuti­
cally, so he or she takes on interpersonal strategies similar to the
client's form of resistance. If the supervisor does not recognize the
dynamic as a part of the counselling situation and the trainee's
feelings of powerlessness, then the supervisor may collude with
32 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

this re-enactment by adopting a role similar to that of the trainee

in the counselling relationship. The obvious result is an impasse in
supervision. A supervisor who recognizes the parallel process can
intervene directly with the supervisee, thus breaking the impasse
in supervision while concurrently modelling effective interperso­
nal strategies for the supervisee. Thus, with effective supervisory
intervention, the supervisee begins to understand, both experien­
tially and conceptually, the meaning of the client's behaviour and
is able to resume a therapeutic approach to the problem.

TEACHING EXERCISE FOR U � DE RSTA � DI!\:C THE C LI EN T PROCESS. This

exercise is designed to uncover parallel processes in supervision.
The trainer can show a brief videotape of a counselling inter­
action. The trainer (or informed confederate) takes the role of the
supervisee and a member of the group becomes the su pervisor.
The supervision interaction is done in front of the group and the
supervisee creates a dilemma that encourages the development of
a parallel process in supervision. The demonstration should take
about twenty-five to thirty minutes, following which the group is
able to use the SAS model to uncover the parallel process struc­
ture. (For an example of a parallel process training situation and
the SAS analysis see Holloway, 1 995: ch. 6).

i ll s t i 1 1 1 t iO llai fa ctors

Supervision, whether a part of a training programme or continu­

ing profeSSional development, takes place in the context of institu­
tional organizations, such as in-house departmental clinics,
university counselling centres, hospitals, or community mental
health or other service settings. The role of supervision in respect
to the service demands of the organization is an important con­
sideration in establishing goals and functions of supervision (Car­
roll and Holloway, 1 999; Proctor, 1 997). Yet the influence of
organizational variables on supervision has rarely been investi­
gated or discussed in the professional literature ( Holloway and
Roehlke, 1 987). Institutional characteristics were first defined in
SAS as an organizational clientele, the organizational structure
and climate, and professional ethics and standards. However, the
SAS model has been adapted to multi-disciplinary and organiza­
tional systems. In these environments the supervisor needs to
attend to a more detailed knowledge of the organization's charac­
teristics - for example, of such factors as mission, staffing prac-
 A FRAMEWORK FOR SUPERVISION TRAINING 33

tices, decision-making (formal and informal) and the history of

the organization, among others unique to the supervisor' s con­
tract with the organization. These additional factors are described
briefly here.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS. Mission: The purpose and

goals of the organization as they relate to both (a) internal
organization and services, and (b) external relations with the
community and other collateral organizations. Staffing: personnel,
full-time and part-time professional and support staff; recruitment
and selection criteria and procedures; salary and promotion poli­
cies. Management structure: management, lines of authority, lines
of communication, supervisory relations, formal and informal
decision-making processes, and formative and summative evalu­
ation procedures. Climate and morale: historical and current
organizational culture, political agenda, attitudes and behaviours
with regard to professional activities and co-workers. Ethics and
standards: mandated and /or expected standards for service
within the organization, cost accountability, oversight regulation
by external organizations, and individual ethics of the super­
visors.

TEACHING EXERCISE TO U NDERSTAND THE INSTITUTION . Ask super­

visors to form groups of three or four classmates. One volunteer is
needed, to be interviewed by the group. The volunteer supervisor
should be prepared to discuss various aspects of the organiza­
tional setting in which they work and to have a specific problem
situation that is a result of the organization's structure in relation
to supervision. The factors they might consider are on the institu­
tional wing of Figure 1 . 1 . Members of the group ask questions
about the organizational setting to uncover the characteristics that
might underlie the dilemma that the supervisor faces. This exer­
cise usually takes about thirty minutes and is something like a
detective game as members of the group try to figure out what the
problem in the organization in relation to supervision might be.

Applying the SAS model to teaching supervision

I have described the seven components of the Systems Approach

to Supervision (SAS) model used in analysing the supervision
process. These have included the factors of supervision (task and
34 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

function), the relationship of supervision, and the contextual

factors (supervisor, supervisee, institution and client). I have
suggested exercises to teach the differential nature of these dimen­
sions while allowing for the specifics of their own context of
practice and supervision. Although, for purposes of explication,
these factors have been talked about in isolation, they are indeed
interrelated, often occurring together in the same supervisory
session. Potentially there is a multitude of relationships that are
directly or indirectly part of any discussion of training in super­
vision. Each supervisor may have several trainees and in turn
each supervisee may have several clients. Further, in the group
consultation there is not only the relationship between each
supervisor and the trainer, but also the relationships among the
various supervisor members. Clearly not all of these relationships
will be discussed explicitly in the group nor will the trainer know
all of these relationships in detail. However, when supervisor
members raise issues in the group, their perspective will be
shaped by their observation and experience of these various
relationships and contexts.
Any discussion of the teaching of supervision must involve a
discussion of the practice of supervision and the practice of
counselling. All three processes - teaching supervision, super­
vision practice and counselling practice - are necessarily linked by
their concurrence and the supervisors' and supervisees' roles in
the group consultation on supervision and the counselling rela­
tionship, respectively. Because the distinction among these three
contexts of teaching and practising are easily confused, for the
sake of clarity I have named them as follows. The counselling
relationship refers to each or all of the counsellor trainee's
counsellor-client dyads. The supervisory relationship refers to each
or all of the supervisor's supervisor-trainee dyads. The con­
sultative group refers to the group of supervisors who meet with a
trainer to discuss and learn about their practice of supervision. By
understanding the linkage among these three relational contexts,
the tasks and processes of teaching supervision in a group setting
might be further illuminated. The group consultation may deal
with any of the roles or issues that emerge in these three inter­
related contexts. Central to the purpose of the supervision con­
sultation group are questions that relate to the supervisory
performance of each relationship between the supervisor and
individual members of the group. The supervisors face two
central tasks: What sholild I teaclz ? How slzould I create a relationship
 A FRAMEWORK FOR SUPERVISION TRAINING 35

that facilitates the supervisee learning the teaching objectives ? With

these questions as a point of departure, the trainer can begin by
providing a context for the supervisor's experience. Reference to
the model may assist the supervisor in identifying the source or
sources of the current dilemma, how these factors interrelate, and
how the factors influence the three relational contexts. In the
teaching of supervision, I encourage supervisors to consider the
following questions while reflecting on their work.
1. What factors are influencing the participants' judgements in
guiding the supervision process?
2. What characteristics of the contextual factors have they relied
on in their decision-making?
3. What characteristics have they not considered but which,
upon reflection, seem important in designing a teaching
approach in supervision?
4. What kinds of roles do they tend to manifest in supervision,
and are these the most beneficial for learning to take place?
5. What tasks of supervision do they focus on with particular
trainees?

Supervision consultation case analysis

Through my years of teaching supervision I have collected tales

of supervisors' struggles to become more effective in teaching
the practice of counselling. Common themes have emerged
across the years. I have chosen one common theme to
illustrate the application of the SAS model in teaching super­
vision. The supervisor's original intervention and thinking is
depicted in the The supervisor's dilemma'; in the strategic
analysis, including salient factors and critical discoveries that
emerged from the discussion; and, finally in the 'Process matrix
of supervision' indicating the original task and function of the
supervisor and the suggested target for i ntervention, is depiC­
ted in Figure 1 .2. The purpose of the diagrams (Figures 1 . 1 and
1 .2) is to emphasize the evolutionary change in focus through­
out the process of the consultation and to demonstrate the
way in which the SAS model may be used graphically in case
analysis.

The supervisor's dilemma (see Figure 1 . 1 )

Both supervisors came to me in disarray. Their trainees were
not accepting supervision. They were unwilling to talk about
36 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

their own feelings and thoughts about the counselling relation­

ship and about the supervisory relationship. What was the
cause of their supervisees' resistance? The supervisors were
deeply concerned about the supervisees' futures as counsel­
lors since they were unable to engage i n the supervisory
process. They were advanced in their clinical skills and experi­
ence and were dedicated professionals. They were supervising
beginning level practicum students because of their commit­
ment to training professionals and because of their enjoyment
of the supervision process.

The clinical service setting

This was a small non-profit community agency that offered
services to low-income people. All counselling sessions of
trainees were audiotaped for supervision purposes.

The supervisees
The trainees were both mature i ndividuals who had entered
the counselling profession from other fields. They were eager
to learn how to do counselling and were very involved in their
placement setting. One supervisee was a European-American
male who had been a teacher for five years. The other
supervisee was a bicultural. European-American and American­
Indian female and had worked extensively in community action
organizations prior to returning to the university for counsel­
lor training.

The supervisors' stories

Rebecca: 'My supervisee is having difficulty establishing bound­
aries with her client and it seems at times that the two of them
are friends chatting on the street. I have explored with the
supervisee the difference between friendships and therapy and
felt that although she had an intellectual understanding of this,
that she wasn't able to translate this into the practice of her
role. The chatting, although somewhat diminished in the ses­
sions, seems unpredictable and I don't think she can recognize
the boundaries between the two roles. So that is when I
decided to begin a process of emotional exploration with her.
I've worked really hard at bringing her into her own awareness
and felt satisfied with her willingness to self-disclose about her
 A FRAMEWORK FOR SUPERVISION TRAIN I NG 37

personal feelings in reference to this client. In fact, I followed

this up with two more supervisory sessions in which we
probed the meaning of friendships in her culture and the need
to feel accepted as a person and professional. I really enjoyed
the complexity and connection between the professional
boundaries and their connection with the cultural background
of the counsellor. I began to teach her about the importance of
separation and the implications of dual relationships and ethics.
She really became very tearful and then shut down. I didn't
really understand what had happened and then in the last
session before today she came in very angry with me for
intruding into her personal world and for my lack of sensitivity
to cultural background. She insisted that I stick to supervision
and teach her the skills of the profession, not try to be her
therapist. I was so shocked at the i ntensity of her reaction and
even more shocked that she felt I was mixing up the bound­
aries.'
Georgine. I really know what you are going through. My
supervisee seems completely incapable of exploring his own
emotional response to his client. He's really trying to befriend
his client and is actually giving her feedback on how he sees her
as a woman. I think that he is trying to assure her that she is a
nice person, someone that he would find attractive. I am so
exasperated with him. He is unable or unwilling to get at what
made it so necessary to reach across his professional bound­
aries like this. I have confronted him several times on this
inappropriate behaviour with the client. Last time I observed
his counselling session with this client I was totally undone. He
seemed to be deliberately seductive with her. In the last
supervision session, he told me in no uncertain terms to lay off
him about exploring his feelings about the client and that what
he really needed was to learn the skills of being a counsellor. If
he wanted therapy, he'd pay a counsellor for it.

The consultation
Both supervisors sat across from me for their joint consulta­
tion hour. Rebecca is a very thoughtful, still type of person.
Her quiet intelligence is probably the first view you have of her.
There is a persistence and tenacity in the way she takes hold of
an idea and runs underground with it. She has a keen set of
antennae that pick up the nuances of behaviours and their
38 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

meaning. She looked pretty discouraged today and running

through it was something of a rage, at least what might be the
glimpse of a rage for Rebecca. She started her tale at a higher
pitch than usual and I was immediately alerted to the type of
intensity she conveyed.
Georgine had a certain serenity about her. She has a great
way of being quietly present, delivering searing confrontations
with hardly a ripple in her composure and yet with a support
and warmth that leaves a l ingering feeling that you are cared
about in spite of the fact that there are clearly things you need
to change. They looked at me expectantly, knowing my pre­
dilection for complex interpersonal analysis. I could feel thei r
suggestion that I begin a n exploration o f their feelings i n their
respective supervision relationships. I felt tugged by the seduc­
tion of their intensity and our history of untangling the webs of
emotion and behaviour in relationship. I knew just as surely
that it must be d ifferent this time. They needed to be taught
rather directly the boundaries of their roles and the meaning
of the contract and development of the supervisory relation­
ship, just as surely as their students needed to understand the
boundaries of their roles as counsellors. I needed to give to
them what their students were asking - that is, to understand
experientially the importance of skill acquisition in empower­
ment. As boring and interpersonally i rrelevant as it may seem
to them in this moment, I must remind them of the purpose of
their supervision contract and the level of experience of their
trainees. I offered them the possibility that their trainees did
just not know how to show warmth and genuineness within
the frame of a counselling relationship. This was indeed a
parallel process with the counselling and supervisory relation­
ship that needed to be stopped at the consultative level. We
had to engage in a clear and careful analysis of their supervi­
sory method. And so initially we began a process of examining
the skills that the trainees lacked, and thought about supervi­
sory approaches to teach these skills. We kept the focus on
skills that might help facilitate the trainees in learning the role
of counsellor. I could tell they were dubious and really wanted
to divert our attention to their feelings about not being
appreCiated as supervisors after all their work and attention to
these fledgling counsellors. I resisted and waited until we had
dealt with the skills and teaching methods; and then we
ventured into talk of relationship, culture and gender and how
 A FRAMEWORK FOR SUPERVISION TRAINING 39

these factors were influencing their i nvolvement with their

trainees.

The SAS analysis (see Figure 1 .2)

The supervisors had not misread the difficulty the counsellors
were having in the development of the counselling relation­
ships, but they had chosen a counselling function to focus
almost exclusively on the trainees' emotional awareness to
address this issue. The counsellors i nitially found themselves
fol lowing this lead, but then felt that they were being seduced
into a counselling relationship and being denied the skills that
they needed to act differently. The supervisors needed to
return to their understanding of the supervisory contract. Had
they maintained the boundaries of the supervisory relation­
ship? They needed to examine the phase of relationship and the
level of experience of the supervisee. They were in fai rly new
relationships where deep self-disclosure might have been seen
as premature. Their persistent focus on the trainees' self­
disclosure was overly intense. Although initially an appropriate
venture. it soon became too demanding and seemingly unre­
lated to the client the supervisee had to face each week. These
were beginning-level counsellors and they needed to learn a
level of skill that could help them implement their intellectual
understanding of the counsellor role. They needed skills other
than thei r friendship skills to create a faci litative and warm
relationship. The supervisors' own preference for interperso­
nal awareness and counselling-type interventions in super­
vision - that is. their expectation of the role of the supervisor
being too narrowly defined - prevented them from acknowl­
edging the need to provide skill training to these supervisees.
The importance of the gender and cultural differences
between the supervisors and their supervisees also played a
role in their lack of sensitivity to the supervisees' anger. The
supervisors assumed that the trainees' use of relationship skills
was based on some dysfunctional reason for needing to be
friends with their clients. Although they were able to engage in
a conversation with their supervisees about cultural mores and
tradition in professional relationships. in action they were
defying those norms in their persistence for self-disclosure and
more intimate conversation. The supervisees felt that their
40 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

behaviours with their clients were being interpreted in a way

that maligned their i ntentions.
Eventually the supervisees were able to explain thei r inten­
tions to their supervisors from a cultural and gender per­
spective. The supervisors were able to identify specifically
those behaviours of the supervisees that were i neffective in the
counselling context, and the supervisees were able to suggest
ways they could be with the client that would ameliorate the
situation but still feel genuine and culturally and gender con­
gruent. Rebecca finally began a discussion of counselling
approaches that were most effective with her trainee's own
cultural groups and of the differences in relational structure
and role that would be expected in cultures other than
European-American. For both supervisors, understanding the
meaning of their initial supervisory focus on personal aware­
ness from a cultural and gender perspective was very impor­
tant in finding a way to relate appropriately to their
supervisees. The consultative process is situated in the I nstitu­
tional Factors wing and the existing and potential parallel
processes - between the supervisees' counselling relationships,
the supervisory relationship, and the consultative relationship
- are highlighted.

Concluding remarks

The SAS model invites practitioners and educators of supervision

to reflection on what they do in supervision, to ask difficult
questions about the meaning of their work, to uncover their own
intuitive knowledge, and to use a common language to commu­
nicate this to others. The model attempts to integrate the research
and practice knowledge of supervision and synthesize it in a way
that is immediately practical and relevant to the understanding
and teaching of supervision. I have tried to be explicit and
concrete about a very complex instructional method without
suggesting that there is a 'how to' or 'should do' of supervision.

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2 Training in the tasks of
sup e rvlslon
Michael Carroll

Introduction

I have been involved with clinical supervision for almost twenty

years now. My initial interest emerged during my first supervision
experience when, during my training as a counselling psycholo­
gist, I arranged a placement (internship) in a youth counselling
agency. I worked there for approximately 500 hours engaging in
individual counselling with adolescents, training in parenting
skills, doing group work with young people and becoming
involved in a number of allied schemes around counselling and
education. Overall, it was great experience. What was not so great
was my experience of supervision. On my arrival and with my
introduction to the service I was allocated a supervisor, an experi­
enced trainer, counsellor and manager of the whole service. He
was delighted to see me and greatly appreciated my work with
the service, but not once did we meet for formal supervision. He
was, as he put it, 'there if I needed him', giving the impression
that supervision was for emergencies or instances of work I felt
beyond my competencies. An occasional informal chat, as we
drank coffee, met with the rest of the staff, or even when we
played squash together was the sum-total of my supervision
experience. I left, relishing my work in the agency but regretting
not being supervised. Later I was to regret even more not having
this experience to help me understand the tasks of supervision
from both perspectives: those of the supervisor and those of the
supervisee.
My next experience of supervision came about two years after
qualifying and working as a counselling psychologist, and was a
 TRAINING IN THE TASKS OF SUPERVISION 45

request to supervise. The request to become a supervisor pro­

pelled me into thinking through what it meant and how it could
be set up. I found myself struggling with questions such as:
What was I supposed to do as a supervisor?
What were my responsibilities, ethical and legal?
What steps need I take to ensure the quality of the counselling
work undertaken by my supervisee?
What were the tasks and roles in which we, supervisor and
supervisee, were involved?

The issue of what were the tasks of supervision had again raised
its head and I was, again, without clear answers.

Background Influences

Having forged some kind of working model of supervision to

keep me going, I began to read up on supervision and eventually
got some training in being a supervisor. During this training the
question of supervision tasks emerged: what do supervisors and
supervisees do? What tasks and roles do they engage in to meet
the aims and purposes of supervision? I began to read the
academic literature on supervision and I quickly discovered that
supervision had quite a history, and a history that outlined a
number of supervisory tasks.
These tasks crystallized around six elements that have influenced
and continue to influence my work as a supervisor today and are
the basis for my interest in and articulation of supervisory tasks.
The first is the human and perennial need of people to have a
forum of reflection. Reflexivity is the process by which learning
emerges from experience and is integrated into new ways of
engaging with life. Creating an environment to facilitate this
reflection is no mean skill. My second influence is the concept of
mentoring. Not quite a parent, not only a teacher, but a guide, an
experienced adult, Mentor, friend of Odysseus, had the task of
ensuring that the young man in his charge, Telemachus, son
of Odysseus, grew up with the values and discipline needed.
Mentor seemed to combine a number of complicated roles and
tasks into a learning relationship with Telemachus. The third
influence on my ideas of supervision is that of apprenticeship -
the medieval notion of the young person apprenticing himself!
herself to an experienced adult who taught them their trade. But
46 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

not just the trade. A relationship was formed in which the young
apprentice grew to adulthood, learning a trade, but also learning
what it meant to be an adult. A fourth influence was connecting
supervision to education. Supervision is, of itself, an educational
process built around learning styles, and educational and training
methodologies, and connects learning to teaching. A fifth influ­
ence on my understanding of supervision, and connected to
supervision as an educational process, was an awareness of the
developmental models of supervision. Realizing that the journey
from novice to professional goes through various stages helps
supervisors pitch their supervisory interventions according to the
needs of the supervisee. And finally, the sixth influence was an
awareness of the social role models of supervision which revolved
around the roles and tasks in which supervisor and supervisee
involve themselves. These six elements are the basis, in my view,
for understanding and working with the tasks of supervision.

The tasks of supervision

My interest in the tasks of supervision led me to set up a research

project to see if, and in what form, they existed and then to test
them in reality. Were there generic tasks of supervision that
crossed counselling orientation and were ingrained in all forms of
supervision? I used four methods to help me identify these
generic categories of supervisory tasks. The literature (both
research and theoretical) was reviewed in depth to discover as
many supervisory tasks as possible. In particular, the social role
models of supervision were used. The second area considered was
that of my own and others' experience of being supervisors. The
third area for identifying tasks emerged from training supervisors.
During a two-year training Diploma in Supervision I presented
three classes of approximately twenty participants with a number
of categories and asked them for further tasks of supervision. A
fourth area was a small group in which I worked for a year as
both a supervisee and a trainee supervisor. This group of four (the
supervisor was a leading psychiatrist from the psychoanalytic
tradition) reviewed their own client work and drew learning
dimensions from it in respect of supervision. It was here that one
element emerged as crucial, namely the administrative aspects of
client work.
 TRAINING IN THE TASKS OF SUPERVISION 47

From the literature, from the experience of being supervised

and being a supervisor, and from training others as supervisors,
seven tasks emerged:

1. the relationship task

2. the teaching/learning task
3. the counselling task
4. the monitoring task (monitoring professional/ ethical issues)
5. the evaluation task
6. the consultative task
7. the administrative task

I went on to set up three research projects on these seven tasks

(Carroll, 1 995). Besides researching the seven tasks I also tried to
integrate them into training courses for supervisors, and to date
have used this training with: treatment managers in the prison
service; clinical psychologists; personnel/ human resources offi­
cers; priests; counsellors, counselling psychologists and psycho­
therapists; youth and community workers; nurses; and managers
in companies. These courses took place in a number of settings -
hospitals, universities, counselling services and counselling cen­
tres and training programmes, companies and organizations both
public and private. Using the tasks of supervision has enabled me
to focus more clearly on training in supervision, covering areas
where one individual meets another to help that person review
his or her work.

The tasks of supervision

The practicality of being a supervisor means being skilled in the

tasks of supervision: hence the importance of training aspiring
supervisors in the generic tasks of supervision. This training takes
place in two parts: the first presents the seven generic tasks of
supervision and helps supervisors learn to understand and imple­
ment them with supervisees; in the second part they learn to work
with and practise the skills of each task.
The first element in training in the tasks of supervision is to
help participants understand what are the tasks of supervision
and have a working knowledge of them. For this I go back to
input on the tasks and look in some detail at the social role
models.
48 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Background

The 'tasks of supervision' have their roots in early understandings

of supervision in which supervisor and supervisee adopt certain
relationships towards one another. Bee and Mitchell ( 1984: 22)
have defined the term 'role' as 'the content of a position or the
behavioural implications of occupying that position' . From within
a specific supervisory context, Holloway and Acker ( 1989: 3) have
viewed roles as 'sets of behaviours that create certain expectancies
of performance for the actor and the receiver in the encounter' . It
is principally from these models that supervisory 'tasks' will be
considered, tasks being seen as the crucial 'performance' or 'work'
that is engendered by roles. The social role models attempt to tell
us what supervisors and supervisees do within supervision, what
tasks are performed and by whom.
Perhaps the central word used throughout is the term 'task' . A
task has been defined as 'a piece of work imposed, exacted or
undertaken as a duty or the like . . . a fixed or specified quantity of
work imposed on or exacted from a person . . . the work
appointed to one as a definite duty' (Onions, 1 968: 2135). In the
context of supervision the question that emerges is that of
the specific work of supervisor and supervisee. What are the tasks
(the specific work) of supervisors, and what are the tasks (the
work appointed) assigned to supervisees?
Tasks are the behavioural side of roles. A role is person-centred
(teacher /pupil); the task is action-centred (to teach/to learn).
Even though a strong notional distinction is made between roles
and tasks, in reality they combine.
A number of social role models of supervision that specifically
address the roles of supervisors have been outlined (Bernard,
1 979; Ekstein, 1 964; Ekstein and Wallerstein, 1 972; Hess, 1 980;
Holloway, 1 984, 1 995; Littrell, Lee-Borden, and Lorenz, 1 979).
Bernard's ( 1979) discrimination model is a pioneering study in
roles; Ekstein (1 964) and Ekstein and Wallerstein ( 1972) are the
earliest to isolate supervisor roles; Hess's relationship model
offers a different vantage point with its concentration on the
supervisory relationship; Littrell, Lee-Borden, and Lorenz (1 979)
attempt to combine a developmental model with supervisor roles;
and Holloway's work is the most recent and the most detailed role
approach. In training potential supervisors I have found it helpful
(and they seem to find it helpful too) to outline the essence of the
 TRAINING IN THE TASKS OF SUPERVISION 49

history of tasks/ roles in supervision and provide details of some

models.

Bernard's Discrimination Model

Bernard (1 979) divided supervisor roles into three categories:

• teacher: involving feedback, information, instruction;
• consultant: understanding the counselling process;
• counsellor: looking at the person of the therapist and his/her
way of intervening.

Her training model for clinical supervision ( 1 98 1 ) has described

these three roles in terms of potential areas of focus, each of which
demands consideration and attention if the role of a counselling
supervisor is to be satisfactorily discharged: these are (a) process
(where the focus is on the relationship between counsellors and
clients and how trainees intervene in the counselling work), (b)
conceptualization (which is concerned with understanding what
is happening), and (c) personalization (which deals with the
feelings and reactions of trainees). Each role can be combined with
each area of focus (Bernard, 1 979). In combining the roles and
functions Bernard outlines a three-by-three matrix of focus points
for supervisors. Bernard's work, designed and worked out as a
training method for supervisors, is widely accepted in the super­
visory literature as an important contribution to the various roles
in which supervisors involve themselves.

Ekstein's Triangle and Ekstein and Wallerstein's Rhombus

Ekstein (1 964) visualized the supervisor's tasks (he uses this word
synonymously with roles) in terms of a triangle with the super­
visor at the centre and lines going to each of the three corners. His
aim was to ascertain if the supervisor's main task was one of
therapist (looking after the patient and/ or the therapist), didactic
teacher (educating the therapist), or administrator (looking to the
clinical setting in which clients are seen). Ekstein answered his
own question by recognizing that while the supervisor will be
pulled into each corner, his/ her main objective is to remain
'equidistant' from all three, and at the same time fulfil each task
when appropriate. He viewed 'equidistancing' as a function of
supervision.
50 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Supervisor
/ '�
Administrator

�
Patient

Figure 2.1 The Clin ical Rholllbus

What emerges strongly from this model are the clear tasks
visualized by Ekstein, that supervisors take on different roles
(tasks) at different times, sometimes as educators, sometimes as
therapists, sometimes as administrators. He was insistent that the
supervisory relationship was the context that held these tasks
together.
The clinical rhombus devised by Ekstein and Wallerstein ( 1 972)
presents the same tasks from a slightly different perspective as
outlined in Figure 2. 1 . Each of the other three roles can be viewed
from the vantage point of the fourth; for example, the supervisor
has a relationship with all three individuals (a teaching relation­
ship with the therapist, the task of maintaining clinical standards
with the patient, and a responsibility role with the adminis­
trator).
What Ekstein ( 1 964) and Ekstein and Wallerstein ( 1 972) have
offered is a series of roles (tasks) in which the supervisor engages.
What they have added to Bernard's model is the task of admin­
istration (sometimes the supervisor is also the administrator), and
the notion of 'equidistancing' .

Hess's 'Relationship' Model

Hess (1 980) viewed six forms of supervision in which he was

concerned with the relationship parameters between supervisor
and supervisee. Each role sets up a different task to be performed,
with a different kind of relationship between supervisor and
supervisee, and a different form of communication. Hess never
viewed these as exclusive but envisaged superiors using a combi­
nation of roles when appropriate.

Role Task
Lecturer to inform
Teacher to instruct (knowledge, skills, etc.)
 TRAINING IN THE TASKS OF SUPERVISION 51

Case conference facilitator to clarify clinical understanding and

make clinical decisions
Colleague-peer to support and share meanings
Monitor to protect client, trainee, agency, etc.
Therapist to deal with the personal issues of
the supervisee

Hess has brought the relationship task to the forefront and sees
it as an underlying parameter in all forms of supervision. On the
other hand he, unlike Ekstein, gives little attention to the admin­
istrative task.

Littrell, Lee-Borden and Lorenz

Littrell, Lee-Borden, and Lorenz ( 1 979) have offered a model

combining the tasks of supervision within a developmental frame­
work. They connected four models of supervision with the tasks
involved. Table 2.1 presents an overview of their model:

Table 2.1 The tasks of supervision

Supervisory model Tasks involved
Counselling therapeutic Helping the supervisee deal with personal and
emotional reactions

Teaching Instructing and facilitating conceptualization

within supervision

Consulting How best to intervene with clients

Self-supervision Creating conditions where the supervisee

monitors self on the three tasks above
Source: Littrell, Lee-Borden and Lorenz, 1979

Their suggestion is that rather than concentrate on one

approach, which supervisors often do, the complete process of
supervision combines these tasks within a developmental frame­
work. Theirs is a four-stage developmental model presented in
Table 2.2:

Table 2.2 Developmelltal framework

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4
Relationship Counselling/ therapeutic Consulting model Self-supervision
Goal-setting model
Contract Teaching model
Source: Littrell, Lee-Borden and Lorenz, 1 979
52 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Movement through the stages of the model involves different

tasks, decreased supervisor control and increased supervisee self­
direction, increased professionalization, and the ability of the
supervisor to help the supervisee progress through the various
stages. Supervisory tasks change as supervision develops.
Littrell, Lee-Borden and Lorenz (1 979) have introduced two
elements into their task-directed model. First of all they empha­
size the supervisory relationship as a key element in the learning
process. Setting up and maintaining the relationship through goal­
setting and contracting is a necessary prerequisite for the follow­
ing stages. Second, they see self-supervision as an ideal towards
which supervision should move, that is, the supervisee's ability to
provide for self what the supervisor initially provides. What is
new about their approach is the suggestion that supervisory tasks
are 'developmental' - that different tasks predominate at different
stages of the supervisory relationships.

Holloway's EPICS (Engagement and Power in Clinical

Supervision) Model

Holloway ( 1 984), Holloway and Acker ( 1 989), and Holloway

(1992, 1 995) have contributed to the social role models of super­
vision with a number of approaches.
Holloway (1984) has pinpointed five supervisor roles and five
corresponding supervisee roles as set out below (Table 2.3):

Table 2.3 Holloway's roles of supervision

Supervisor roles Supervisee roles

Monitor: evaluating professional and Applying theory in an effective and

ethical practice appropriate way

Instructor: teaching Conceptualizing practice

Consultant: conceptualizing client Understanding the client

material

Counsellor: facilitating personal growth Being open to personal growth

Colleague: self-disclosure Relating with supervisor and agency

personnel

What is special about this model is its introduction of the

'monitoring' task as a method of 'gatekeeping' for professional!
ethical issues. 'Professional behaviour' covers areas of profes-
 TRAI NING IN THE TASKS OF SUPERVISION 53

sional practice such as 'being on time, maintaining confid entiality,

the ability to effect an appropriate referral, and maintaining
appropriate personal relationships with clients' (Lanning ] 986:
1 93). Holloway, however, in the obove model, also includes, like
Hess, the relationship (is the supervisor a colleague?) as a task
within supervision.
Holloway and Acker's ( ] 989) model combined roles, tasks,
teaching objectives and teaching strategies. Based on the supervi­
sory relationship as involving the twin issues of power and
engagement, their model connected teaching objectives (content
areas that become students' leorning) and teaching stra tegies
(which are very similar to the roles outlined above and are
concerned with the particular stance taken by the supervisor) . It is
possible, though still a bit premature, to see their EPICS model as
a matrix of tasks / roles. The teaching strategies, or what they call
'roles within the supervisory position', are combined with teach­
ing objectives (called the tasks in this study) and woven into what
they call the 'EPICS ma trix' . More on this can be found in Chapter
1 above. What Holloway has contributed to the debate on the
tasks of supervision is a methodology for integrating five roles:
monitoring, instructing, modelling, counselling and consulting.
Moreover, around these tasks Holloway ( 1 995) points out the
centrality of the supervisory relationship as the context in which
tasks are performed . For her, 'the structure and character of the
relationship embodies all other factors of the supervision and in
turn all other factors are influenced by the relationship. The
process of supervision . . . is enacted within the relationship.
Understanding the relotionship is understanding the process'
( 1 995: 5 1 ) .

Conclusions

Wha t conclusions can be drown from the overview of these five

social-role models of supervision in respect of generic supervision
tasks? That tasks exist is in no d oubt: supervisor and supervisee
are present 'to do' something, to involve themselves in specific
behaviours. The five models review present tasks from different
angles. Some are universally agreed (such as teaching), and other
tasks are particular to individual authors. An analysis of the
literature on teaching, counselling and consulting since Bernard's
54 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

model shows these to be definitive tasks. Holloway (1992) and

Lanning ( 1 986) add the evaluating task (assessing the work) as a
key role within supervision, and this has been widely accepted as
fundamental by practitioners and by recent literature (Bernard
and Goodyear, 1 992; Borders and Leddick, 1 987). The supervisory
relationship has always been viewed as essential to supervision
and in recent writings seen more as a 'task', that is, something to
be done (Efstation, Patton and Kardash, 1 990; Hawkins and
Shohet, 1 989; Holloway, 1 995). It is presumed to be a container for
the many supervisory roles that make up supervision. Monitoring
the administrative aspects of supervision is very high in the social
work supervision literature (Kadushin, 1985), but has been men­
tioned only somewhat in the counselling supervision literature.
However, in recent publications it is slowly being recognized as
an important, and indeed often neglected area (Bernard and
Goodyear, 1 992: Holloway, 1 992). Thus, ad ministration seems like
an important supervisory task. The role of ethical/ professional
issues within counselling has been recognized for some time in
the profession ( ACES, 1 993; Bradley, 1 989), but there has been a
lack of clarity around its place \vithin supervision. None the less,
this role is common to most practitioners.
The generic tasks/ roles outlined here may not be acceptable to
all models of supervision; for example, some supervisory arrange­
ments refuse to 'evaluate' the supervisee on the basis that it affects
the supervisory relationship adversely. Furthermore there may well
be different models of supervision that stress different roles / tasks:
some are more teaching-based (e.g. rational-emotive supervision),
others more counselling-based (person-centred supervision), others
more relationship-based (psychodynamically oriented super­
vision). Designating generic tasks does not mean that all are
found within all counselling-oriented supervision models.
Despite the fact that the literature is quite extensive on the tasks
involved in supervision, there is little explanation for the condi­
tions or criteria for choosing particular roles by supervisors
(Kurpius and Baker, 1 977). Agreement on the importance of a
task or a role in no way indicates that the individuals or groups
who agree actually carry out the task/ role in similar ways; for
example, few would disagree with the 'teaching' task of
supervision but there is wide variation in the way the teaching
task is implemented by different supervisors. Some refuse to give
'information' to the supervisee and believe information-giving
should take place on the training course. Furthermore, it may
 TRA I N I NG IN THE TASKS OF SUPERVISION 55

well be that the tasks designated by supervisors and supervisees

as the ones in which they engage may differ from what actually
happens.
Although there is reasonable agreement across supervisory
models and, indeed, across professions (psychiatry, social work,
counselling psychology, teacher training) about the main supervi­
sory tasks, there is little to hel p supervisors to understand the
conditions for performing certain behaviours. Developmental
models of supervision locate these in the stages through which
supervisees move. Other variables influencing the choice of task
may be the orien tation of the su pervisor, the limited choice of
task by the supervisor because of his/ her limited skills, allegiance
to a particular counselling orientation, the needs of the supervisee,
and the relationship between the participants.
Tasks are the behavioural side of fu nctions and roles. The role is
person-centred; the task is action-centred; the function is a combi­
nation of both roles and tasks. If the function is education, then
the roles of the participants are teacher /pupil, and the task
teaching / learning

Training in the seven tasks of supervision

Training in each task will be presented as having five areas:

• understanding each task: information and readings
• discussion points: key questions to facilitate sharing
• learning the skills underlying each task (experiential work)
• practising the skills in actual supervision sessions
• summarizing learning
Table 2.4 summarizes this training:

Table 2.4 Tminillg ou tline in sez'ell tasks of superl'isiali

-------

Teaching method

Understanding Discussion Skilb Practice Review

Task
Relatilll1ship
Teaching
Counselling
Consulting
Monitoring
Evaluating
Administrative
56 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

In the training course it is important not to be rigid about the

chronology of the five approaches above: participants can start
with discussion or experiential work: information and readings
may come last. Good trainers vary their approach to maintain
creativity and learning.

Setting up a learning supervisory relationship

If one of the tasks, both an initial and on-going one, is to establish

the kind of relationship between supervisor and supervisee/ s that
facilitates the learning of the supervisee, it is imperative to try to
determine what kind of relationship this is and how to set it up
and maintain it as a learning relationship over time. Supervisors
have described the supervisory relationship in many ways (Car­
roll, 1 996), in general seeing it as between the teaching relation­
ship and the counselling relationship, but not either. So training in
this task means struggling with the concept as well as working
with the practicalities of setting it up.

Input

Looking at the supervision relationship.

Research on the supervisor relationship.
Characteristics of the supervisory relationship.
Some open areas: the supervisory relationship and gender, and
Cross-cultural issues, changes over time.
Readings on the supervisory relationship (Carroll, 1 996).

Discussion points

What is the nature of the supervisory relationship?

How does it compare and contrast with the counselling relation­
ship?
What kind of relationship is most effective for supervision and
what are its characteristics?
What roles and tasks are engaged in by supervisors and super­
visees as part of the supervisory relationship?
What elements need to be negotiated within the supervisory
relationship?
How might the supervisory relationship change over the course of
supervision, especially as it moves into a more collegial rela­
tionship?
 TRAINING IN THE TASKS OF SUPERVISION 57

How might supervisor/ supervisee go about contracting in

supervision?

Experien tial Imming

Feedback on how I relate: strengths and weaknesses In areas of

relationship I contract to work on, for example challenging,
working with emotions, dealing with transference.
Taking the five rela tionships outlined by Clarkson (1 995) and
applying them within supervision.
Coming from one of the TA ego-states outli ned by Eric Berne
( 1 96 1 ) and negotiating with the supervisor/supervisee around
expectations from supervision.
Learning how to set up learning objectives for myself and how to
help supervisees do the same.

Practising the task

N egotiate the learning rela tionship as the initial step in setting up

a supervisory relationship. The aim is to work through an initial
supervision contract.
Work with a supervisory relationship that is not going well, for
example where the supervisor is demanding, etc.
Negotiate a supervisory relationship with a skilled and qualified
counsellor (consultative supervision).

The teaching task of supervision

Trainees would consider what teaching means in the context of

supervision a nd how best to instruct, coach, model, and set up
appropriate learning experiences for supervisees. They would
experiment with various teaching methodologies ranging from
direct information-giving to setting up experiential learning to
further the skill and knowledge of supervisees.

Input

Different forms of teaching: instructing, modelling, demonstrat­

ing, coaching, lecturing, role-play, experiential learning.
Formal and informal teaching.
58 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Learning styles.
Models of learning.
Reading: Bond and Holland ( 1 998: ch. 4).

Disclission points

List the various teaching methods and evaluate yourself against

each of them.
How can you pitch your teaching to the learning stage of super­
visees?
What teaching methods seem best suited to different stages of
supervisee development?

Experie11 t ial learni11g

Fill in a Learning Styles Inventory and look at the characteristics

of your own learning style.
Have another member of the group fill in the Learning Styles
Inventory and work w ith them about what kinds of teaching/
learning experiences would help them learn most effectively.
Arrange how to use Interpersonal Process Recall (Kagan, 1 980)
with one of the other members of the group.
During a supervision training session, in an appropriate manner,
bring in your own experience as a method of teaching others.

Practising the task

Give a lecture for five minutes on a subject of your choice to the

group and get feedback on your clarity, delivery, presence, etc.
Work with one other member of the group who shares a 'learning
style' with you. How might you adapt your supervision to their
learning style?
Within the supervision session see if you can think of an appro­
priate experiential learning exercise to help the supervisee gain
insights into work with the client they are presenting.

The counselling task of supervision

Although supervision is not counselling or therapy with super­

vi sees, and supervisees are very adamant that they do not want it
to be so, supervisees need a forum where they can deal with their
 TRA I N I N G IN T H E TASKS OF SUPERV ISION 59

personal feelings and reactio n s to work with clien ts. Supe rv is i on

uses the work with c l ien t s and the reactions engendered by
superv i see s as a spri n g b o a rd for learning abou t themselves, their
cl ients a nd a bou t a ppropri a te i n terven t ions .

Input

The 'counselling task of su pervision' .

How c a n there be a cou nsell i ng task v\'i thou t su pervision becom­
ing therapy'!
Stances on how to use counsel l i n g in s u pe r vi s io n .

Read Burns a nd H o llo way's a rticle (1 990), 'Therapy Il1 su per­

vision: an unresolved issue' .

Discllssion points

What would vou do if i t \'V a s clear to you that a s u p er v i see needed

'

some p ers ona l c ou n se l l i ng to deal with some issues arising in

their work with clients':'
W hen is it ap�1ropriate to s u gg e st that s upe rvlsees engage in t heir
persona l therapy?
When would su perv i so rs leave aSl d e some ti m e to deClI w i th
p ers on a l issues in t he life of su pervisecs"?
How might they negotiate the boundaries between the two
roles?

Expcnen/ial ieanzi1:g

Listen to a supervision tape and m o ni tor the usc ()f the cmmsel­
ling task.
As a supervisee, use a su p erv i so ry session to l oo k at th e client you
l i k e most/least and see if you can trace the reason why this is
so.
What are your personal reactions to your supe r v i see/
supervisor?

Practisillg the task

Have a supervisee bring to supervision a client who raises major

personal issues for him/ her. Watch how you deal with this from
a supervision! counselling perspective,
60 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

In a practice supervision group have the supervisor try to turn

supervision into a counselling session. Monitor what happens
to yourself as supervisee.
In the practice supervision group have one of the supervisees try
to turn supervision into a counselling session.

The consulting task of supervision

The consulting task of supervision is the most used task (Carroll,

1 995). Consultation is about problem-solving and reviewing all
aspects of the counselling work, for example what is happening to
the client; what interventions are most appropriate; how counsel­
lors can be more effective; how the therapeutic relationship is
helping clients; and whether there are parallel processes between
what is happening in counselling and what is taking place within
the supervisory relationship.

Input

What is meant by the consulting task of supervision?

Use Hawkins and Shohet's ( 1989) process model as a consulting
model.
Parallel process as part of the consulting task.
Unconscious element in supervision.
Read Hawkins and Shohet (1 989: ch. 6).

Discussion points

How can supervisors help supervisees assess clients in particular

contexts?
Give some examples of parallel process and look at how best to
deal with it within supervision.

Experiential learning

Use Brandenburg Orchestra exercise as outlined in Hawkins and

Shohet ( 1989: 97) .
Set up a counselling session followed by a supervision one and
watch for parallel issues.
 TRAINING IN THE TASKS OF SUPERVISION 61

Practising the task

In the supervision group focus on what is happening between

supervisor and supervisee and see if it is related to work with
clients.
Review as many possible interventions with a particular client as
you can think of.
Help a supervisee work on assessing a client for brief therapy.

The evaluation task of supervision

The evaluation task within supervision comprises both formal

and informal elements, the first consisting of the on-going
feedback mechanisms built into supervision - feedback from
supervisor to supervisee, self-feedback by both supervisor and
supervisee, and feedback from supervisee to supervisor. The
second is about summative evaluation - those occasions when
formal assessment and even report-writing takes place. There is
some evidence that evaluation is the most difficult task for super­
visors (Carroll, 1 995) because it involves the assessment elements
that can affect the future of supervisees.

Input

What is evaluation?
Methods of evaluation within supervision?
Formats for evaluating supervisees, supervisors and supervision
Formal and informal evaluation
Feedback
Writing formal reports on supervisees.
Read: Bernard and Goodyear ( 1 992: ch. 8) and chapter 7 below
(Gilbert and Sills), on evaluation.

Discussion points

What are the components of effective feedback?

What criteria should be used to evaluate supervisees?
How to evaluate in a way that can facilitate learning in super­
visees?
What might go wrong in evaluation?
62 TRAIN ING COUNSEL LING SUPERVISORS

Experiential Jenmins

Give feedback to one of the group members and listen to what

observers tell you about your manner of delivering it.
Tell one of the members of the group that you think he/she
should not continue their counselling training. Get feedback
from the group on how this ,vas done.

Practising the task

Give clear feedback to the supervisee on how you see him / her
work. Let the group evaluate how this was done.
Work with a supervisee to see how, together, you might write a
formal evaluation report for their training course.
Create a supervisory role-play where you and the supervisee
disagree about your evaluation report.

Monitoring the professional/ethical dimensions of client work

This 'gatekeeping role' of supervision ensures that supervisees are

working ethically and professionally with clients and are continu­
ing to sensitize themselves to the implications of their actions.
Supervisors have responsibiiities to clients ( SAC, 1 995) and, with
their supervisees, work so that c lients can obtai n the best service
possible.

Il1put

Look at codes of ethics for supervisors (read BAC Code of Ethics

and Practice for Supervisors, 1995 and Carroll, 1 996: ch. 8).
How can we monitor what supervisees do?

D isc l is s io n po i n ts

Whose job is it to ensure that supervisees know about ethical

codes and ethical practice? What is the role of the supervisor
here?
What would you do if you felt that a supervisee was not working
ethically?
 TRAINING IN THE TASKS OF SUPERVISION 63

Experiential learning

Use given examples of unethical behaviour to review professional

stances.
Bring examples of lack of professionalism by supervisees and look
at how you might deal with it.
Work in small groups to come up with a process for ethical
decision-making in supervision.

Practising the tllsk

Have a supervisee bring an instance (real or role-played) of

unethical behaviour with a client to supervision.
Role-play with a supervisee an instance in which you give feed ­
back on an agreed unprofessional action by the supervisee. Get
feedback on your way of giving feedback.
Prepare a five-minute input for your supervisees on the ethics of
'touch' in counselling. Get feedback on how well you did this.

Reviewing the administrative aspects of client work

The administrative task of supervision has an eye to the context in

which counselling takes place and in which supervisors, super­
visees and clients live and work (Carroll and Holloway, 1 999).
Supervisors help supervisees become aware of the impact of
surroundings and systems on their work and on their clients.

Input

The organizational aspects of supervision.

Looking at how organizations impact on supervision and coun­
selling.
Setting up supervisory contracts with an organization.
Tasks of supervisors where counselling takes place in an organi­
zation.
Reading: Carroll and Holloway (1 999), Carroll (1996: ch. 6).

Discussion points

What are the critical points for you working as a counsellor /

supervisor in an organizational setting?
64 TRAI N I NG COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

How can you position yourself I>i:"-l1-vis the organization (as

supervisor / counsellor) in order to be most effective?

Experiential learning

Set up a counselling programme within an organization (medical,

industrial, educationaD with a supervision system as part of it.
Set up a role-play of an organizational setting in which members
of the organization (shareholder, union representative, manager,
head of personnel, an employee) give feedback on how they
view the counselling and supervisory arrangements.

Practising the task

Review, in supervision, a client issue that has organizational

implications.
Set up a supervisory session in which the counsellor is being
pressurized to be more involved in the organization in ways
which could conflict with the counselling role.
Look, with a supervisee, at how you might help him/ her keep
records of their work and present a report to the organization.

Conclusions

Research has pointed out that supervisors often ad here to a few of

these roles/ tasks rather than develop a portfolio or range
of options that cover all seven (Carroll, 1995). I am arguing here
for the ability to utilize any of the seven tasks when appropriate
for the learning of supervisees. Flexibility in supervisors creates
more learning opportunities for supervisees. Training in the seven
generic tasks of supervision allows supervisors to choose which
task is most appropriate for this supervisee, with this learning
style, at this stage in their development, working with these
clients, in this context. Overall training in the seven tasks helps
aspiring and experienced supervisors review which tasks they do
well and which they tend to ignore or do poorly. By knowing this
they can then concentrate and contract to build their skills in areas
in which they are weak. This not only helps them as supervisors,
but models for supervisees and others that learning is truly life­
long.
 TRAINING IN THE TASKS OF SUPERVISION 65

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3 Training Supervisors to Contract in
Supervision
Julie Hewson

Introduction

The supervisory questions that have intrigued me from the outset

are: Why has some supervision, in which I have been supervisee,
been so ineffective, destructive and arresting of confidence and
development? Why has some supervision been beautifully pleas­
ant but bana l ? Why have other experiences of supervision been
incredibly useful, invigorating, helpful and growth promoting? I
need to know what has made the difference. And so, I begin this
chapter with a series of questions:
• What are the ingredients of good supervision as opposed to
bad?
• Can 1 begin to describe supervision in terms of good and
bad?
• What were the key factors that helped make sense of the
varying experiences of supervision for me?
• Is it possible to design a supervision training to take account of
these matters?
• Where does contracting fit into the whole schema of super­
vision training and can supervisors be taught how to
supervise?
I wonder if the last of these questions, about contracting and the
elements in contracting in supervision, is a key question overall.

Background

My varied background, educational and experientially, says some­

thing about why contracting is of such importance to me. My first
68 TRAINING COUNSEL LING SUPERVISORS

degree was in Sociology and Psychology, I had specialized in

history and literature at school, and was a painter and potter
professionally for a time. That is already quite a bagful to keep
together and keep integrated. Perhaps it was because I had
studied the Renaissance period where it was not unusual for
educated people to be fascinated by many things and competent
in many (Elizabeth I, Leonardo da Vinci, and Sir Philip Sidney, for
example) that I too saw myself as straddling professions and
integrating skills from numerous professional backgrounds. In my
book this could be a richness, not a problem. Later I taught in
school, in community education, colleges, university and a college
of management studies. I trained in psychotherapy, in social work
and ran management training for local government agencies, the
NHS and industry. I have supervised trainees, practitioners in
counselling, psychotherapy, social work and management. I cur­
rently manage, with a team of staff, a training centre that I
founded with my husband over twenty years ago and which
currently offers four Master's degrees with a fifth, on supervision,
in progress.
To add spice and variety to my supervision questions it makes
sense to tell you that I am qualified as a training and supervising
Transactional Analyst and a BAC accredited supervisor and asses­
sor of supervisors. I work as a management consultant and trainer
to the NHS, with teams in specialist areas such as cancer and
leukaemia in children (CLIO, general managers of large direc­
torates with a multiplicity of staff and resource problems, accident
and emergency units and special care baby unit staff. I have
taught supervisory skills, methodology and concepts to nurses,
doctors, osteopaths, social workers, teachers, managers, psycho­
therapists, counsellors and, more recently, lawyers.
Is it any wonder, with such a background, that contracting, in
whatever relationship I have with individuals or groups, becomes
an essential ingredient of my work. Contracting and supervision
issues cover a wide span of applicability, and with my back­
ground as a teacher, clinician, businesswoman, management con­
sultant, author and ordinary everyday person, I see the need for
contracting most days - not just a need but a necessity if I am to
be clear about my roles and responsibilities, if my clients, varied
as they are, are not to build up unrealistic and unreal expectations
and if our relationship is going to be well-negotiated and well­
structured while still being spontaneous and creative.
 CONTRACTING I N SUPERVISION 6Y

Contracting: overt and covert

Contracting is an agreement between two parties, of lawful object,

of mutual benefit undertaken with full agreement on both sides.
This is the ouert process. Alongside this are all kinds of covert
contracts and these, if not brought into conscious awareness from
time to time, affect both psychotherapy process, counselling,
management and supervision. However, the contractual method
which derives from the process of contracting, has as its assump­
tion that everyone is personally responsible for the goals they are
trying to achieve, and makes overt what each is willing to do to
achieve this end . The supervisor decides whether he or she is
willing to work with the supervisee to achieve their chosen goal,
which may well be on-going professional development, case-load
management, diagnostic accuracy or consultancy, and to under­
take to use the best of their professional skills in this venture.
Part of the role of the contracting process is to minimize the risk
of humiliation which is the transactional reinforcing relationship
to the original existential experience of shame. The i mportance of
teaching contracting needs to be set against a backdrop of under­
standing the pervasive nature of shame in many adult learners as
well as in experienced practitioners.
Contracting raises a number of questions and issues that need
to be addressed . it affects tlze reLationship and poses many questions
that we sometimes have to wrestle with, for example:

• What is tire contracted nature of the relationship? What are the

parameters? Is there a dual role or responsibility? Does that
help or hinder?

• Is what the supervisee asks for, the contract, or does the supervisor, in
the process of negotiating, discover 'what underlies the original
request ?
• Does the supervisee know what it is tlzey really want, a s they
struggLe to make sense of a difficlllty or find a way through? Does
the supervisory process include the process of the supervisor
sometimes knowing 'best' and giving information, theory or
strategy. Has this been agreed as part of the relationship?

• What is the contmct 'wlzen the supervisee is stuck ill parallel process
[(lith the supervisor as they have beell with their client?
70 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

What do we as supervisors agree to when dealing with counter­

transference issues in supervision? Do we have a contract to do a
piece of boundaried therapy, or does this fly in the face of the
overall contract of supervision and breach the professional bound­
ary? Is the contract one of merely identifying the supervisee's
personal issue? What happens if the supervisee is seeing the client
in the next twenty-four hours and not seeing their therapist for
two weeks?

• What is the contract on lI1atters of etizics alld professional practice?

What are the agreements on confidentiaiity and responsibil ­
ity?

Each of these points w i ll be addressed during this chapter as a

basis for on-going discussion.

Contract-making

This section of the chapter, <md the central tenet of the chapter,
will focus on ten points tha t go to make up the contract within
supervision, and which are listed below.

1. Both parties become actively involved in developing the

nature of the supervision process.
2. A contract provides a mental set or overal l perception of
what end goal is being aimed at.
3. The supervisor and supervisee should know that they have
completed the Gestalt of their work together.
4. Contracting creates a mutuality and a guard against an abuse
of power.
5. Contracts are designed to minimize covert agendas.
6. Three or multi-handed contracts as part of supervision.
7. Contracting for content.
S. Contracting in supervision when supervision relies on meta­
models rather than a specific counselling or professional
approach.
9. How do I teach contracting in supervision?
10. How can we teach the process of contracting in super­
vision?

We will look at each of these in turn:

 CONTRACTING IN SUPERVISION 71

Both parties become actively il1voliJCli ill dere/oping the nature of the
slipervision process

The nature of the supervisory relationship, and contract, will

change as the supervisee moves from novice to apprentice to
journeyman to master craftsman. The needs of each stage are
different and need to be re-negotiated in order to provide the right
mixture of support and challenge. The supervisory contract, like
all healthy rela tionships, needs to be re-negotiated at each stage of
its development.
For novices and apprentices there is often a degree of trepida­
tion associated with the term supervision, and linked to being
found wanting. or caught out. Their needs are d ifferent, \vith
much more emphasis placed on support rather than challenge,
except in areas of danger to the client.
I have developed a menu of supervision to enable supervisees
and those training as supervisors to be helped to understand the
range of possibilities within t he supervisory relationship. The
menu of supervision provides a kind of smorgasbord and helps to
create the climate of /1 ill carte: rather than a set menu.
Below are items on the supervisory menu which can be added
to or deleted from depend ing on the context and parameters of
the supervisory relationship. It allows both parties to negotiate
according to need .
---- .---.-------

MENU OF SUPERVISION

Appetizer - awakens the jaded palate

Knowing what is available

Experiencing care
Hearing from others
Permission to ask for heip
Desire to increase learning and professional direction

Starter - sets the scene for a gOlJii meal

Personal time
Support
Self-awareness
Confidence-buil ding
Appropriate challenge
A safe place to explore d ifficult professional issues
Books, articles, resoun.:ing
72 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Sorbet - palate cleanser

Ventilation
A place for the supervisee to say '1 don't know'
Permission to ask for what is needed
The start of contracting

Main course - choosing the most nourishing or sustaining item

(Continuation of contracting process)
Assessment/ diagnosis of problem or case
Skills-building
Teaching theory
Ethical issues and dilemmas
Counter-transference issues
Case-load review
Treatment planning: what strategiesl interventions needed?
Uncovering areas that may have been discounted
Monitoring
Mentoring
Coaching
Addressing self- and client-presentation
Pin-pointing therapy issues to be addressed in the therapeutic
relationship
Professional development issues
Validation of intuition and hunches and finding the words and
evidence to support them
Understanding parallel process
Discussion of sessional contract for the client in the context of the
overall contract
Alternative perspectives on the case or problem for the super­
visee
Team-building and workplace issues
Constructing or reworking a philosophy

Dessert - to include cheese board: a sweet or salty complement to the

meal
Celebrating good work
Providing inspiration
A forum for discussing existential themes, for example, why am I
doing this work?
Constructive criticism and pointers for future development
Enjoyment
 CONTRACTING IN SUPERVISION 73

Integration of learning with other models

A meta-perspective

Wine list or other drinks: different kinds for each course

Types of communication
Responsivity (Garcia, 1 991 )
Six-Category Intervention Analysis ( Heron, 1 990)
Functional ego-states (Berne, 1 9( 1 )
Five kinds of relationship (Clarkson and Gilbert, 1 99 1 )

Coffel" - the best ground types, not install!

Review of session
Review of relationship
Creative moves forward
Consolidation
Increase in the professional developmental direction
Clarification of care to the client
(With acknowledgement to Frances Derbyshire and Gill Smith)

A contmct provides {/ mental set or overall perception of what end goal

is being aim('d at

A n example of this occurred with my then excellent supervisor.

I often 'knew' what was the matter, intuitively, physically and
emotionally. I was finely tuned to the process of projective identi­
fication and parallel process. I could identify a lack of skills,
knowledge or theory, but at the start I couldn't always find the
precise words to express what it was I knew. I tended to need to
paint verbal pictures, fine in their way but somewhat time­
consuming and diffuse. Thus on the menu as described above I
took permission to ask for help from the appetizer section, from
the starter took regular personal time and appropriate challenge
as my confidence grew. I asked for and was provided with books,
articles and resourcing and from the main course I worked with a
number of them. However, the overriding contract running like a
theme throughout was validation of intuition and hunches and
finding the words and evidence to support them. The dessert has
been how this experience of supervision has led me to develop my
own supervisory philosophy, skills and enthusiasm.
74 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERV ISORS

The supervisor and supervisee should know that they have completed
the Gestalt of their work together

Supervisors and supervisees, knowing what the completion of

their work together 'looks like', can use this as a monitoring
device so that at the end of the session the supervisee has a way of
checking whether what they came for has been addressed. For
example: if for some reason, because of the re-negotiating of the
contract, this original aim has been changed, both parties are
agreed as to why, and are able to gauge the efficacy of such an
alteration in terms of the original request. Perhaps the supervisee
brings a client's case believing that what they want help with are
some 'how to's', that is, interventions that will expedite the
healing process. HO\vever, during the course of the negotiation of
the contract it becomes clear that the key issue is not one of
knowledge about interventions but rather one of counter­
transference. If this is agreed to be the focus of the supervision, it
is necessary to check at the end whether the supervisee, having
resolved the personal factors clouding his or her vision, can now
access appropriate intervention resources to move the client for­
ward in the d i rection of contracted c hange.

Con t racting creatcs n II1 l 1 t l lolity n l ld n g l lard ngainst nil nbusc of

power

In the negotiation of the supervisory relationship it is essential

that both parties, or three parties if an organization is involved,
clearly negotiate so that mutuality is assured and the abuse of
power minimized. For this reason it is often contra-indicated for a
line manager to supervise clinically a member of staff. It is
unlikely that a person would feel able to bring a difficult case to
their supervisor if by doing so their supervisor's line-manager
role might be activated in a way that could lead to conflict rather
than help. This happened, when a nurse felt too ashamed to tell
her supervising line manager that she did not know a certain
procedure, and so caused an accident. Changes in our regional
Social Services have separated the roles of line manager and
supervisor very effectively, but unfortunately in the NHS this
situation of dual roles happens more frequently.
There are different levels of responsibility involved in the
supervisory relationship depending on whether the supervisee is
 CONTRACTING IN SUPERVISION 75

a trainee or a qualified practitioner. These aspects of the relation­

ship need to be clarified, as a trainer should exercise authority if,
for example, a trainee is working with clients beyond his or her
level of competence This would also be an ethical ma tter for a
supervisor of a qualified practitioner, though the nature of the
authority rela tionship is different.

Contract::; lire designed to minimize covert agenda::;

Contracts are, or should be, negotiated from the here-and-now

integrated part of our being. However, we know that transference
and other factors of an unconscious nature can sabotage even the
most clearly open communication. when they are not addressed.
Thus, as mentioned in Hawkins and Shohet ( 1 989), the occasional
surfacing of unconscious agendas or relationship issues keeps the
process cled n.
An example of the emergence of an unconscious agenda might
be a situation in which a person starts as a novice, moves into a
stage of being an a pprentice and is glad for the ca reful devel­
opmental help needed to build some confidence and a degree of
competence. During the transition from apprentice to Journey­
man, the supervisee might hit a developmental transference issue
associated with adolescent rebellion and begin to behave in ways
inappropriate to the collegia l and responsible relationship with
the supervisor. Where the transference issues are non-resolvable, a
change of supervisor is indicated.

Three or multi-handed contracts as part of sllpervision

When working for an agency, either as an employee or as a paid

consultant, the supervisor is engaged in a contract with more than
one person . In this situation, clarity of contracting with each part
of the system I S essential. If the bond between one part of the
triangle is perceived as closer than that of another, there is
the danger of unconscious but tricky rivalries, collusions and
conflicts. These are what in Transactional Analysis would be
described as psychological games, played out of a wareness as a
form of repetition compulsion. The way to stay out of these is to
be potent, responsive and aware of one's own as well as another 's
vulnerability.
76 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Organization

Supervisor Supervisee

Figure 3 . 1

The equilateral triangle (Figure 3. 1 ) is the ideal configuration,

for in this there is equidistance between each party, showing a
balance between the contract from agency to supervisor, from
supervisor to supervisee and supervisee to agency. This leads to
clear boundaries and equality of expectations, albeit different in
nature, for example a supervisor for a staff counsellor in an
agency where the contract with the agency is one of confidential­
ity and boundaries understands and agrees this contract. The
contract with the supervisee is for clinical! counselling case super­
vision and the supervisee has a clear agreement from the agency
to take external supervision far removed from the organization, so
that staff confidentiality can be maintained.

Organization

�
Supervisor Supervisee

Figure 3.2

The triangle in Figure 3.2 demonstrates an imbalance in rela­

tionships and can lead to collusion between the agency and the
supervisor. This might occur when someone is brought in to deal
with 'a marginal performer ' . Figure 3.3 might occur when there is
a great deal of pressure on an organization and illustrates what
 CONTRACTING IN SUPERVISION 77

Organization

Supervisor Supervisee

Figure 3.3

happens when supervisor and supervisee collude against the

organization - which may not be functioning well and may
require some intervention.
Another factor is the problem some supervisors have of a dual
role or responsibility, which often occurs in social work. Recently,
reorganization in some parts of the UK has separated practice and
case supervision from managerial supervision so that one person
can no longer hold both roles. This enables the process of contract­
ing to be clearer, simpler and easier to manage, although the
context of both areas can be complex.

Contracting for content

In supervision, as in therapy and counselling, what we think we

are coming for is not always what we need. A very experienced
counsellor, for example, came asking for interventions to deal
with a client who had had a severe traumatic experience. As the
session progressed it became clear that the supervisee had herself
been traumatized by the unfolding story, and the key issue was
not one of client interventions but of counter-transference and
shock on the part of the counsellor. The focus of the supervision
was respectfully to honour this shock and help to dissolve the
mesmeric quality of the trance. (The client herself had been so
traumatized by an event she had witnessed that she had gone into
a shock-induced trance and in telling her story had traumatically
entranced the counsellor.) Once this had been addressed, the
78 TRA I N ING COUNSELLING SUPERV I SORS

supervisee/ counsellor found herself able to reclaim her own

resources and remind herself of a range of creative interventions
that could help her client. One useful model developed by Clark­
son helps to unravel the foclls of supervision and facilitate the
contracting process. This model is 'a tool for identifying categories
or bands of key issues in supervision' (Clarkson, 1 992: 273 ) .
With the emphasis on contract and relationship, the ba nds
highlight potential areas of focus for the supervisory process. The
supervisee may have contracted for help in how to assess the
client, situation or problem. This may be based on their belief that
they do not know how to tiIink about the situation. In the process
of contracting, it may become clear that the supervisee does know
how to diagnose, assess and form a hypothesis about what is
clinically problematical. Thus, to take this as a contract would lead
the supervisor a long the wrong route. Here the menu of super­
vision can give the supervisor and supervisee time to reflect on
what the real area of concern is. For example, a counselling
student came to me many years ago with a very highly developed
skill in interpersonal awareness and an acute sense of her own
body's reactions to her clients' stones. She had been trained in
Rogerian methods and had also encountered GendJin's Focusing
Technigues, which she had found immensely helpful. I enjoyed
exploring with her what she already knew descriptively, intui­
tively and physically about the cases she brought to supervision.
She often asked for help in interventions and yet I noticed tha t
what she actually did was freguently spot o n , b u t she didn't know
why. We therefore re-contracted to develop conceptual frames to
help her understand both the sign i ficance of the assessment and
the efficacy of her interventions.

Contracting in supervision when sllpervision relies on meta-models

rather than 011 a specific cOllnsellins or professional approach

As a supervisor and trainer of supervisors I am interested in

models that transcend any one school of psychotherapy or coun­
selling, and which take account of intrapsychic, interpersonal,
systemic, task- and function-based approaches. Contracting needs
to take place against a backdrop of these and other models and
each of the following interventions will develop some thoughts
against some of the main approaches from which I draw.
 CONTRACTING IN SUPERVISION 79

When supervision is solely 'counselling or profession-specific',

a variety of assumptions may be made about what constitutes
supervision which may cut out a range of valid areas for con­
sideration. For example, if supervision comes purely from a
psychodynamic approach, there is a danger that environmental
and systemic issues, context and ecology might be overlooked.
Figures 3 .4 explains how this works:

Conceptual
frameworks
Intrapsychic
Interpersonal
Sociological �-----I
Anthropological ?fO ces S of thef"<;>'1
Political I

Economic
Professional _____ l
Five relationships
__________

Therapeutic alliance
1- Thou relationship
Developmentaiiy needed reparative relutionship
The transference relationship
The trans personal relationship

Figure 3.4 Mat rix of conceptllal frllmeworks II/ld therapelltic

rela tionsiI ips

For example, a supervisee brings a client with whom the

relationship appears in some difficulty because the counsellor is
exclusive in her approach to the counselling relationship (for
example, using only the working alliance and missing the trans­
ference). It may be freeing for the counsellor to appreciate another
framework in respect of the relationship, the transferential rela­
tionship, and at least understand it, if not work with it. In
supervision we start with a basic contract or working agreement.
This will vary depending on the experience/needs and context of
the supervisor/ supervisee.
In the process of contracting, the supervisor will be assessing
both at the beginning and throughout the session the supervisory
functions needed to fulfil both the primary and secondary con­
tract. As is often the case what is originally asked for may be not
80 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

what is actually needed, and that reguires re-negotiation during

the course of the session.

How do 1 teach con t racting in 5upcrI1ision 7

As I become more aware of the subtleties involved in contracting,

I teach it by encouraging supervisees to:

• think with their senses as well as their intellect;

• be aware of the covert agendas and invitations to play
games;
• notice what they are picking up through the use of their
intuition;
• pay attention to the social, political, organizational and pro­
fessional contexts in which they work (and from which their
clients come);
• pick up subtle shifts in expectations for which they have not
contracted;
• keep track of the prevailing relationship so as not to collude
with any uncontracted transference needs;
• be clear about their own philosophy, values and beliefs and
check that these are congruent with wha t is being requested by
supervisees (contracting is a two-way process and supervisors
have choices too).

I use the following sequence and encourage people to pay atten­

tion to the following:

1. Listen to, look at and get a sense of the opening transaction

(which ego-states are being used by the supervisee?).
2. Log it (mentally or jot it down).
3. Listen to what is actually asked for.
4. Check on all seven levels as to resonance with request (Clark­
son and Lapworth, 1 992) .
5. Note feedback from body, intuition, thinking and feeling.
6. Dialogue with supervisee in relationship I-Thou - sharing the
process and negotiating further, perhaps using the menu of
supervision.
7. Give supervisee time to do a personal check so as not to over­
adapt.
8. Go ahead with the following criteria in mind in order to
double-check at the end :
 CONTRACTING IN SUPERVISION 81

Have we identified the key issue (Clarkson, 1 992: 275)?

What is the nature of the relationships involved?
Have we reduced any potential for harm (Clarkson, 1 992:
257)?
Have the supervisee (and supervisor) learned something new
as a result of this supervision contract?
What is the contract both with the client and for the super­
vision, and are there any parallels either in content or
process?
Have I (as supervisor) modelled a good I-Thou relationship?
Is the asked-for contract masking something else? If so
what?

How can we teach the process of contracting in supervision ?

• Use eyes, ears, body-sensation.

• Notice overall response to supervisee and client (supervisor's
counter-transference).
• What names jump out at you, words and phrases?
• What should be happening?
• What has led to this situation
(a) for the client
(b) for supervisee to bring it to supervision?
• What is your hunch/ hypothesis or metaphor for what is
arising between client and supervisor, or yourself and super­
visee? What light does this shed on the current dilemma?
• What is the transpersonal level in operation at this time -
issues of compassion, recognition, humanity or other?

Conclusion

Contracting in supervision may well be the most important task

engaged in by supervisor and supervisee. Think of the opposite, of
not having a negotiated contract. An unsatisfactory outcome may
occur for either one or both participants: having no 'benchmark'
against which to judge the success or failure of their supervisory
endeavour leaves both open to lack of clarity and lack of focus.
Collusion is a major danger when there is no contract - collusion
with unconscious issues, covert agendas, avoiding difficult cases
and not learning in an effective manner. Clear contracting, on the
82 TRAINING COU N SELLING SUPERVISORS

other hand, creates a negotiated and mu tually respectfu l supervi­

sory relationship where tasks, functions and responsibilities are
understood by both parties and where the professional develop­
ment of the su pervisee is paramou nt and the care and protection of
clients is assured . Covert agendas can be dealt with openly and
outcomes can be gauged against the original agreements made. The
importance of contracting in supervision means it should rate high
on the training needs of supervisors.

Appendix

Exercises in Training Supervisors in Contracting in

Supervision

Excrcisc 011t'

Check o n model: How does the

What is your supervisee fit
relationship to the AGENCY into the agency;
agencyl Is there a mutually
What are your / \ respectful relationship
gut feelings
or intuition about /
/ \
\\,
or is it otherwise! Does
this lead to an
I
overt and covert invitation to
\
/
/1
contracts. belief \ a covert agenda

;:: :�:��:
h between the
p i itieS!
What is the rationale
\ \
supervisee and
you. the
behind the position \\ supervisor. to see the
of the superviso
and the ethos of
y
l
\
\
agency as a bad
organization?
the agencyl /
\\
\\
\\ -
SUPERVISOR SUPERVISEE

What is your relationshipl

What is your contractl
At what level is the superviseel
What does she/he need!
How can we identify needs in context
and meet them effectively!

Figure 3.5 Thrrt' is //lore than ai le (oliimet ill 5l1pcrpi5ioll . Look

to the//l all
 CONTRACTING IN SUPERVISION 83

Exercise Two

OVERT C ONTRACT

COVERT CONTRACT

How do you find out what is below the water-line'

Ideas: I mage it.

Name it.
Discuss any transference/counter-transference.
Supervisor takes supervision on supervision for his/her learning
needs.

Figure 3.6 Uncovering ()(Iert and covert contracts

Exercise Three
treatment planning
counselling direction

assessment 0::: \ presentation of client

� diagnosis/assessment
�
relationship
areas of deficit

areas of conflict
)- __--}.. phYSical sensations
towards client
client history

existential position moral/value/belief presenting problem

\ I
conflict or difficulties

existential dilemmas associated problems

Figure 3 . 7 Spidergram to teach and encourage supervisees to

know what they know
84 TRAIN I NG COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Exercise FO l l r

A method of assessing a contract for clarifying an ethical o r

professional practice boundary.
Thompson ( 1 990) ou tlines six areas of focus to assess the
existence or otherwise of an ethical dilemma. When teaching this I
ask students and superviseE's to consider the following:

1. Beneficence: was your intervention done from a place of good­

will, good heart and respect for the client, or was it coming
from a place of over-nurturing which might indicate a
counter-transference response or the inappropriate encourage­
ment of an unhealthy dependency relationship? This would
require a supervisee or student to consider their assessment of
a developmental need on the part of their client.
2. Non-ma leficence: above all do no harm. Apart from the possi­
bility of actual dislike of the client, in which case it would be
unethical to continue working with the client and a referral
would be indicated, this usually refers to neglect or lack of
competence on the part of the practitioner. As I am sanguine
enough to believe few people go into the profession in order
to inflict harm on their clients, it is important for the super­
visor to check on competence, the professional support and
knowledge of supervisee.
3. Justice: has there been equality of reward, both ways, and is
there a clear working contract in which both parties benefi t
and one is not working at the expense of the other?
4. Fidelity: this refers to a mutual exchange of promises, both
implicit and explicit and these need to be brought to the
surface in supervision, to be clear that the supervisee is on
track. (Refer to Exercise Three.)
5. Autonomy: 'maximising the client's ability to choose freely
and competently on how to conduct his or her life' (Thomp­
son, 1 990: 13). This requires careful monitoring of the original
contract and the interventions you use in relation to that
contract. Heron's Six-Category Intervention Analysis is very
useful here ( 990).
6. Self-in terest: that is taking care of oneself by means of a
healthy lifestyle, supervision, therapy and good referral and
support systems.
 CONTRACTING IN SUPERVISION 85

Exercise Five

Contracting is a behavioural activity which is part of an attitude.

An attitude is traditionally comprised of three components -
cognition, affect and behaviour. fn writing about cure, Erskine
(1 980) includes a fourth dimension, physiology.
When teaching or learning, what is happening is the potential
for a change in attitude. Some of these attitudes will be more
easily accessible, others much deeper seated. So when teaching
contracting it is important to emphasize:

Cognition

For the supervisee

What is it I know about this client?
What do I call things?
Where does what I observe fit into the theories I have learned?
What is it I know about my knowledge base?
What is it I know about my stage of development?
What is it I want to know more about?
Does my supervisor know more than I do? Can she see where my
gaps are, even if I can't?
Will I, on the basis of this checklist, feel willing to make a contract
with her about increasing my knowledge in a way that furthers
my personal and professional development and gives greater
protection to my clients? If the answer is no, what does this tell
me about the nature of my relationship to my supervisor?
Can it be changed?
Do I know how to think about my client and the problems he
presents?
Do I know how to proceed from there?
For the sU}JerZ'isor
At what developmental stage is the supervisee?
What is his/ her knowledge base?
Has he/ she developed a coherent philosophy?
]s he/ she familiar with more than one model of the person or
situation?
Are our two approaches complementary?
Have I got good supervision of my supervision?

Affect

For the supervisee

How do I feel about this client in the here and now?
Do these feelings influence what I want to contract for?
86 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

How do I feel about this client not being sure whether it is about
the here and now?
Will this confusion affect what I contract for?
What are my beliefs, values and cultural norms? Are they being
challenged by this client or situation?
Am I being faced by an ethical dilemma?
Am I touched by this client in a way that transcends the individ­
ual meeting?
What are the images or metaphors that inform my emotional
response to what I bring to supervision?
What is my feeling towards my supervisor?
Do any of these affect the way I contract?
For the supervisor
How does the supervisee impact on me?
Am I affected by the case he/ she has brought (supervisor's
counter-transference)?
Is this information useful?
Are any emotional responses I have affecting the process of
contracting?
Am I clear about long-term, short-term and any covert contracts
between myself and the supervisee, the supervisee and his
client?
Do I look forward to seeing this supervisee?

Behaviour

For the supervisee

Have I the skills to make appropriate interventions?
Do I know what to do?
Do I understand when an approach is contra-indicated?
Can I ask my supervisor to teach me some creative interven-
tions?
Should I have taken this client/ situation on?
For the supervisor
Do I have a range of creative interventions I can share with the
supervisee?
Am I modelling the kind of relationship that is needed here?
Am I having appropriate levels of supervision as I expect my
supervisees to have?

Physiology

For the supervisee

What is my physical sensation to the case I am presenting?
Can I work with this sensation in my su pervision?
 CONTRACTING IN SUPERVISION 87

Will it inform how I contract to work in this session?

Do I need to find a supervisor who will listen to the wisdom of
my physiological feedback as well as to my verbal articula­
tion?
Can they help me integrate the two?
For the supervisor
What is my physical reaction to the supervisee's presentation?
What is my physical and emotional response to the plight of the
client (if any)?
What physical sensations and bodily cues do I as the supervisor
pick up from the body language of the supervisee?
What are the factors in this domain that the counsellor or super­
visee picks up from the situation he/ she has brought to super­
vision?

Exercise Six Using n trallscript

Transcript of a supervisee/trainee contracting for feedback. This

supervisee has been using the seven-level model (Clarkson and
Lapworth, 1 992) as a checklist and wants to know how well he
has contracted in his work with his client, Paul.
S = Supervisor (Supervising Supervisor)
J = Supervisee (Supervisor)

s: You have just asked that the contract that we have is that
you can reflect on your practice in this particular instance,
using the seven-level model we have just discussed. Is that
right?
J: Yes, and what would be useful for me are some how to's,
there are lots of possibilities. I think how to . . . . What
exactly do I want? That is an interesting question. I think a
start would be how to contract clearly.
5: Isn't that interesting because I don't think you had a
problem with contracting with Paul. So let's stop and
reflect on why would you be asking that. I think it's
because you didn't finish the sentence. And, as I reflect, I
notice you expanding your request for three things. You're
right. there is a level at which you did not contract clearly.
May I say more about that as I think on my feet?
J: Yes do.
5: What I wrote down at the beginning. when I was tracking
your supervision with Paul, when you worked earlier. was
that the first part of the contract was very clear and the
88 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

second part, as an observer, for me wasn't clear. I don't

think you firmed up what he actually wanted. You both said
'Oh that's fine', so that could be mine or it could be yours
and if I had taped it I could have heard if I had missed it.
With you now, you and I in the present, I notice you saying
you would like to reflect using the seven-level model to
see what you have focused on. So that is very clear and
then you said I want some how to's and it was left 'how
to's for what'?
j: Yes, yes.
5: SO.
J: There is a slight feeling of helplessness at that level because
in a sense I don't feel I've fulfilled the contract with Paul. At
maybe the level of sensation and, 'Aha' at level 4. And there
was a fairly complicated and unfinished ending which even
if I had had longer time I don't think we would have
resolved.
5: OK, I think you are right there is something about the
completion of the Gestalt.
j: That's right. [We start tracking the supervisory process.]
5: I think you are aware, intuitively aware, at level 2 then you
go on to name it.
j: Yes.
5: And in the process of being aware and naming it [the key
issue], you become aware as you reflect now, that you
might have missed something. Let's use your intuition to
discover what it was you might have missed.
J: Yes, let's do that.
5: OK, so what's the piece that would have brought about
complete resolution. Shall we look for that?
J: Yes.
5: So if you would like to come closer to the board, we can
track back over the supervision that you have just
delivered, using this model and then we will do what we
did yesterday, which is to ask our observer to give feed­
back on what he experienced, once his experience of
supervision with you has had time to settle, is that
acceptable to both of you ?
j: Yes, that would be helpful.
5: OK, how shall we do this? Do you want to talk about what
you think you did? Do you want me to talk about what I
saw you do? What's the most useful approach to you?
J: I would like to talk about what I think I did.
 CONTRACTING IN SUPERVISION 89

S: That sounds good.

J: I would like you by all means to affirm or challenge or
check anything that you think you experienced as different
and help me become more conversant with this model.
S: Go ahead, I will do that.
J: I was interested to see which level in the model I would
automatically make contact with. I suppose what I was
noticing was, as P was talking, that I was feeling a little bit
clumsy with myself. It's interesting because if I was in this
situation again, I think I would have changed my physical
position and got more comfortable. It was a bit restrictive;
it was an interesting observation. (He had a glass or water
and was trying to balance it.) It's interesting I notice that at
one point he asked me if his contract was OK and I
thought is that what he is thinking, 'Am ' doing it right?' and
I wondered how to give that to him as I moved from a
sensation to awareness and I also became aware that his
eyebrows were lifted up and I went into an archaic child
Ego State . . .

Commentary of supervisor 0 11 the aboVt'

He, the supervisor, then went on to track all seven levels and
realized he had focused on helping the supervisee name the
problem - and had left an incomplete Gestalt about what to do
next.
There are many ways of processing what was helping in this
overall piece of supervision. There was a parallel process of
physical clumsiness in the supervisor in response to listening to
the supervisee talking about a client with learning difficulties who
bumps into things a great deal. There was the fact that both
supervisor and supervisee wa nted to 'get it right', which can lead
to a tendency to over-include (the second transaction leads to an
expansion of these possibilities). The supervisee had two roles in
rebtion to a client, being both manager of the residential home,
and in overaIJ charge of the client's well-being. Sometimes the role
felt clumsy.
The invitation could have been to be over-inclusive with the
supervisee but we were tracking a way of thinking to clarify wha t
he had covered, what still needed attention. This helped with
structure and focu s. The first contract was to track the process
using the seven-level model that had just been learned. This is
90 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

what it did, and the additional issue of subcontracts was

addressed in the early part of the supervision and provided a
sub text for the short piece transcribed.

Further exercises useful in teaching contracting in supervision

Exercise (a) In a role-play or a transcript of supervision count the

number of times the supervisor contracted with the supervisee. ( I
sometimes refer to this as contracting on the hoof. It i s a series of
transactions which leads to some agreement between the two
parties about what is to be focused upon.) The purpose of this is
to show that contracting does not have to be a mechanistic and
artificial process but a constant dialogue.
Exercise (b) Tape a session with a supervisee and transcribe a
section. Look for clear evidence of contracting in your tape. Do the
same with the tape (if you have one) of the supervisee's work
with his or her client. So often when supervisees feel they have
lost their way it can be because the contract with the client is
unclear, or has become diluted over time.
Exercise (c) If the notion of contracting is anathema to you because
of your philosophical stance or particular counselling approach,
how would you describe to an intelligent lay person what you
think you are doing together with this client? How does that fit
your philosophy? Is that what the client needs or is there any
danger of imposing an approach on a client which may simply
reinforce old patterns? For example, if a person has experienced
him or herself as always having to work things out on their own,
is the withholding of some of Heron's authoritative interventions
helpful? How would you justify this?

References

Berne, E . 0961, reprinted 1 993) Trallsactiollal A lII/lysis ill PSI/chotl/aapy, Guernsey:

Souvenir Press.
CarrolL M. ( 1 996) COlillsellillg S lIperuisioll: Theart/, Skills !llId Practice. London:
Cassell.
Clarkson, P. ( 1 992) Tmllsactiolll1! AlIl7iI/;;is PSI/c/lOthernI'Y: A l l ilI tcgmted Approacll.
London: Routledge.
Clarkson, P. and Gilbert, M. ( 1 99 1 ) The Tra inins of counsellor trainers and
super\'isors. In W. Dryden a nd B. Thurne (eds), Traillillg alld SlIpelTisioll for
COli llselling ill Actioll . Lundon: Sage.
 CONTRACTING IN SUPERVISION 91

Clarkson, P. a n d Lapworth, P. ( 1 992) Systemic integrative psychotherapy. In W.

Dryden (ed.) Integrative and Eclectic Psychotherapy: A Handbook. Buckingham:
Open University Press.
Erskine, R. ( 1 980) Script cure: behavioural, intrapsychic and physiological. Trallsac­
tiollal Analysis !aumal. 10(2) 102-6 .
Garcia, P. ( 1 991 ) Responsivity. Transactional Alwlysis IOl/mal. 21 (4): 21 2-1 7.
H awkins, P and Shohet, R (1989) Supervisioll ill the Helpillg Professiolls. Milton
Keynes: Open University Press, Chapter 6.
H ay, j . ( 1 992) Trnllsactiolllli A nalysis for Traillcr,. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill.
Heron, j. ( 1 990) /- Ie/pillg the Cliellt: A Creatiue Pmcticill G uide. London: Sage.
Hewson, j. and Turner, C. ( 1 992) Transactiollal A llalysis ill Ma/wgmlcnt. Bristol: The
Staff College, Bristol.
Holloway, E. ( 1 995) CliniCilI Supervision: A SystClllf; Approach. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.
Page, S. and Wosket, V. (1 994) Supen)ising the Cowlsellor.· A Cyclical Model. London:
Routledge.
Sills, C. (ed . ) ( 1 997) Contracts in COl/nselling. London: Sage.
Thompson, A. ( 1 990) Guide to Etllieal Practice ill Psychotherapy. New York: Wiley.
4 Training in r eflective p rocesses in
sup ervIsIon

Susan Allstetter Neufeldt

Throughout my professional life I have been torn between two

keen professional interests, teaching and the practice of psycho­
therapy. Educated at Stanford University, where I received a B.A.
and M.A., I became a public school teacher for five years, before
returning to the University of California for my PhD. in counsel­
ling psychology. Three years of teaching undergraduates in psy­
chology was followed by twelve years of private practice
primarily within an interpersonal process model. Principal men­
tors for me were Jules Zimmer, Ed.D., and James H. Wells, MD.
In 1 990 I was invited to the University of California, Santa
Barbara, as clinic director and supervisor of beginning students in
a basic practicum and advanced students in a supervision practi­
cum. At last my interests in teaching and counselling were united
into the discipline of supervision! While I have continued to see a
few clients myself, I have focused my energy on the training and
supervision of therapists and supervisors. As I study the pro­
fessional literature on supervision and training, I integrate my
experience as teacher, therapist, and now supervisor, as I con­
tinually develop and revise my approach to supervision.

Reflective1 processes as a key to therapist development

Training and supervision of therapists are endeavours to help

novices become experts (Lichtenberg, 1 997; R0nnestad and Skov­
holt, 1 998). Expert therapists display a high level of intellectual
ability and a rich conceptual structure in the cognitive domain
(Jennings and Skovholt, in press; Skovholt et al., 1 997). They differ
from novices particularly in their ability to manage difficult cases
 REFLECTIVE PROCESSES IN SUPERVISION 93

(Binder and Strupp, 1 993; Skovholt et aI., 1 997) or problems that

are poorly formulated by clients (Lichtenberg, 1 997). Skovholt et
a1. ( 1997) observed that novices can perform effectively with
clients who have positive relationship histories and relatively
straightforward developmental problems; it takes experts, on the
other hand, to work with clients who have poor relationship
histories and characterological problems. Experts must also define
the problem to be addressed from a vast array of clinical data.
Schon ( 1983) stated that 'When we set the problem, we select what
we will treat as the "things" of the situation, we set the bound­
aries of our attention to it, and we impose upon it a coherence
which allows us to say what is wrong and in what directions the
situation needs to be changed' (p. 49) . Novice therapists of many
theoretical persuasions display difficulty in setting the problem
(Binder and Strupp, 1 997; Shaw, 1 984).
One critical goal of training and supervision is building skills,
the basis for the intellectual ability described by Jennings and
Skovholt (in press). Sternberg ( 1990) might have referred to ther­
apy skills as the 'intelligence' of psychotherapy. 'The intelligent
person welcomes automatization. He or she is intelligent largely
by virtue of the numbers of automated routines available for
information processing' (Sternberg, 1 990: 1 53). The second goal in
training is to help the trainee develop strategies for continued
development, strategies that lead to clinical wisdom (Neufeldt,
1 999). Sternberg has described the wise person as someone who
'resists automatization of thought but seeks to understand it
in others' ( 1 990: 1 53), a concept akin to our ideas of clinical
wisdom.
The development of both counselling skills and strategies for
continued growth are necessary for the development of novice
therapists into expert therapists. In this chapter, I will focus my
discussion on that second aspect, the trainee's development of
strategies for continued growth towards clinical wisdom. The
literature on therapist and counsellor development is instructive.

Therapist deuelopl11e/lt

Considerable work has focused on therapist development (see, for

example, Bernard and Goodyear, 1 992, 1 998; Holloway, 1 987;
Skovholt & Ronnestad, 1 995; Stoltenberg and Delworth, 1 987;
Stoltenberg and McNeill, 1 997). Only Skovholt and Remnestad
94 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

(1 995) systematically examined the development of counsellors

and therapists beyond the years of training as graduate students
or interns. They interviewed 1 00 practitioners who ranged from
untrained counsellors to therapists with forty years' experience in
practice, in a carefully constructed qualitative study.
While illuminating the stages of development, Skovholt and
Rennestad (1 995) also isolated a critical factor in facilitating
professional development. That factor, which distinguished ther­
apists who continued to develop from therapists who stagnated
and 'burned out', they called continuous professional reflection.
Schon (1 983, 1 987) likewise has described the importance of
reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action as skills required for
expert practice.

Nature of reflectivity

Schon's concept of reflection and Skovholt and Rennestad's con­

tinuous professional reflection appeared similar. Neufeldt, Karno
and Nelson (1996) elected to explore that similarity. They con­
ducted a qualitative study to determine whether these authors'
conceptualizations were isomorphic and what elements were
included in the concept of reflectivity. They interviewed Schon,
Skovholt and Rennestad, along with two scholars, Willis
Copeland and Elizabeth Holloway, who had utilized the concept
of reflectivity in teaching and supervision respectively. All five
agreed on the common processes included in the concept of
reflectivity.
The experts identified the causal event, which is where reflectiv­
ity (and development) begin, as a problem in counselling 'ripe for
reflectivity' (Neufeldt et al., 1 996: 6), signified by the trainee's
feelings of uncertainty. A problem is really a dilemma for the
supervisee; they are surprised by the turn of events in the
counselling session and feel confused and 'stuck' (ibid.). Trainees
can reflect on dilemmas if they have the personality character­
istics; cognitive capacities for complexity, invention and imagina­
tion; and a situation in a safe institutional and supervisory
environment that encourages these qualities.
Reflective processes can occur when these conditions are met.
Reflectivity was described along a number of dimensions. First is
the locus of attention. When reflective, therapists focus on their
own actions, emotions and thoughts in the counselling session. In
 REFLECTIVE PROCESSES IN SUPERVISION 95

addition, they attend to the interaction between the client and

therapist. The second dimension, which several experts con­
sidered the most important, was a 'stance' of reflectivity. Four
elements characterize that stance: the intention to examine one's
actions in order to act further, active and critical inquiry about
one's own covert and overt activity in session, continued open­
ness to a variety of alternatives for interpreting what is being
conveyed, and the willingness to become vulnerable and try out
new ideas both in supervision and in session. Third, reflective
persons use two important sources for understanding what they
see. Theory is one source which enables them to explore the
phenomena they wish to understand, a kind of lens through
which to view their experiences. A second, and significant ele­
ment of novice-to-expert development, is the use of 'past personal
and professional experiences, particularly previous surprising,
puzzling clinical experiences and the interpretations one has
made of them' (ibid .: 7).
Reflectivity is apparently a meta-skill that enables two critical
therapist activities. Reflection-in-action (Schon, 1 983) enables ther­
apists to make the in-session decisions to utilize a specific strategy
tailored to a particular client at a particular time, and continuous
professional reflection (Skovholt and R0nnestad, 1 995) facilitates
the development of the professional counsellor as he or she moves
from one level of professional competence and clinical wisdom to
the next. It is therefore necessary to teach this skill to beginners,
who will need it to advance. Likewise, more advanced therapists
will need reflectivity both for continued development and for
moment-to-moment decision-making within sessions. Our task is
to develop that meta-skill as we supervise therapists at all devel­
opmental levels.

Use of reflective interventions in supervision

A number of strategies for reflective supervision have been descri­

bed fully in a manual for supervision (Neufeldt, 1 999). Much of
the training and supervision of beginning students involves basic
skill-building, with modelling and practice. However, even at this
early stage, I look to encourage the habit of reflection and cogita­
tion where it is appropriate. It is challenging to do this and even
more challenging to teach it to beginning supervisors. As Carl
96 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Rogers once said to Rod Goodyear (Goodyear, 1 982), on a video­

tape where he conducted and then described his feelings about
supervision, 'I just want to say, "Move over; let me take over.'" It
is difficult for any of us not to answer supervisees' questions
immediately nor to give 'brilliant' advice; we were therapists first,
and we often want to provide a therapeutic solution. This diffi­
culty is greater for the beginning supervisor (Skovholt and
Ronnestad, 1 995) who feels the pressure to generate answers and
perform credibly by being helpful. However, when our goal is the
development of a reflective therapist, we can attend to tha t goal
instead of showing the supervisee, in that moment, how the 'best'
therapy might look (and how clever we were to figure it out). A
number of active strategies encourage reflectivity on the part of
the supervisee (Neufeldt, 1 999). In this chapter I will illustrate
their use in a particular supervision session.
The therapist, in this instance, was a doctoral student in her
second year of academic and clinical training, with exactly one
year of counselling practicum experience behind her. We had
worked together the previous year, when I regularly supervised
her student supervisor's work with her and occasionally directly
supervised her client work myself. We had developed a relation­
ship where she seemed comfortabie and occasionally asked ques­
tions that involved some level of risk, so I believed our
supervision could occur in what she might experience as a safe
environment. On this occasion, I asked her whether she had a
dilemma in any of her cases tha t I could help her with. In that way
I made certain tha t the critical causal event was in place, and I
explained that I would be using this discussion for illustration.
She agreed to these conditions and then proceeded to tell me
about her case and her questions. I responded by exploring how
she had felt about what she did in the session and any other
thoughts or feelings she experienced in her meeting with the
client. From there I explored the other dimensions described
above as elements of reflectivity. Because she was a second-year
student, I was able to ask more questions and still get responses
than I might have done had I directly questioned a beginner;
beginners typically respond to questions with silence (Holloway
and Wolleat, 1 981 ).
In this supervision session, I addressed some but not all aspects
of the reflective process. My primary goal, however, was to enlist
the supervisee's collaboration in our mutual effort to understand
the events of the counselling session. J hoped to engage her
 REFLECTIVE PROCESSES IN SUPERVISION 97

curiosity to the degree that it could override any anxiety she

might feel in discussing the case with me.

N: I've seen this woman for three sessions and last time she
told me some things that I didn't know what to make of.
S: Umm-hmm.
N : Yeah, she said that after she's been in a relationship for a
while, l ike right now, when she is involved in the physical
part of the relationship, it feels just like all the other
relationships she's been in, like the physicality of it, almost
as if she couldn't d ifferentiate between her experience
with her present lover and her experience with a d ifferent
person. And I thought that was kind of odd, and I didn't
know if it was sort of psychotic.
S: So when you were in there, you were trying to figure out
what was going on, what this meant.
[Here, I was asking her to focus on what she was thinking.]
N : Yeah. So I just kept asking h e r about it. A n d s h e said that
it's happened before. And I said, like, maybe he reminds
her of someone else. And she said he reminds her of
everyone, that it all feels the same after a while. Then I
said, 'Well, maybe the relationship's getting kind of old.'
And she didn't pick up on that. So I didn't know. She came
i n because of problems i n relationships and said she often
gets kind of numb after a while. So I asked if maybe this
was the beginning of that process, and she said it probably
was.
S: Umm-hmm. And so how were you feeling while all this
was going on.
[I shifted from the counsellor's thoughts in session to her
fee/ings.]
N : Well, I was really curious, but at the same time i t was kind
of eerie.
S: So you were kind of uncomfortable?
N : Well, yeah, i t just felt eerie. I mean, I had never heard of
anything like this before and I just wanted to know if it
was normal.
S: And you were a little bit worried.
N: Yeah. I mean, I wondered if this was some sort of
psychotic process. You know, she came in with a previous
diagnosis of manic depression and they get psychotic
sometimes, don't they?
S: Sometimes. But what would it mean to you if she were
psychotic?
98 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

[1 moved from her thoughts and feelings to the meaning she

made of the experience.]
N: Well, I don't know. I mean, my regular supervisor said I
should just be calm and stable with her.
[She described what had been suggested for her to do in
future sessions. So I shifted back to what she intended and
experienced in the session under discussion.]
S: But really, you still don't know what it all means. And so
you were really trying to understand it while you were in
there.
N: Yeah.
S: And you're still wondering about it.
N: Yeah.
[Now I shifted from her thoughts, feelings and actions, to her
experience of the relationship and interaction between
them.]
S: So let's explore it a little further. What was your inter­
action like?
N: I think it was pretty good, I mean, I don't think she
realized I was uncomfortable or anything.
S: Good. And what was the nature, the feel, of the inter­
action between you?
[1 realized she hadn't really understood my question, so I tried
again, by asking for a deeper response to the interaction
between them.]
N: O h , well i t wasn't very d ifferent from the way it usually is.
She doesn't show much emotion. But I think we have a
pretty good relationship, I mean, as good as we could. I
think this is probably how she is in any relationship. And I
think she could feel that I was really i nterested in under­
standing her.
5: How did you get that impression?
N: Well, she just kept talking and answering my questions
and trying to explain what I wanted to know.
5: Okay . . . Do you feel as engaged, connected to her as you
usually do with clients?
N: Well, it's more connected than I feel with adolescents, but
it's a lot less than with my other client, who is very social
and just has a particular relationship problem he's trying
to figure out.
5: So this sounds like a client who may not have had a good
relationship history and is kind of hard to form a relation­
ship with.
 REFLECTIVE PROCESSES IN SUPERVISION 99

N: Yeah, but I think she's a good client t o work with; she

talks very easily and she comes in for all her appoint­
ments.
S: But you're saying there isn't much 'flavour' to the relation­
ship with her. And you think that's pretty characteristic of
her.
N : Yeah.
S: Okay. And do you have any opinions about what you did
i n the session?
N: Well, at the time, I just asked her the questions I could
think of, but now that I 've had more of a chance to
consider it, I wish I 'd asked her more about whether it
happens i n other relationships, going numb or feeling
disconnected, I mean.
S: Sure. And can you think of anything else you might want
to try?
[I encouraged her not to settle for the ftrst idea, to remain
open and consider additional alternatives.]
N : Well, I'd want t o know if it was connected t o something i n
h e r past. S o I'd a s k about that.
S: Ah, so you are i nterested i n the similarity of the relation­
ship between the two of you and her other relationships.
And you want to know about things i n her past. Is that
something you think you might pursue in session with her?
[I rather quickly shifted here to checking out whether she
planned to risk trying out her ideas in a future session.]
N: Yes.
S: So it sounds as if you have a plan that you're willing to
try.
N : Yeah.
[And then I checked her sources of understanding in terms of
both theory and experience.]
S: As you seek to understand her, what kind of theory are
you using? What's the lens through which you view these
events?
N : What? 0 yeah. Well, it's a combination, I think, o f i nter­
personal and psychodynamic.
S: Yeah. That seems to fit what you've been saying you
wanted to know about. And besides those theories and
your experience with this client, what else do you use to
understand her? I know you haven't had a lot of counsel­
ling experience, but what past experiences might have
helped you here?
1 00 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

N: Well, I think I ' m not really judgemental in relationships,

that I can ask about experiences that are not like my own
and not have too strong a reaction. I mean, like once I was
talking with this homeless guy in San Francisco, and his life
was nothing like mine, but I was j ust curious about it. And
that's kind of how I am with her; I just ask questions.
S: Okay . . . You know, this was a pretty short session, and
I'm wondering how this discussion was for you?
[Finally, I asked her to re�ect on our interaction in super­
vision.]
N: Well, i t was pretty helpful. We went a little deeper into it.
I mean, I hadn't really thought much about my own
feelings. And then when you said I seemed to have a plan,
that felt good.

The challenge for me always occurs when I'm trying to encour­

age reflectivity rather than build skills. With many years of
practice in therapy and supervision, I still occasionally find it
difficult to back off and encourage therapists to consider their
own thoughts, feelings and behaviours. In this way, I try to build
in a pattern of thinking about difficulties with clients, a reflective
process, that will continue to help the supervisees long after they
leave me. I also train supervisors to do this, and I am struck by
how the novice supervisors' efforts to encourage reflectivity in
their supervisees facilitate their own reflective attitudes and
processes.

Exercises for practice

The practices described above encourage the supervisee to use

reflective processes while discussing a counselling dilemma dur­
ing supervision. I enjoy the process of drawing out therapists and
encouraging them to consider their work from different angles, to
approach it with curiosity. The goal, however, is to enable the­
rapists to do this exploration on their own. To that end, I devel­
oped the following exercises for supervisees to do on their own.

Self-reflection on a dilemma

Supervisees are directed to respond to the following questions in

writing immediately after the next therapy session in which they
 REFLECTIVE PROCESSES IN SUPERVISION 1 01

face a puzzle, a dilemma. It will take the therapist quite a while to

carry out this endeavour, but it can help to establish a habit of
thinking through a clinical problem.

1. Describe the therapy events which precipitated your puz­

zlement.
2. State your question about these events as clearly as you
can.
3. What were you thinking during this portion of the session?
4. What were you feeling? How do you understand those
feelings now?
5. Consider your own actions d uring this portion of the session.
What did you intend?
6. Now look at the interaction between you and the client.
What were the results of your interventions?
7. What was the feel, the emotional flavour, of the interaction
between you? Was it similar to or different from your usual
experience with this client?
8. To what degree do you understand this interaction as similar
to the client's interactions in other relationships? How does
that inform your experience of the interaction in session?
9. What theories do you use to understand what is going on in
session?
1 0. What past professional or personal experiences affect your
understanding?
11. How else might you interpret the events and interaction in
the session?
12. H o w might you test out the various alternatives i n your next
counselling session? (Be sure to look for what confirms and
what disconfirms your interpretations.)
1 3. How will the clients' responses inform what you do next?

Exercise for listelling to audio or videotape of session

Up to this point, I have described ways of encouraging therapists

to ret1ect back on their actions in session, what Schon ( 1 983) called
ret1ections-on-action. 1t is, however, importan t to train therapists
to reflect in action, to examine what is happening while the
session is going on. While we cannot interrupt the session with
questions about the therapist's experience in the moment, we can
closely approximate it by asking therapists, as soon thereafter as
possible, to recall what they were experiencing during the session.
Schon called this 'reflections-on-reflections-in-action' (personal
1 02 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

communication, 1 994). Arrange for a supervision session directly

after the taped session to make the experience more immediate.
Ask the supervisee to play a tape of the most puzzling interaction
in the session. After each therapist intervention (aside from mini­
mal verbal responses designed to keep the client going), ask the
therapist to describe her or his experiences during that time. In
particular, ask about the therapist's in-session feelings and
thoughts, as well as the intentions behind the behaviour. Encour­
age the therapist to explore the results of the intervention and
consider what that meant to the therapist during the session
itself.
Make every effort to keep the therapists' attention focused on
their experiences during the session. In this way you encourage
them to pay attention to their own thoughts, feelings and behav­
iours, and to client reactions while they actually conduct therapy.
Only after discussing those, do you allow them to shift in super­
vision to the ways they now experience what they saw and how
they intend to move forward in the next session.

Effectiveness of the reflective approach to supervision

To date, there is no research that supports the effectiveness of this

series of interventions on therapists' regular use of reflective
processes during or after their sessions. As Binder has noted,
however, 'Because empirical data are lacking, any discussion
about problems with the supervisory process is speculative and
must be based upon personal experience and relevant clinical
literature. Nevertheless, such problems are sufficiently critical to
the therapy training endeavour to warrant even speculative dis­
cussion' (1 993: 305). In my personal experience with supervisees, I
have observed these results: (a) Those who naturally reflect will
do it whether I ask them to or not. It is a habit of thinking, which
is akin to 'psychological minded ness. ' (b) Those who have not yet
learned to reflect can do so, albeit awkwardly at first, if I pose the
specific kinds of questions I have described above. (c) While
sometimes supervisees will reflect aloud in supervision, in many
cases I would have no idea of what they were experiencing unless
I asked explicitly. (d) I can sometimes facilitate their learning
reflective skills by modelling my own reflective processes.
 REFLECTIVE PROCESSES IN SUPERVISION 1 03

These interventions work well in one-on-one supervision and I

have also found them easy to use over the telephone. In addition,
when I use them in supervision groups of two or more, I find that
the other supervisees also reflect. Group members sometimes
interject their thoughts or feelings during the discussion of the
case.
It is important to remember that teaching and practising reflec­
tive processes is only one aspect of supervision. As indicated
earlier in this chapter, there is a definite place for the specific
teaching and modelling of new or ineffectively applied skills.
Certainly, we begin their training with skills training, and we
continue to offer new possibilities as they advance. As well, there
is evidence that supervisees prefer structured supervisory inter­
ventions during a crisis (Tracey, Ellickson and Sherry, 1 989), and it
is likely that they cannot readily reflect in those crisis moments
when their anxiety is high.
The continuous use of retlection, however, appears to lead to
significant development in therapists and prevent stagnation and
deterioration (Skovholt and R0nnestad, 1 995). Training can create
a habit of reflective practice that may lead to addressing clinical
problems 'in the swampy lowland where "messes" are incapable
of technical solution' (Schon, 1 983: 42). It may also assist in the
development of the ability to form successful alliances with
difficult clients, as well as with those who bond to the therapist
and others rather easily, for that appears to be the critical element
in successful psychotherapy (Strupp, 1996).

Notes

'Thmughout this chapter, the terms reflre/ioll, rc/cctillg, and reflectivity refer to an
f
internal process of a t tention ilnd thought rather than to a counsellor's verbal
response to a client.

Suggested Reading

The works which follow are listed by author and title; the complete references can
be found in the next section.
Recommenda tions for improving psychotherapy training based on experiences
with manual-guided training and research (Binder and Strupp, 1993)
S"l'ervisioll Stmtegil's for tile First PracticulII ( N eufeldt, 1999)
1 04 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Supervision of beginning and advanced graduate students of counselling and

psychotherapy (Ronnestad and Skovholt, 1 993)
Educating the Reflective Practitioner (Schon, 1987)
The Evolving Professional Sclf (Skovholt and Ronnestad, 1999)

References

Bernard, J.M. and Goodyear, R.K. ( 1 992) (2nd edn, 1 998) Fundalllentais of Clinical
Supervision. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Binder, J.L. ( 1 993) Is it time to improve psychotherapy training? Clinical Psychology
Review, 1 3: 301 - 1 8.
Binder, J.L. and Strupp, H.H. ( 1 993) Recommendations for improving psychother­
apy training based on experiences with manual-guided training and research: an
introduction. Psychotherapy, 30: 592---600.
Binder, J.L. and Strupp, H.H. ( 1 997) Supervision of psychodynamic psycho­
therapies. In C.E. Watkins, Jr. (ed.), Handbook of Psychotherapy Supervision (pp.
44-59). New York: Wiley.
Goodyear, R.K. ( 1 982) Psychotherapy Supervision by Major Theorists (Videotape
series). Manhattan, KS: Kansas State University.
Holloway, E.L. ( 1 987) Developmental models of supervision: is it development?
Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 24: 1 094-1 1 1 9.
Holloway, E.L. and Wolleat, P.L. ( 1 98 1 ) Style differences of beginning supervisors:
an interactional analysis. Joumal of Counseling Psychology, 28: 373---6 .
Jennings, 1. and Skovholt, TM. (in press) Characteristics of Master Therapists.
Journal of Counselillg Psychology.
Lichtenberg, J.W. ( 1 997) Expertise in counseling psychology: a concept in search of
support. Educational Psychology Review, 9: 221 -38.
Neufeldt, S.A. ( 1 999) Supervision Strategies for the First PracticulIl (2nd edn).
Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
Neufeldt, S.A., Karno, M.P. and Nelson, M.L. ( 1 996) A qualitative study of experts'
conceptualization of supervisee reflectivity. Joumal of Counseling Psychology, 43:
3-9.
Ronnestad, M.H. and Skovholt, TM. ( 1 993) Supervision of beginning and
advanced graduate students of counseling and psychotherapy. Journal of Counsel­
ing and Development, 7 1 : 396-405.
Ronnestad, M.H. and Skovholt, TM. ( 1 998) Berufliche entwicklung und super­
vision von psychotherapeuten [The professional development and supervision
of psychotherapists] Psychothempel/t, 42: 299-306.
Schon, D.A. ( 1 983) The Reflective Practitioner. New York: Basic Books.
Schon, D.A. ( 1 987) Educating the Reflectiue Practitioner. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Shaw, B.F. ( 1 984) Specification of the training and evaluation of cognitive therapists
for outcome studies. Tn J . B.W. Williams and R.L. Spitfire (eds), Psychotherapy
Research: Where A rc We and VV7,ere Should We Go? New York: Guilford.
Skovholt, TM. and Ronnestad, l'vl. H . ( 1 995) Tilt' E" oluing Profes;;iollnl Self: S tages ami
Themes in Therapist lind COIIII';c/or Dc,·clol 'melli. Chichester: Wiley.
Skovholt, T.M., Ronnestad, M . H . and Jennings, L. ( 1 997) Searching for expertise in
counseling, psychotherapy, and professional psychology. Edilentiollill PSl/Chology
Rl'Z·iew, 9: 361-9.
 REFLECTIVE PROCESSES IN SUPERVISION 1 05

Sternberg, R.j. (1 990) Wisdom and its relations to intelligence and creativity. In R.j.
Sternberg ( ed . ) , Wisdom: Ifs Nlltufe, Origim;, 11111/ DeueioplIlen/ (pp. 1 42-59). Cam­
bridge: Cambridge University Press.
Stoltenberg, CD. and Delworth, U. ( 1 987) 5upcruisill:; Coullse/ors lind Them!,isl,. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Stoltenberg, CO. and McNeill, B.W. ( 1 9'17) Clinical su pervision from a devel­
opmental perspective: research ,md practice. In C.E. Wa tkins, j r. (ed.), /-111m/hook
of Psychotheral'Y 5111'<'rZ'isioll, New York: Wiley.
Strupp, H.H. ( 1 996) Some salient lessolls from res<?arch and practic<? Psychotherapy.
33: 1 35-8.
Tracey, T.j., Ell ickson, ].L. and Slwrry, P. ( 1 989) Reactance in relation to different
supervisory environments and counselor development. joul'I1l1l of COllllselin;.;
PSlfchology, 36: 336-44.
5 Training in group and t eam
supervIsIon
Willem Lammers

Introduction

Originally trained in social psychology, I have been working with

groups, teams and small organizations for approximately twenty
years, in the roles of psychotherapist, supervisor and organiza­
tional consultant. For the past ten years I have been training
professionals in psychotherapy, counselling and supervision,
using my own background in transactional analysis Neuro­
linguistic programming (NLP) and different forms of group psy­
chotherapies and trainings. The context of my work is the Institute
for the Application of the Social Sciences which I founded with a
colleague in 1 987 in Switzerland and which specializes in training
programmes for supervision, coaching, team development, and
different forms of counselling, for example transactional analysis
and trauma counselling. Our institute also offers services in these
fields alongside the training we provide.
One of the areas in which I work and train substantially is that
of supervising teams and groups. For effective work in this area
supervisors need specific competence in the complex processes
which are part and parcel of groups and organizations. These
processes can stimulate or inhibit the learning of the individual
supervisee and the group as a whole. In this chapter, I will
describe my understanding of group and team supervision within
the context of the Systems Approach to Supervision (SAS model,
Holloway, 1 995). I will then dravv out the consequences of this
thinking for the training of group and team supervisors.
 TRAINING IN GROUP AND TEAM SUPERVISION 1 07

Tasks, roles and context

The tasks and roles of a supervisor working with groups or teams

vary with the context. Types of groups and teams are very
different. A few recent examples from my own practice illustrate
this variety. I work with:

• professional counsellors and psychotherapists who need sup­

port in their daily work with clients;
• professionals from different disciplines in a drug ward of a
psychiatric hospital;
• professionals preparing for the exams of the International
Transactional Analysis Association;
• nurses from the management of a rehabilitation hospital who
have conflicts among themselves and with the medical staff;
• staff responsible for a training programme of social workers in
the first year of the curriculum;
• staff members of a broadcasting corporation preparing a meet­
ing in which they have to develop a strategic plan with a larger
team;
• a team of a 'birth house' who want to discuss the level and
strength of co-operation among themselves;
• a team from an insurance company who want to learn to
manage conflicts;
• a team of schoolteachers who want to discuss their commu-
nication problems with the school board.

The size of these groups varies from three to twelve, the meeting
arrangements vary from just one occasion to intensive co­
operation on a day-to-day, hour-to-hour base. The activity may be
labelled group supervision, team supervision, team development,
coaching, crisis intervention, conflict management or process facil­
itating. The labels or titles given to the work differ across coun­
tries, corporate culture and context. In German-speaking countries
the word 'coaching' is used for the counselling of business man­
agers, while in Britain the word 'mentoring' covers the same area.
In a few Swiss hospitals, the word 'Prnxisberatullg' (practice coun­
selling) is used for team supervision. At first this may seem
irrelevant, but its importance was realized when the hospital
management reserved a budget for 'Prnxisberatlll1g' but not for
'team supervision'. One trainee I know was reluctant to call
herself a team supervisor until she realized she was doing team
supervision under the title of 'organizational development' . In a
1 08 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

corporate context (and this is where care in the use of terminology

needs to be exercised), 'supervision' is a controlling function and
we have found it is more acceptable to talk about 'coaching', 'team
development' or 'workplace counselling' .
In this chapter I will describe differences between group and
team supervision and then describe the characteristics of each. In
general, to become a team or group supervisor, training and
competence in individual supervision is a basic condition. From
this starting point, competence has to be built at different systemic
levels for those who wish to proceed to being a team or group
supervisor. The skills involved are around working with (a) the
individual in the group setting; (b) the group as a complex system
in itself; and (c) the group as part of a system in which it is
embedded. These three aspects pertain to group supervision as
well as to team supervision. Table 5 . 1 is an overview of the
characteristics of both group and team settings.

Characteristics of group supervision

I will review the features of group supervision from a systemic

perspective as well as from the three aspects mentioned above.
From a systemic stance we can see group supervision as a
forum in which trainees or professionals meet regularly with an
experienced professional to discuss professional issues. The goals
include all five supervisory tasks of Holloway's SAS model:
counselling skills, case conceptualization, professional role, emo­
tional awareness and self-evaluation. The group members may
come from the same profession or have different professional
backgrounds. Participants in the group usually do not meet
outside sessions. At the beginning of each session, a list of topics
is agreed and the group decides, with the supervisor, how these
topics will be prioritized. Work on a specific topic usually takes
between twenty minutes and an hour. Depending on the goal and
on the style of the supervisor, an individual may be supervised by
the group with the supervisor in the role of a facilitator of the
group process, or the supervisor will work with the individual in
front of the group. In the latter case, group members offer their
observations later in the session. As a support system, group
supervision is still usually restricted to professionals from non­
profit organizations. In commercial organizations, the need for a
 TRAINING IN GROUP AND TEAM SUPERVISION 1 09

professional's reflection on self, the team, and the organization is

not yet widely recognized. It is quite the opposite sometimes, and
for some professionals in a business context it may still be difficult
to admit that self-reflection and self-evaluation is not a weak­
ness.

The individual in the group

The role of the individual in the group is especially relevant in

group supervision, where group members come from different

Table 5 . 1 Group and team characteristics

Categories Group supervision Team supervision
Subcategories Training group Support group Corporate Non-profit Management

Contract trainees, trained management, management, management

partners professional professionals team team
association or
institution
Goal learning professional crisis problem- problem-
counselling, support intervention, sol ving, solving,
psychotherapy, problem- group conflict
supervision solving, process, case management
group process supervision
Membership professionals trained team team management
in training professionals members members tea m

Leadership Training group team coach, team team coach

name and supervisor supervisor organizational su pervi so r
status consultant
Group size 5-8 5-8 3-20 3-12 3-5
Duration of until end of one year, may
contract training with be prolonged
d i fferent
supervisors
Frequency / 1-2 times a monthly /3 hrs accord ing to monthly /2-3 according to
duration mon th /3 h rs needs, Ius needs,
usually not usually not
regularly regularly
Main focus cases of ca ses team cases/team co-
clients, problems/ problems/ o perat i on /
prufessiunal co-operation co-operati('n strategic
role/identity thinking
Ternlination with end of end of a fter after 2-3 when
training co n tract stabiliz,1tion vei1fS problems
of co- are (not)
opera tiun solved
110 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

work settings with the primary task of developing and maintain­

ing professional competence. There is usually no other connection
between members than this shared interest. Most of the time
concentration is on issues around problems with clients, col­
leagues or the management of the institution in which the super­
visee works. Depending on the exact goal of the group, members
may come from the same or different professions. This kind of
supervision may be very similar to individual supervision, with
clear roles negotiated by the supervisor and the supervisee. This
kind of group has additional advantages similar to those outlined
by Yalom (1 970) when he describes the advantages of group over
individual psychotherapy. Many experienced supervisors prefer
this type of group work to engaging in individual work because
of the extra options available to them. At a theoretical level, group
supervisors must be familiar with:

• the elementary structure and process of working groups (Bion,

1 96 1 );
• stages in the development of working groups (Tuckman, 1 965;
Lacoursiere, 1 980);
• the extension of parallel processes into a supervision group
(Stoltenberg and Delworth, 1987).

The role of the group supervisor is a combination of the individ­

ual supervisor and a group process facilitator.

The group (/s (/ complex systelll ill itself

Every supervision group creates a culture of its O\vn which deter­

mines, to a large degree, the working relationships between the
members and the environment. Intimacy, trust, creativity and pro­
ductivity of the members of the group individually and the group as
a whole are key elements in the effective working of the group.
Supervisors play an important role in building the culture in how
they conduct the first sessions. Supervisees may be encouraged or
inhibited in expressing their thoughts and feelings and the group
may develop either towards a network or towards a hierarchical
basic structure. The risk of group supervision is that it is implicitly
paternalistic and authoritarian and can create a sense of depend­
ency in the members. It is important to invite contributions from all
members of the group as a way of helping them become more
autonomous and create a culture of participation.
 TRAINING IN GROUP AND TEAM SUPERVISION 111

The group as a part of a hierarchical system

Group supervision can take place as part of professional training

and as a supportive measure for those finishing their professional
training. In the former case, the rules of the training institution, a
professional association or the law will apply to the supervision
group. When there is no explicit training task in the supervision,
usually the ethics and professional practice rules of the association
the supervisor and the group members belong to will apply.
Group supervisors in training must become aware of the larger
structures they are working in and which may limit their range of
interventions and tasks, for example where confidentiality or dual
relationships are concerned. Group supervisors must also realize
that they have a containing or embedding function towards
supervisees and clients. This means that the old rule 'primum non
nocere' (literally translated as ' firstly, no harm') still applies: the
first task of the supervisor is to reduce danger for the clients of the
supervisees and the supervisees themselves, in this order.

Contract partners

In group supervision, each individual participant has a separate

contract with the supervisor, usually for a fixed number of ses­
sions. The trainees of psychotherapy or counselling contract with
the professional organization, institute or association which sup­
ports the training. It is recommended that the supervisees also
contract with each other around issues such as confidentiality and
participation.

Goals

The goals of group supervision are the same as what Holloway

(1 995) describes in her book as supervision tasks. These goals will
shift with experience and with the phase of group development:
beginning counsellors tend to focus more on their identity in the
profession and on technical and diagnostic issues, while experi­
enced professionals put the main emphasis on the therapeutic
relationship and counter-transference.
112 TRAI NING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Membership

The membership of a training supervision group is part of a larger

training programme. This larger training will include elements on
theoretical and technical training as well as personal experience in
the taught method and sometimes also practice in a psychiatric
hospital or another context where the taught method is used. A
support supervision group consists of professionals who have
finished their training and use the group to exchange their experi­
ences with clients. In the last few years, our institute has started to
offer supervision to groups consisting of members from mixed
professional backgrounds, such as teachers, business trainers, and
organizational consultants.

Labels a l l d titles

In grou p supervIsIOn the leader of the group is called a group

supervisor. The supervisor is usually a professional with a num­
ber of years' experience in the field. However, groups of experi­
enced professionals may work without a designated leader. Such
groups may also be called illtcruisioll groups, or peer groups.

Forll1o t

The group size ma y vary from four to eight, with an optimum of

about six members. The group usually meets once a month, and
the presence of all members is expected and highly valued. A
session duration of three hours allows members to treat a number
of issues in depth. The duration of the contract must recognize the
fact that mutual trust is a necessary condition for the exploration
of working relationships and counter-transference issues. It is
therefore desirable that a group does not change more than once
or twice a year.

Main foclfs

The main focus in grou p supervIsIon where the focus is on

psychotherapy and counselling is on working with clients. In
groups of mixed professional background, the contact with other
types of client systems, such as pupils in schools, patients in
hospitals or employees for managers, may be important. Issues
 TRAINING IN GROUP AND TEAM SUPERVISION 113

regarding the supervisee's professional role within an organiza­

tional and professional context may also be on the supervisory
agenda.

Termination

Usually supervision groups exist over a long time, with individ­

uals joining or leaving the group at fixed moments in the year.
Members leave a training supervision group after finishing their
professional training. A support group may stay together for
years, with changes taking place only when members feel they
have learned what they can from the group and consider it is time
to move on.

Characteristics of team supervision

Having reviewed the features of group supervision, I will now

present the characteristics of team supervision, which differs
somewhat from group supervision. Again, I will look at these
features through their systemic aspects and then through the same
three lenses: the individual member, the group system and the
group as part of a larger system.
A team is a group of people with a common task within the
structure of an organization. The word team may have many
different meanings depending on the context: there is quite a
difference between seven nurses in a psychiatric ward responsible
for the care of a group of patients on a day-to-day basis and a
group of psychotherapists who have in common that they share
their consulting rooms. There are also differences in the way
teams are managed. A manager may be a primus inter pares who
works closely with the team, or he or she may be a physically and
psychologically distant person at the other end of a telephone line.
Team supervision may take place with or without the presence of
the manager or team leader. In general, the closer a manager
stands to the team the more important is his or her presence.

Contract partners

In general, in team supervision there will be a three-cornered

contract, in which the supervisor has contracts both with the team
114 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

and with the management of the institution. The team has con­
tracts with the management and with the supervisor. When
supervisors work within an institution, it is important that they
are able to support the goals of the institution, while at the same
time having sufficient distance from power in the organization to
be able to recognize problems regarding organizational structure
and culture. In contract negotiations before the start of the super­
vision process, there must be clarity about the exact role of the
supervisor regarding the teams and the level of the organization
at which work takes place. In addition, the content of reports to
the management and the issue of who will have access to these
reports must be defined . The different aspects of contracts become
clear in the three-cornered contract diagram (English, 1 975) as
outlined in Figure 5.1 .

Gonl

In general, team supervision will help the team in the fulfilment of

their goals within and outside the organization. In working with
clients, many tasks of grou p supervision are also present in team
supervision. Additional issues are:

• the position of individuals within the team;

• the co-operation and communication of the team members;
• the relationship of the team with the management and with
other structures in the organization.

Cultural aspects and leadership styles play an important role in

team supervision.

Employer

r-------:l
Supervisor ....
... .
� Team

Figure 5.1 The lizrt'c-comCl"cd coll iroci

 TRAINING IN GROUP AND TEAM SUPERVISION 115

Membership

Membership in team supervision may differ according to context,

organizational culture and team goals. If supervision focuses on
expanding the competence of the team members in coping with
clients, like a team in a drug ward, they may well end up
with individual supervision in the context of the team super­
vision. In such a context the presence of the head of the ward
might be counter-productive as members may become aware of
personal emotions or have to confront personal issues which may
be difficult to do with the leader of the team present. Participants
may consider that this could affect their career or how they are
perceived within the team as a strong member or a weak one.
When, however, team supervision is focused on resolving con­
flicts in the team, the presence of the leader may be mandatory. A
discussion about the team philosophy, the tasks and the roles to
fulfil the tasks may be very ineffective when the leader is not
present.

Labels

Supervision in a team may be team supervision as such where

focus is on the team, it could be coaching and team development,
and / or workplace counselling. The name of the activity is less
relevant than the fact that the supervisor gains acceptance for the
work done. However, the choice of a name that has a familiar and
positive connotation is of utmost importance, especially in a
corporate context where asking for help may equate with admit­
ting one's incompetence. It may be, in some instances, essential to
find the label which supports the process at the level of the
organization. The name supervisor may sound too controlling.
Therefore consultant, counsellor or coach may be a better and
more acceptable title.

Format

Formats in team superVISIon may differ greatly. In non-profit

organizations that treat or educate clients, supervision may be a
regular monthly activity for a few hours. In working with corpo­
rate or management teams, any format might be possible: small
groups, large groups, days or hours, long-term contracts or single
116 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

sessions. This is the same for the membership. Sometimes groups

want to work with three hierarchical levels at the same time,
which may point to serious difficulties regarding the structure and
the management of the organization. Formats must be adapted to
the task and the availability of resources. Usually there is a gap
between what the supervisor considers necessary and what is
available, especially in corporate settings.

Mllill fOCIiS

The main focus in team supervision has to be formulated in the

contract. There are three different possible foci:

C ASE SUPERVISION In case supervision, team members present

cases from the population they are working with. For a team of
psychiatric nurses, this could be a patient who does not want to
leave his bed; or, for a team of school psychologists, a pupil who
does not make contact with others in the class. The task of the
supervisor is to develop theories and methods for the immediate
work with the client system.

TE A M CO-O P E RATION When the supervisor has a contract to

improve team co-operation, there is a wide array of options. A
primary issue is co-operation regarding clients for whom different
team members may have tasks. This may be the same task, as in a
psychiatric ward where all nurses may have the same roles at
different times, or different ones, like psychotherapists and nurses
in a treatment centre for borderline adolescents. Team supervision
may thus focus on managing boundaries between roles. Another
issue is communication between team members and the group
dynamics in the team. Emotional problems between team mem­
bers often have their roots in unclear contracts regarding roles and
tasks. In such a case, conflict management means managing roles,
boundaries and group dynamics in the team. A third issue is the
relationship of the team and the outer world, and how this outer
world is represented by the management. For many professionals
on the floor, it is very difficult to cope with the realistic limits the
management has to move within. In supervision of teams who
work with groups of clients, special attention is needed for
parallel processes between the client group and the team. A team
working with borderline adolescents may be subject to all kinds of
splitting dynamics as they are seen in the client group. On the
 TRAINING I N GROUP A N D TEAM SUPERVISION 117

other hand , organizational issues can support splitting mecha­

nisms.

TEAM STRATECY When the foclls of the supervision is on team

strategy, the team has to define the primary task. This must be
done because different team members may have different views. r
worked for a long time in a pulmonary rehabili tation hospital in
which the primary task was seen differently by medical and
socially trained personnel. The medical staff thought that the
primary task was to return people to a healthy physical condition.
They therefore wanted to design a rigid physical fitness pro­
gramme. Other staff members, social workers and psycho­
therapists, thought a rigid programme would make patients very
dependent on an external structure. As soon as the structure was
gone, there would be no internal drive to maintain the fitness of
patients. These are strategic problems which cannot be solved on a
day-to-day basis; the team must take the time to find a clear
definition of the primary task, in which different aspects of health
are represented . Only then can a structure with corresponding
roles be designed around this task. The job of the supervisor is
often to bridge the gap between different disciplines.

Termination

Because team supervision is often task-oriented, it is usually

terminated when the task is fulfilled, or when it becomes clear
that the task cannot be fulfilled and other goals are formulated.
Often there are no long-term contracts, but contracts are made
from stage to stage. From the beginning, team supervision is
much more complex than grou p supervision. Participants are not
only there for their personal learning goals, but also to solve
interpersonal problems and to help the team as a whole fulfil the
primary task. Tn a training programme, therefore, the teaching of
team supervision comes after the trainee supervisor has learned to
manage the basic dynamics of a supervision group as described
above. The above-mentioned aspects - the individual in the
group, group dynamics and embedded and embedding hier­
archies - are infinitely more complex and each deserving of a
book in its own right. The most important difference between
team and group supervision is the fact that the team as a whole
has a primary task to work on which is different from the task of
the supervision group. This primary task has four key aspects,
118 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

which have to be taken care of and which can lead to different

roles for different team members. These aspects are illustrated in
Figure 5.2 (Hilb, 1 998).
In team supervision, team members bring their external roles
into the relational context of the supervision process. This process
must not only enhance the learning of the participants, as in
group supervision, but also has to support the fulfilling of the
primary task. This has ethical consequences: if the supervisor
cannot support the primary task of the system to which team
members belong, a supervision contract should not be made.
There is a difference between the primary task itself and the way
the people in the organization work on it. If they work on an
ethical goal in unethical ways, supervision might well help to
work on the goal in a different way. Therefore supervisors must
learn to take ethical considerations about the primary task into
consideration. An example of an ethical consideration is con­
fidentiality. In team supervision it is usually not possible to keep
information within the boundaries of the sessions in the way this
might be expected in group supervision. In group supervision,
confidentiality contracts can be made and breaches of the contract
can be confronted. In team supervision, negotiations must take
place about whether and how information might go beyond the
session. The key concept in these negotiations must be respect . I f

GOAL

Figure 5.2 Four key roles

 TRAIN INC I N CROUP AND TEAM SUPERVISION 119

information is badly managed, people might easily lose face if

they show their vulnerability within the context of supervision.
We will now look at the three levels of focus for team super­
vision which were a lso used for group supervision.

The individual ill the supervision system

When working with individuals in team supervision, the super­

visor has to take into account that the supervisee will meet his
colleagues from supervision in other situations between sessions.
This means that individual participants have to be protected in
ways that en<lble them to take their roles in the team and in the
system after supervision is over. The supervisor has to offer
protection in a way that corresponds with the level of trust and
intimacy in a grou p. The more trust exists, the more the super­
visor can concentrate on vulnerable aspects of the individ ual. I f
this i s not the case, the emphasis will lie upon the clarification of
roles and tasks within the context of the organization.

The dynamics of tile supervision systclIl itself

The interaction between team members is an explicit part of the

supervision contract. Conflict, competition and co-operation are
connected to the fulfilment of the primary task of the grou p. In the
system dynamics, the supervisor can focus upon the interactions
between individ uals and on the dynamics of the team as a larger
system, in which individual positions represent aspects of the
system as a whole. These interactions may be connected to roles,
especially to the roles of management. In the team, there are
formal and informal roles. In figure 5.3 M stands for management
and the circles represent individual team members.
Team dynamics may have an immediate influence on the posi­
tion of the su pervisor. If a team has a strong, hierarchical, critical
leader, the su pervisor will be invited to be supportive, to avoid
confrontation with the reality of the management as it is. If the
management ti'l kes a laissez-fiJire stance', the team m ight turn to
the supervisor for clarity about their tasks and roles. The system
might thus be stabilized, but the chances are that the learnll1g will
be m i n imaL
1 20 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Figure 5.3 Formal and informal roles in teams

This diagram was developed after an unpublished model by
V. Auer-Hunzinger.

A supervisor must learn to hear the invitation for a specific

form of the supervisory relationship as a diagnostic tool for the
function of the team as a system or within a larger system.

The supervision system as a hierarchical system

Usually, a team is part of a larger organization and at the same

time builds a larger organization for another system. A team of
psychiatric nurses is the ruling context for a group of inmates and
at the same time is part of a larger system with other teams and
even hospitals. The team usually takes one part of the primary
task of the larger structure, treating drug addicts, for example,
while another team is treating schizophrenics. Conflicts within the
team may mirror conflicts at another level of the hierarchy. In
multi-disciplinary teams, in particular, many of the dynamics of
the supervision systems depend on how differences of opinion
between representatives of different disciplines are managed at a
higher level of the institutional hierarchy. Examples are the rela­
tionships between medical staff and nurses in hospitals, between
teachers and caretakers in children's homes, or between market­
ing and production staff in industry.
A supervisor must be aware of these differences and of the
 TRAINING IN GROUP AND TEAM SUPERVISION 121

fractal nature o f co-operation and conflict in organizations. This

means that if any departure from the work on the primary task in
an organization is found in an individual, in a team or in the
management, similar phenomena may be observed at any other
place in the organization. Schwartz (1990) gave an excellent
example in his description of the Challenger catastrophe, but it can
observed in any organization at any time. The fractal nature
becomes clear in Figure 5.4.

Figure 5.4 Fractal nature of teams in organizations

Team supervisors must learn to develop a high level of aware­

ness at these three levels of attention. Training has to offer
opportunities for learning about organizations. Supervisors have
to become familiar with the above dynamics. It means that they
have to learn a number of elementary concepts which allow them
understanding of the system dynamics while at the same time
being in it, even being part of it.

Skills and methods

Group and team supervisors need the skills and methods

demanded by individual supervision. However, they must also be
able to use the resources of the group in the supervision process
by means of:
1 22 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

• facilitating group processes;

• containing the group process in different developmental stages
(Clarkson, 1 992);
• timing confrontation and support for group members;
• role-playing techniques;
• feedback and evaluation methods;
• visualization techniques for the group process;
• interpretation of unconscious group processes about leader-
ship and intimacy.
A supervisor must learn to contract with members and repre­
sentatives from organizations about the content and context of the
supervisory task.

Conceptualizing organ izations

A group and team supervisor must be able to use a broad

spectrum of theoretical models for group and organizational
dynamics, apart from the case conceptualization models necessary
in individual supervision. Topics, to be understood and worked
with in this area, include the following:
• power and intimacy in groups and teams
• anxiety and basic assumptions
• individual learning styles and their interaction in groups
• the influence of organizational structure and culture on team
process
• the role of the management in team supervision
• formal and informal roles in the group
• personal vs. team and organizational issues
• the changing economic environment in group and team
supervision
• boundaries between supervision on one side and organiza­
tional development

Rolc competcnce

Supervisors who work with groups and teams require awareness

of the compatibility or incompatibility of the differen t roles they
employ. Some of these roles are:
• organizational development consultant
• skills trainer
• team supervisor
 TRAINING IN GROUP AND TEAM SUPERVISION 1 23

• group supervisor
• individual supervisor
• counsellor
• psychotherapist
The professional role of the supervisor is also connected to ethics.
In the SAS model, ethical issues may show up in the supervisor
tasks of professional role and self-evaluation, with emotional
awareness as a subtle instrument for the perception of ethical
dilemmas. Ethical issues connected with the professional role may
be covered by the ethical code of the professional association to
which the supervisor belongs.

Emotio1l1l1 mUllreneS5

With regard to emotional awareness, group supervision is much

more complex than is the individual supervision process. Other
group members might become involved in transference/ counter­
transference issues. Supervisors develop a kind of radar for wha t
is going on for different individuals in the group and how these
emotional experiences represent aspects of the situa tion of the
supervisee, of the situation of the other group members and of
the supervision group as a whole.
To evaluate what is happening in a group or a team, a group
su pervisor has three kinds of instruments at hand : the information
given by the supervisee and the group, the information derived
from non-verbal communication, and his or her own counter­
transference. Counter-tra nsference may be defined, as does Kern­
berg (1 998), as the total emotional reaction of the supervisor to the
supervisees in the supervisory situation. The emotional awareness
of the supervisor in individual supervision is based on the dyadic
relationship and mostly connected to the parallel process between
a client and the supervisee. Emotional awareness in group super­
vision is much more complex and mirrors the complex situa tion of
the supervisee. Emotional awareness is not only important in
respect of individual supervisees but the supervisor has to learn to
be aware of the mood of the whole grou p.

Self�cVl7I ulltioll

A good supervisor has the skilis and the capacities to learn and to
teach at the same time: supervision is a learning process for the
1 24 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

supervisor as well as for the supervisee. A supervisor mirrors this

duality to the supervisee. Bion concluded that supervision cannot
be made. The same might be true for supervisors. Self-evaluation
is necessary to find out one's own boundaries regarding skills,
understanding and the ability to work with certain categories of
professionals and groups.
Ethical rules only make sense when supervisors have gone
through a process in which they find personal ways of coping
with issues of ethics. According to ethics rules dual relationships
in supervision and psychotherapy must be avoided. However,
there might be extremely specific situations in which a psycho­
therapist decides that a combination of both roles is useful, and
even indicated. Ethics appear in the choice of professional roles
and in the way supervisors perceive their supervisees and them­
selves. Ethical issues of group and team supervisors are similar to
those of counsellors and psychotherapists. However, the looser
professional boundaries between supervisees and supervisors and
the complexity of the task, especially in the context of an organiza­
tion, build in more risk of transgressing boundaries.

Supervision training

Supervising a group or a team is an extremely complex pro­

fessional role. Supervisors have to find a way through a number
of paradoxes which are also present in individual supervision.
The trainee supervisor must develop a basic attitude from which
he or she is able to question what is happening and at the same
time offer enough protection to encourage the supervisees to ask
themselves what is going on. He/she must learn to recognize
when group dynamics has to be taught or explained and when it
has to be experienced. The supervisor must contain the group
process in a way that is not paternalistic, but at the same time may
not - physically or emotionally - leave the group in a state of
disarray in the face of difficult professional problems. He/she
must focus on the goal of the session without neglecting the group
process which eventually mirrors key issues of the supervisee or
the team. This role can only be learned in a group, where the
experiences of the complexity of the group and organizational
processes are reflected upon within the same context. Containing
dynamic processes is only possible when such processes are part
 TRAINING IN GROUP AND TEAM SUPERVISION 125

of the learning process in the training group. Professionals work­

ing with groups and teams must be able to diagnose, intervene
and evaluate at different levels and be able to diagnose and act a t
three levels, namely ( a ) t h e intervention level; (b) the session level;
and (c) the long-term process level.

(a) The micro-level: the intervention

At the micro-level the supervisor must listen carefully to what is

said and how it is said and react to it in a way which stimulates
the learning of the supervisee and the group. Interventions must
be made which empower the supervisee professionally.

(b) The meso-level: the session

At the session level a good supervisor can identify the key issues
within or behind a supervisee's or a team's presented problem. A
session contract must be made and judged to see if this contract
has been fulfilled. Possible harm for the supervisee and for the
client is thereby minimized. The professional learning process
never stops. At the end of the session supervisors help the
supervisees or the group identify the next steps in the learning
process. For supervisees learning about the professional role in the
group process supervisors are the most important role models.
They must be able to describe why they work with the group as
they do and thus allow the group to reflect on professional
behaviour. The supervisor does this within the context of an equal
relationship in which the difference in professional experience
does not lead to a paternalistic a ttitude (Clarkson, 1 992).

(c) The macro-level: long-term process

The long-term process level describes the development of the

group or the team as professionals within the context of the in­
stitution or the practice in which they work and within the
boundaries of the overall contract. The contract can be directed
towards the support of the team and thus be continuous in
character. Goals have to be set and the supervision evaluated from
time to time, regarding results and process. Where a supervisor is
asked to intervene and solve a problem in a specific situation, a
stmcture must be developed and evaluated to achieve this. This
1 26 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

mostly applies to working within institutions and has the charac­

ter of conflict management or crisis intervention. The long-term
process is intricately intertwined with organizational structure
and culture. The supervisor has a difficult stance: he/ she must be
at sufficient distance to discriminate orga nizational and group
dynamics and at the same time close enough to be taken seriously
by the team or the group.

Stages of group al1d tcam slipervision training

A group supervisor needs, firstly, techniques to help the group

understand the supervision process, and needs to be able to use
skills and knowledge as a counsellor and individual supervisor to
help supervisees solve problems on the level of diagnosis and
technique. The supervisor learns to facilitate the group process
and to use the resources of the group members in a structured
way. He/ she needs this structure to reassure the group and
himself. Attention is restricted to the current session. Supervision
and training at this stage are directed toward structuring and
facilitating the group process. In training workshops, a beginning
group supervisor usually makes a number of mistakes. In our
model, trainees get an opportunity to play the supervisor role in a
group of six to eight peers, for a time span of half an hour. Usually
the supervisor starts to offer supervision on an individual basis, as
learned in the first year of the training. He/ she loses touch with
the group and discovers after twenty minutes that the resources
of the group were not used at all. In that time, group members get
bored, resign and withdraw or become somewhat rebellious. The
supervisor has to learn to involve the group in the clarification,
contracting and intervention stages. Once able to do this, the
supervisor can relax and utilize group resources in the super­
vision process. In the later stages he/ she starts to use knowledge
of complex systems with teams and larger organizations, thinking
in informal and formal roles and recognizing the primary task of
organizational systems. The supervisor is able to recognize
repeated patterns in the behaviour of the group and group
members, and is able to recognize parallel processes and similar­
ities between team members, and can d iagnose more complex
patterns in group behaviour, such a s scapeg oating team members
and how group behaviours Me used to reduce anxiety. Super­
vision at this stage is directed toward the recognition of complex
 TRAINING IN GROUP AND TEAM SUPERVISION 1 27

patterns and the function of these patterns with regard to anxiety

reduction and system stabilization. Teaching will be in the field of
complex dynamic systems. An experienced supervisor is able to
discriminate group and organizational process with the help of
his /her own counter-transference process. Supervision is now
directed toward keeping the supervisor in contact with his/her
own skills and intuition and the utilization of counter-transference
experiences and behaviour within the context of the supervision
process.

A training programme

In illustrating the consequences of the above for supervIsIon

training, I will refer to the diploma course at the Institute for the
Application of the Social Sciences (lAS). The institute offers a
three-year programme in supervision, team development and
coaching, covering sixty-three days of classroom learning and
sixty hours of supervised supervision. In the first year, the tech­
niques and theory of individual supervision are taught and
trained. The second year focuses on group and team supervision,
and the third year teaches the basics of organizational consulting
as considered relevant for supervisors.
The programme consists of six parts:
• seminars on theory and applications
• skill-training seminars
• yearly one-week intensive seminars
• supervised supervision
• intervision groups
• supervision given by the trainee
The lAS offers working conferences in which a number of training
groups together build a large transitory organization in which
different tasks have to be fulfilled by different groups in a number
of different learning events. Large group meetings make it possi­
ble to explore the dynamics of the system as a whole.
The skills training consists of ten one-day workshops, in which
specific techniques for group and team supervision are taught in
groups of twelve to fourteen participants. In these sessions, group
processes are taught at the level of single interventions and at the
level of sessions. Video recording is used to analyse the process at
a micro-level. Topics regarding group and team supervision are:
• acquisition and contracting
1 28 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

• verbal intervention techniques

• non-verbal methods
• training group supervision
• role-play
• visualizing group processes
• training team supervision
• ethics and professional practice

Conclusion

Training in group and team supervision is a complex task, which

is built upon basic skills in individual supervision, but requires
additional skills in the field of group dynamics, management and
organizational consultancy. It is recommended that such training
programmes be staffed with experts from different fields, because
every trainee must develop his or her own voice from a broad
variety of models. It is also strongly recommended that trainees
collect their own experience as a member of different types of
working groups, to be able to find a still point in themselves when
around them everything is in uproa r. More than in individual
supervision, trainees must become aware of issues of group,
political and organizational culture, because these issues play
important roles in the dynamiCS of groups and organizations.

References

Bion, W.F. ( 1 961 ) [xperiellce, ill Croll!,'. Ne\\' York: Basic Boob.
Clarkson, P. ( 1 992) Tl'IllIsndiollal Allail/sis PS.l/C/i" t/ICI'IlI'Y' A l l III ft'gm/['d Appl'Ollcll.
London: Routll'dge.
Dryden, W. and Thorne, B. (eds) ( I Y9'! ) Tra i l / iJ/g <Il1d Sl Ipai'isioll for COllnsellillg ill
Aclioil. London: Sage.
English, F. ( 1 975) The three-cornert'd contra c i . Tm llsocliol1l1l A lllllysis !oumal, 5:
383-4
Hawkins, r. and Shllhet, R. ( l Y89) 5 1 1 1 ',')'('i.- ioll ill t/i,' J-ldpillS P rofess io l l s . All
Illdil'id/llll, CrollI' and SYSI" IIIS Approilch. i\lilton Kevnes: Open University Press.
Hilb, Martin ( 1 998) /n icsrierlcs Pcrc;oI1l7illloI1l7geIllCl l t . Berlin: Luchterhand.
Holloway, E. ( 1 995) c/ill im/ 5 11I'cn'i.' ioll' A SyslClliS A pp roa c/i. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.
Kernberg, O.F ( 1 998) Narcissistic Pcrs,lIll7/il1! Disorder. Philadelphia, PA: Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich.
Lacoursiere, R. ( 1 980). Life Cycles of Crollps. New York: Human Sciences Press.
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Schwartz, H. ( 1990). Nl1rci" islic Pmccss alld Corpomle Demy. The Theory of the
Orgnllisatioll Ideal. New York: New York University Press.
Stoltenberg, C.D. and Delworth, U. O WI7) S upervisillg Cou l1sciors alld Therapists. A
Developillelltal A F'prond!. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Tuckman, B.W. ( 1 965) Developmental sequences of small groups. Psychological
Bulletill, 63 (6): 384-99.
Yaiom, I . D. ( 1 970) The TIlcory and Practice of Croup Psyclwtherapy. New York: Basic
Books.
6 Training for Multi-Cultural
Supervision

Hardin L .K. Coleman

Clinical supervIsiOn is the process through which an accom­

plished or experienced member of a profession oversees the work
of a junior member of that profession as he or she develops
competence in the core functions of the profession. Ideally super­
visors facilitate the supervisee's acquisition of competence within
a structured relationship. H olloway ( 1 995) suggested that the
process of this relationship includes specific tasks and functions.
The goal of this chapter is to describe ways in which these tasks
and functions can be used to develop the multi-cultural counsel­
ling competence of the supervisee within the supervision process.
Several steps will be taken to achieve this goal. The first will be to
present some of the core assumptions underlying theories of
multi-cultural counselling competence, with particular attention
paid to the different perspectives as to how that construct can be
defined. The second is to give an overview of the challenges
facing supervisors in facilitating multi-cultural counselling com­
petence in the supervisee. The third will be to ilrticulate tech­
niques that can be used in supervision to facilitate this
competence and that address not only contextual issues surround­
ing the supervisory relationship but also the tasks and functions
within the supervision process.

Perpectives in multi-cultural counselling

As Tyler, Brome, and Williams ( 1 991 ) have sugge s ted theories of

,

multi-cultural counselling tend to reflect nne 0: three perspectives.

The first perspective, the uni versalist, assu m es that issues of
culture are seconda ry to i s su es o f i n d ivid ual personality. The
 TRAINING FOR M U LTI-CULTURAL SUPERVISION 1 31

universalist believes that the process of development is common

across all cultures and that the individual's psychological devel­
opment is the primary focus of counselling. The universalist
assumes that the focus of counselling is on an essential human
nature that all clients share. Treatment, therefore, needs to focus
on the particular disorder of the client and whether or not the
counsellor has the requisite skills to implement that treatment (for
example, play therapy or systematic desensitization). Cultural
factors such as race, gender or class, are not perceived as relevant
concerns. If addressed, they come into counselling as presented
and interpreted by the client.
Particularist is the label that Tyler, Brome and Williams (199 1 )
give t o the second perspective. The particularist assumes that the
primary predictor of a client's worldview and sense of self will be
dominated by a particular cultural factor (for example ethnicity or
gender). In counselling, therefore, a primary focus will be to gain
an understanding of how that cultural factor has led to the
development of the disorder and is part of the how the disorder
will be remediated. A significant amount of the counselling that is
done from the particularist perspective has a strong psycho­
educational component. For example, Bass and Coleman (1 997), in
a school-based intervention for under-achieving adolescents of
African descent, spent most of their intervention teaching the
participants how their cultural history a ffects both the problems
they encounter and the solutions that are available to them. Specif­
ically, the intervention involves teaching the participants certain
Afrocentric principles and then helping the participants apply
those principles in their daily living. What makes this a partic­
ularist approach is that it assumes that both the source and
resolution of the client's problem primarily exist within their
cultural rather than personal being.
One core assumption of the third perspective, the transcenden­
talist, is that both the client and counsellor have vast cultural
experiences that deeply influence their worldviews and behav­
iour. Another core assumption is that it is the individual who has
to make sense of and interpret those experiences. The transcend­
ent or multi-cultural perspective suggests there are normative
assumptions that can be made about individuals based on cultural
factors such as race, gender and class, but that it is just as
important to understand how these normative assumptions
become reality through the idiosyncratic choices made by individ­
ual members of a group. For example, from the transcendent
1 32 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

perspective it is equally important to understand how cultural

expectations concerning body image affect the developm.ent of an
eating disorder, as it is to understand the eating disordered
client's family relations or his or her personal drive for control.
These persona!, familial and cultural factors are not perceived as
independent contributors to the disorder but represent a complex
interaction of factors that facilitate the expression of the disorder.
The focus of treatment, therefore, has to include the client's
interpretation of these factors as well as psycho-educational work
on the role contextual factors have in the aetiology and main­
tenance of the disorder.
Sue, lvey and Pedersen ( 1 996) have articulated six assumptions
that they believe are core issues in multi-cultural counselling
which reflect the essence of the transcendent perspective. These
assumptions are summarized as follows:
Assllmption 1 : Theories of counselling are cultural artifacts and,
therefore, represent cultural world views. To be applicable, a
counselling theory needs to articulate with the world view of the
client and counsellor.
Asslimption 2: The counsellor's and client's identities reflect the
totality of their experiences across multiple relationships and
contexts.
Assllmption 3: Cultural identity is a major determinant of the
counsellor 's and client's a ttitudes toward self and others.
Assumption 4: Effective counselling needs to be consistent with the
life experiences and cultural values of the client.
Assumption 5 : Effective interventions must address the context of
the client's life and the counsellor be willing to involve helping
relationships beyond the individual therapist (for example,
community leaders or traditional/ indigenous healers).
Assllmption 6: The liberation of consciousness is a basic goal of
multi-cultural counselling as it emphasizes the importa nce of
expanding the client's understanding of his or her relationship
to self, family, community and multiple cultures.
What is evident from these assumptions is that the cultural
contexts of both the client and counsellor are active and important
aspects of what happens in counselling and, therefore, the super­
vision relationship. It is within the supervisory relationship that
the counsellor in training can receive guidance and support to
integrate what he or she knows about cultural factors into effec­
tive counselling practice. To facilitate this integration, the super­
visor needs to have (a) a theory of how cultural factors a ffect the
 TRAIN ING FOR M U LTI-CULTURAL SUPERVISION 1 33

counselling process; (b) a willingness to listen for how the super­

visee does or does not address cultural factors in counselling; and
(e) the ability to provide guidance, feedback and instruction to the
supervisee on how to integrate ideas about cultural factors into
counselling practice. As Tyler, Brome and Williams ( 1 99 1 ) have
categorized these theories of multi-cultural counselling, it is dif­
ferent from identifying one's preferred method of counselling (for
example, psychodynamic or interpersonal process), as multi­
cultural counselling involves articulating how and when one
addresses issues of culture within the counselling process. I s
culture secondary as with the universalist, is it central as with the
particularist, or is it part of the warp and woof of the counselling
as with the transcendentalist? To the question asked that way, the
socially appropriate answer may seem obvious. How many of us,
however, ask our supervisees about cultural factors when the
counselling relationship (or the counselling and supervisory rela­
tionship) appears to be homogeneous across obvious cultural
factors? Do we encourage our supervisees to help the client
explore issues of cultural identity when both the counsellor and
client are white, or just when the rela tionship is cross-raced ? Do
we encourage the exploration of gender issues when both the
client and counsellor are male and the issue is not gender­
identifiable (for example, workaholism, domestic abuse or vio­
lence)?
My experience as c1 supervisor in both school and community
mental health settings suggests that issues of culture are most
frequently raised when they are creating a problem in the assess­
ment or treatment of the presenting problem. If the cross-cultural
or cross-gender differences in language or interpretation inhibit
the supervisee's abili ty to feel that he or she understands the
client, then there is a willingness to explore cultural factors. When
these issues are not obvious, they are too often considered irrele­
vant. A disturbingly common response among supervisees when
asked about the client's ethnicity, if it was not offered, is a look of
surprise and a query as to the question's relevance. Even more
common is the extreme discomfort that comes when I ask a
supervisee to make an educa ted assessment concerning the class
of a client especially if that client is a member of a dominant
ethnic group. Even less common are assessments of cultural
factors in the larger context in which the counselling relationship
exists. Recently, when supervising counsellors who were in local
1 34 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

placements, many of the supervisees did not know the dominant

employer in the area in which they were working.
Given the general emphasis towards a universalist perspective
in counselling training programmes it is not surprising that
counsellors and supervisors tend to address issues of culture only
when they are problematic. In order to facilitate the development
of multi-cultural counselling competence in counsellors, it is
necessary for supervisors to develop an explicit and structured
approach to this aspect of their supervision (Leong and Wagner,
1 994) . The supervisor needs to be able to articulate at all levels of
the supervision, how he or she is helping supervisees to integrate
this competence into their professional identity. A universalist,
particularist and transcendentalist, will do this in different ways.
In the rest of this chapter, I vvant to present the process of
developing multi-cultural counselling competence that can be
used in supervision from a transcendent perspective. This process
addresses institutional factors, issues concerning the tasks and
functions of supervision, as well as the relationship between the
supervisor and supervisee.

Institutional factors affecting the acquisition of multi-cultural

counselling competence

To facilitate the acquisition of multi-cultural counselling compe­

tence, the process needs to start at the institutional level. In
clinical training programmes, this can be achieved by integrating
issues of culture throughout the programme (Coleman and Wam­
pold, 1 993; LaFromboise and Foster, 1992) . The ability to work
with a culturally diverse clientele needs to be understood as a core
counselling competence rather than a specialization. This can be
achieved in several ways. One is to identify experience of working
with culturally diverse populations as part of the admissions
criteria (along with traditional criteria such as academic compe­
tence and counselling experience) for both students and faculty.
Another is to include this priority in all materials that describe
the programme. It is also vital to have significant representation
from various cultural groups within a training programme to
provide trainees with the opportunity to expand their awareness
and knowledge of cultural diversity within a challenging and
supportive environment. A fourth institutional factor is the inclu-
 TRAINING FOR MULTI-CULTU RAL SUPERVISION 1 35

sion of a course that focuses on multi-cultural counselling very

early in the training cycle. At the practice level, however, there are
two institutional factors that are particularly important in facilitat­
ing multi-cultural counselling competence, placement and evalu­
ation.

PinCell1el1 t issues

An extremely effective stimulus for developing competence in

working with the manner in which cultural factors affect the
aetiology and trea tment of psychological distress is to work with
clients who have different cultural characteristics from the coun­
sellor (for example, race or gender) and represent groups that are
not members of a dominant cultural group. That is obvious but
cannot be underestimated. In choosing placement sites for train­
ees, it is important for supervisors to have an understanding of
the range of cul tural issues with which a trainee will work. If the
trainee has a caseload that is at least 30 per cent diverse along
cultural factors, then the trainee will have consistent and obvious
opportunities to explore the manner in which these factors affect
the counselling process. If the trainee only sees a culturally
different client sporadically, then he or she will be allowed to see
multi-cultural counselling competence as a specialized skill that is
only applicable in certain cases. This will also allow the trainee to
become comfortable with referring such clients to 'a clinician who
has the skills to work with such a population' . Within the partic­
ularist tradition, this would be an appropriate response. Within
the transcendent tradition, such an action can be in terpreted as
resisting the acquisition of a core counselling competence compa­
rable to resisting becoming involved in group or family counsel­
ling. In this tradition, the reason to refer would be based on
explicit problems that come up within a particular relationship or
in response to the client's particular level of cultural identity
development ( Coleman, 1 996).

Case exam p l e

Bob is a 1 3-year-old African descendant who has been placed

out of his home since he was 9 years old. He was removed
from his home because his younger sister alleged he had been
sexually inappropriate with her (the exact nature of the
behaviour was nevel- ascertained ) . The case file suggests that
1 36 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Bob, h imself, was a victim of sexual abuse, but the details of

that assertion are also unclear. The major reason he has stayed
out of the home is that his mother has not complied with any
of the treatment recommendations. Bob's mother has a his­
tory of being fairly straightforward with counsellors and case­
workers about her disdain for their interventions, her belief
that Bob should just be sent home so that she can take care of
him, and her resentment at having to be called to meetings to
discuss the behaviour of a child in settings over which she has
no control. In school and in the foster home (with African
descended foster parents) Bob's behaviour can be described as
oppositional-defiant. Whenever he feels threatened, which is
often , he responds by verbally attacking the perceived offender.
If the 'offender' challenges his attack, Bob will escalate his
attack to include shouting, cursing, and, if possible, running
away. He will continue to escalate until he is removed from the
situation whether that be a classroom, counsellor's office or
the foster home. When attacking, Bob will often use the race
of the 'offender' as a reason for their not understanding him or
for wanting to hurt him. Bob does not have a history of
positive peer or adult relationships and has never had a
consistent relationship with an adult male of any race.

There are several clinical challenges within this case. There are
the issues associated with the disorder of oppositional-defiance,
with sexual predation and victimization, with family dynamics,
and with ethnicity (most caseworkers and school personnel on the
case are European descended). A universalist would attempt to
address these issues from a coherent intrapsychic perspective. A
particularist would see each of these issues as calling for spe­
cialized intervention (for example, for sexual predation, cultural
identity, or oppositional-defiance). A transcendent approach
would call for an integrated system of care that could address
these issues coherently from both an intrapsychic and contextual
perspective. To that end assessments would be made to determine
the relative importance of the sexual issues and oppositional­
defiance. Assessments would also address the relative importance
of focusing on family dynamics, school behaviour, or cultural
identity development. An effective treatment plan would include
a consideration of who would be the best person or programme to
respond to each of Bob's needs. Such a programme might include
individual therapy that addressed the intrapsychic issues as well
 TRAINING FOR MU LTI-CULTURAL SUPERV ISION 1 37

as a psycho-educational group experience that dealt with the

development of Bob's African descended cultural identity. The
governing principle is that such a treatment programme would be
co-ordinated, not just crea ted on the basis of available referrals.
The ethnicity of the care providers would be a part of that
conscious decision-making and not all avoidant response to Bob's
race-based attacks.
If this was a trainee's only experience with African descended
adolescents, it would be extremely hard for him or her to develop
a useful perspective. Given the difficulty of the case, it would be
possible for a trainee to feel he or she \vas incompetent to work
with adolescents, issues of sexual predation, oppositional­
defiance, individ uals of African descent, or any combination of
these clinical factors. It is only when a trainee is also working with
a depressed African descended client, a suicidal Hmong client,
and a West Indian client with an adjustment disorder, that he or
she can learn to discriminate the relative effect of cultural and
intrapsychic factors on the aetiology of the disorder, the formation
of the treatment plan, and evaluation of his or her behaviour
within the counselling process. To facilitate the acquisition of this
perspective, training programmes need to address the institu­
tional factor of placement as it affects the range and type of
culturally diverse clients a trainee will have on his or her caseload.
Certainly, we do not suggest a counsellor is competent to work
with depressed clients, if they a re in a placement where they see
only one or two clients with depression!
Supervisors in the training programme and in the placement
site need to attend to this institutional factor. They need both to
learn to expect the trainee to be competent to assess and intervene
within a culturally relevant framework, and to be prepared to
make institutional interventions to facilitate the acquisition of this
competence. For the programme supervisor this entails not only
tracking the demographics of the clients a trainee is seeing,
but tracking and commenting on the degree to which the trainee
includes contextual factors within her formulation, treatment plan
and clinical process. I f the trainee is not seeing enough culturally
diverse clients to practise these skills, then the supervisor needs to
be prepared to address these issues with the site supervisor. I t
helps i f this expectation has been made clear a t the beginning of
the placement.
For the on-site supervisor, her responsibility is in ensuring the
effective treatment of the client more than the skill development
1 38 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

of the trainee. It is her focus, therefore, to address issues of

professional competence. As she becomes avvare of deficits in the
trainee that are a function of his training, then the supervisor
needs to intervene through giving timely and accurate feedback
concerning this pattern of deficit to the training programme. It is,
of course, just as important to give timely and accurate feedback
when there is a pattern of competence in this area!

Euail illtioll tasks

As I have suggested, there are several ways in which trammg

programmes can institutionally demonstrate their belief that
multi-cultural counselling competence is a core clinical compe­
tence. A programme can include it in its admissions criteria, it can
integrate these issues into the curriculum, and it can make having
access to culturally diverse clientele a central characteristic of
acceptable training sites. An equally important method for institu­
tionally validating the importance and stimulating the acquisition
of multi-cultural counselling competence is to make the acquisi­
tion of that competence a criterion for graduation or successful
programme completion, in the same manner in which individual
or group counselling is used within summative evaluation cri­
teria. When such a criterion is expected of all students within a
programme, it accomplishes several goals. It highlights the value
of multi-cultural counselling as a core skill. It provides accurate
and useful feedback to trainees and supervisors as to how well
this skill has been integrated into the professional identity of the
supervisee. Such an evaluation criterion can act as a mechanism
for stimulating discussion concerning the supervisee's under­
standing and skills in multi-cultural counselling. At an institu­
tional level, it allows training programmes and sites to collect
information on how well, or poorly, they are preparing counsel­
lors to work in a culturally diverse society.
As with all evaluations, there needs to be a way to assess a
supervisee's multi-cultural counselling competence in both a
formative and summative manner. The formative approach needs
to be integrated into the process of supervision. Jt can be a part of
the weekly dialogue and the regular summary of progress that is
an essential part of all supervision. The summative evaluation
should be designed to capture, at a point in time, the level and
quality of competence that a supervisee has acquired. This evalu-
 TRAINING FOR M U LTI-CULTURAL SUPERVISION 1 39

ation can be used as a gateway to increasingly demanding levels

of training. The evaluation criteria, therefore, must be able to
recognize the interaction between a trainee's experience and
expected level of competence. In other words, an experienced
counsellor should be able to demonstrate higher and more sophis­
ticated levels of competence than a counsellor who is just finish­
ing his or her initial coursework.
Elsewhere (Colenla n, 1 995) 1 have proposed using a system of
portfolio evaluation to both stimulate and evaluate the acquisition
of multi-cultural counselling competence. A portfolio has some
unique advantages in that it can be used throughout a counsel­
lor's career to demonstrate his or her constantly evolving compe­
tence (Skovholt and Ronnestad, 1 992) . A portfolio is much more
than a collection of the clinical work that a counsellor performs. Tn
fact, the primary focu s of a portfolio is to capture the counsellor 's
reflection about his or her work. It is that reflection that facilitates
the integration of a particular skill into the counsellor's pro­
fessional identity (Tuescher, 1 997) . My colleagues Kimberly
Tuescher, Dianne Morris, Shoshana Hellman, Amy James and
Catherine McConnell, and 1 have developed a process for the
preparation of a portfolio that can be used within supervision to
stimulate the acquisition of multi-cultural counselling competence
at the formative level and the evaluation of that competence at the
summative level. A core focus of the supervision and evaluation
of the counsellors we train involves the creation of a portfulio that
serves to institutionalize the value we place on multi-cu ltural
counselling competence. In Appendix A are the specific directions
we have developed for creati n g a portfolio, that we provide for
our supervisees.

Process factors in the acquisition of multi-cultural counselling

competence

Having established portfolios as a mechanism to stimulate the

integration of mul ti-culturil l counselling competence into super­
visees' work and to evaiuate the development of that competence,
the supervisor needs to fi nd a way to integrate this focus into the
on-going process of su pervision. One effective way to achieve that
integration is to schedule meetings to discuss the progression of
the portfolio across the domains, modal ities and settings i n which
1 40 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

the competence can be demonstrated. There are several valuable

outcomes of establishing regular sessions to address this partic­
ular competence. The first is that it reinforces the core nature of
the competence. The second is that it facilitates the supervisee's
focus on issues of culture and how they interact with his or her
clinical work. The third is that it serves to focus the supervisor on
these concerns, particularly when the clientele being served by the
supervisee does not represent obvious cultural diversity. Since
few practising supervisors received this type of training or super­
vision in the early stages of their careers, this formal scheduling
helps avoid regression to the universalist traditions into which
they were professionally acculturated.
Another effective way to stimulate this integration is to identify
and explore the manner in which the supervisee is addressing, or
not addressing, issues of culture within his or her clinical work on
a regular basis. This is a particularly useful approach when the
supervisee is working in a culturally diverse setting. In such a
setting, clinicians can become desensitized to issues of culture
since they are a natural part of each interaction. In my work with
a cultural-specific programme that addresses the needs of African
descended families in which almost all the staff is African descen­
ded, we often find that we do not remain conscious of cultural
factors because we assume we know our client's world view and
how it affects them because we share it. It is the same trap that
captures same-gender or same-class relationships. We become
focused on the intrapsychic or diagnostic issues and cease to raise
the issues as to how race, gender or class influence the problems
of the client or the nature of our therapeutic relationship. Within
the transcendent perspective, it is the responsibility of the super­
visor constantly to reintroduce the contextual factors into the
conversation.
To be effective at this process, the supervisor must have an
articulated theory as to how cultural factors interact with all
aspects of the counselling relationship and use that theory to
guide the type of questions and directions he or she shares with
the supervisee. For example, in creating case formulations, I focus
on three areas: the core concerns of the client, the source of those
concerns, and the strategies a client uses to manage those con­
cerns. I hypothesize that cultural factors are most often present in
the source of the concern and what a client perceives as possible
strategies they can use to cope with those concerns.
 TRAINING FOR MULTI-CU LTURAL SUPERVISION 1 41

Case example of a working formulation

Brenda is a 1 4-year-old girl of African and European descent

who has significant trouble controlling her behaviour in situa­
tions of interpersonal conflict. Brenda experiences high levels
of anxiety as a result of her not feeling supported by adults in
her environment and she does not have a secure base from
which to meet the demands of the world. Brenda copes with
this anxiety by withdrawing from or evading demanding situa­
tions. When this is not possible, she responds by pushing
others away from her through the use of assaultive and abusive
behaviour. Unfortunately, this is her primary method for man­
aging interpersonal conflict and her anxieties.

If a supervisee presents the above formulation, I would want to

know how Brenda's bi-racial status affects her perceived level of
adult support and how her movement between aggressive and
passive strategies for coping with her anxiety reflects the manner
in which she might be attempting to emulate contradictory cul­
tural standards of behaviour. There is clearly no right answer to
these questions. Multi-cultural counselling competence is the will­
ingness to consider these concerns and find ways to integrate
them into the assessment and treatment of clients. A supervisor,
therefore, needs to be prepared to address these concerns in the
supervision and find ways to make them an integrated part of the
training process. One way to facilitate this process is for a super­
visor to develop his or her own portfolio of multi-cultural compe­
tence in supervision.

Relationship factors in the acquisition of multi-cultural

counselling competence

As Holloway (1 995) has indicated, the tasks and functions of

supervision are effectively accomplished within the framework of
a positive working relationship between the supervisor and
supervisee. Cultural factors having a significant effect on this
relationship need to be assessed and addressed within the rela­
tionship in an explicit manner. Claymore-Lahammer and Yutr­
zenka ( 1 997) have found that supervisees' satisfaction with and
sense of multicultural counselling competence are directly related
to the level of discussion of cultural factors within supervision. As
1 42 TRAINING COUNSELLING SU PERVISORS

with many aspects of counselling, the degree to w hich a super­

visor is able to assess and address cultural issues within the
relationship will be affected by the degree to which the supervisor
has examined his or her own cultural assumptions, expectations
and world view. In terms of one of the major constructs within the
field of multi-cultural counselling, the supervisor needs to under­
stand the stage or state of h is or her own cultural identity.

Cultllral identity

Cultural identity is the sense that an individual has as a cultural

being. For each of us, this sense is dominated by two perspectives.
The first is the perspective we have of ourselves as a cul tural
being. The second is the cultural being to which others in our
context respond. Our cultural identity becomes an integration of
these internal and external perspectives. For example, I tend to
think of myself as African descended in terms of my cultural
sense of self. In the environment in which I v\'ork, however, others
tend to respond to me as a function of my gender or class
background. This incongruence can be a source of misperception
and miscommunication. It i s only as I am able to integrate these
perceptions into my own sense of cultural identity that I can
become more effective in my interpersonal rela tions. When my
mostly female supervisees st'e me as a male authority figure with
power, and I am thinking of myself as a member of a disen­
franchised group, there is bound to be a misinterpretation of our
interactions. It is only as I am able to integrate the supervisees'
framework for interpreting my behaviour that I am able to
establish an effective working relationship.

Case exam ple

An African American supet'visee was working in a school

setting that was culturally diverse but with a staff that was
predominantly of European descent. Part way through the
placement I was getting feedback from his on-site supervisors
concerning behaviour that they perceived as unprofessional.
mostly su rrounding notifying them about his plans and. most
often. change of plans. Although he had discussed these issues
with his on-site supervisors in terms of shared expectations.
both parties felt unresolved about the issues. After some
discussion it became clear that the supervisee felt that the on-
 TRAINING FOR M ULTI-CULTURAL SUPERVISION 1 43

site supervisors had a lower level of trust of his competence

due to his gender and race. Furthermore, he did not want to
bring up 'problems' with me because it was important to him
that I maintained a positive evaluation of him based on our
shared racial background. Given these racial issues, he was
having a hard time using supervision for either its educative or
evaluative functions. This served to interfere with his learning
curve and led to repeated mistakes. Once we identified the
racial expectations and stereotypes, we were able to focus on
how those factors facilitated and constrained his growth, and
we were able to focus more clearly on the information I
needed from him to be an effective supervisor. Articulating
these issues allowed us to deepen our mutual trust and
significantly improved the quality of our relationship.

Stra tegies for coping with cultural diversity

There are various resolutions of this situation. If I was more

oriented towards a Black Separatist ideology, we could have
addressed this issue with the on-site supervisors as a function of
their cultural imperialism. I f I was more interested in assimilating
into the dominant culture, I might have invalidated this super­
visee's concerns by focusing on his needs to become more like his
supervisors and encouraged him to internalize their time orienta­
tion. I could have done so by making 'improvement' in this area
of professional conduct a central focus of his evaluation. The
supervisee's strategies for coping with cultural diversity would
also have a significant impact on the resolution of this problem
(Coleman, 1 995, 1 996). Central to the resolution of conflict in
multi-cultural relations are the stra tegies individuals use to cope
with cultural diversity. Some of us manage our relationship with
the dominant culture by trying to become like members of that
culture (acculturation). Some of us manage diversity by removing
ourselves from contact (separation) . Others work to develop com­
petence in the second culture while maintaining significant and
powerful relations with our culture of origin (alternation) while
yet others attempt to create environments where multiple cultural
perspectives are known and respected (integration) . Each one of
these strategies has value for particular individuals within partic­
ular contexts. Within supervision, however, the congruence of
1 44 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

strategies bet\veen supervisees and supervisors \vilJ have a sig­

nificant impact on the working alliance.
In American K-1 2 education schools the primary educational
goal is to prepare students to develop skills that will allow them
to become successful in the dominant society. To that end, coun­
sellors are often asked to help children to learn how to ' fit in' to
the system. Often, fitting in requires that students learn how to
assimilate i nto the dominant strategy. Several authors (Coleman,
1 995, 1 996; LaFramboise, Coleman and Gerton, 1 993) have descri­
bed the manner in which the assimilation strategy has not been
effective for ethnic minorities. If a supervisee, however, believes
that this is an effective strategy and the supervisor does not, this
will lead to conflict and / or ineffective interventions. Given the
potentiai for conflict within the relationship, a supervisor needs to
be aware of his or her own strategy, be able to assess the strategy
of the supervisee, and institute a developmental plan into the
supervisory process that effectively addresses how these strategies
affect the supervisee's counselling effectiveness and the relation­
ship with the supervisor.

Case example: strategies with clients

Barbara is a middle-class European descendant who is working

in a school that has a small group of African descended
students who are mostly poor, a large group of European
descended upper middle class, and a large group of Euro­
pean descended students who live on working farms. Many of
the African descended students are referred to her when they
are having trouble academically and are violating 'social norms'
as defined by the Eu ropean descended teachers. These social
norms usually include issues of time orientation, time spent on
homework, and noise level. At the start of the supervisory
relationship, it is evident that the supervisee knows very little
about African American cultu re and has no social relations with
members of that ethnic group. In discussing the challenges
facing these students, it is evident that she believes that they
would be best served if they could learn how to match the
expectations of the teachers in terms of time orientation,
homework, and noise level. She is considering starting a group
with these students that focuses on the acquisition of these
skills. The supervisor believes that not only does this super­
visee use the separation strategy in her own life, but advocates
 TRAINING FOR MULTI-CULTURAL SUPERVISION 1 45

the assimilation strategy for ethnic minority students. The

supervisor believes that this latter strategy is a very ineffective
one for ethnic minority students and, when presented to such
students, is often met with disdain for and rejection of the
counsellor. If the supervisor points this out, the probable
response from the supervisee might be disbelief, argument, or,
worse, foreclosure on discussing issues of culture with the
supervisor. A more effective and developmental intervention
would be to recommend that the supervisor spend time
interviewing the students to understand their perspective on
the problem. This would facilitate the supervisee's acquisition
of awareness and knowledge about the students' culture which
may serve to contradict her personal strategy of separation. If
the supervisee can be helped to appreciate the students'
perspective (integration or alternation) she can be helped to
develop an intervention that honours the students' cultural
perspective while facilitating the acquisition of skills that are
useful in this school environment (alternation). Such an
approach to the supervision allows the supervisee to acquire a
different response set that is appropriate to the cultural needs
of her students and serves to expand her repertoire of
professional and personal skills.

Case example: strategies with supervisees

Joy is an African descendant working in a similar school to

Barbara's. Joy's on-site and u niversity supervisors are all Euro­
pean descended. Joy is very comfortable with that arrange­
ment. Even though she went to an historically black college,
most of her peer relations are with European descended
individuals. Joy is often willing to share her beliefs about the
needs of African descended individuals but her university
supervisor has been surprised that she is often resistant to
considering the role of race or other cultural factors in the
aetiology and resolution of the problems her clients were
reporting to her. Early in her placement, a male African
descended adolescent sought her out to discuss issues he was
having with truancy, his mother, and, as the counselling pro­
gressed, his relationships with girls. Through supervision, Joy
was able to see the elements of this relationship that were
affected by her gender (Le., transferential issues around the
client's mother) but consistently denied the racial aspects of
1 46 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

the relationship even though the client regularly made refer­

ences to their shared racial background. This was a case in
which the cross-raced nature of the supervision was extremely
helpful in expanding the mu lti-cultural competence of the
supervisee. Given the supervisor's race, joy's assimilation strat­
egy was not directly challenged the way it might be in a same­
raced relationship. Using humour, the supervisor consistently
noted that it was interesting that she, 'the white girl', picked up
on issues that Joy seemed to miss. Over time, this process
allowed Joy to disclose and address issues related to race that
affected her counselling competence. The supervisor, through
her work and training in feminist therapy, had developed the
use of an integration strategy in her personal and professional
life which enabled her to accept Joy's universalistic approach to
cultural factors in counselling, while simultaneously challenging
her to consider alternative perspectives. A supervisor who
promoted an assimilation strategy would have found great
comfort in working with Joy as there would be low levels of
conflict on how to i nterpret cultural factors in counselling. The
opposite would have been true for a supervisor who used a
separation strategy. In such a case, cultural factors would have
been the framework for both formulating this client's concerns
and implementing a treatment plan, but may have led to
conflict with Joy, if not foreclosure of discussion.

I n both of these cases, a supervisor who is unable to approach

the strategies the supervisee uses to cope with cultural diversity
from a developmental perspective is one who puts the working
alliance with the supervisee at risk. Certainly, discrepancy
between the supervisor ' s a nd supervisee's perspectives is a natu­
ral part of the supervision process. How those discrepancies are
managed, however, will be predictive of the relationship's quality
and how the supervisee can use that relationship to integrate
multi-cultural counselling competence into his or her professional
identity. In the first case, the supervisor used an experientia l !
cognitive strategv t o encourage the su pervisee t o explore cultural
factors. The supervisor assumed that by becoming more
immersed in the students' interpreta ti ons of their cultural world,
the supervisee wou ld exp,lnd h er range and choice of strategy.
The assumption was th a t she would 'figure it o u t ' itS she became
more responsible for vvorking within the studen ts' frame of refer­
ence. This strategy was appropriate for i ncreasing the supervisee's
 TRAINING FOR MULTI-CULTURAL SUPERVISION 1 47

level of awareness and knowledge. I n the second case, the super­

visor determined that Joy had the awareness and knmvledge but
was, at one level, 'choosing' not to integrate those competencies
into her practice. The supervisor chose an interpersonal process
approach to helping the supervisee examine her resistance to
integrating her understanding of cultural factors into her practice.
By having Joy examine these issues within the framework of their
relationship, this facilitated Joy's examination of these factors in
her personal and professional roles.
These examples of how the strategies a counsellor uses to cope
with cultural diversity will affect how he or she chooses to deliver
clinical services are also examples of the multiple ways in which
these issues can be addressed within the supervisory relationship.
In neither case would it be possible to define the right approach
for the counsellor. What the supervisor in both cases was willing
to do was to examine the supervisee's behaviour within a cultural
framework and choose interventions that were appropriate to the
supervisee's current level of multi-cultural counselling compe­
tence. Needless to say, these individual instances did not lead to
wholesale change in the supervisee. These concern� needed to be
raised repeatedly in order to have them integrated into the
supervisee's professional identity.

Openness to cultural factors

A key element in using supervision to facilitate the acquisition of

multi-cultural counselling competence is the supervisor's open­
ness to examining the role of cultural factors in counselling on an
on-going basis. This is not something that can be effectively
achieved by assigning a particular week to considering cultural
factors. Nor will it be effective if cultural factors come to dominate
the discussion of the psychological issues facing the client and
supervisee. The parallel issue in counselling is concerns about
ethical behaviour. Not every counselling interaction stimulates a
concern about ethical behaviour, but an understanding of ethical
behaviour should guide all counselling interactions. Competent
supervisors listen to every counselling interaction to make sure
ethical guidelines are followed and regularly require supervisees
to consider the ethical implications of their attitudes, beliefs and
behaviour. To do so effectively, the supervisor must be open to
1 48 TRAINlf\,JG COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

ethical considerations. The same is true for multi-cultural coun­

selling competence. Two issues need to be considered in a
supervisor 's openness to multi-cultural counselling competence -
experience and feelings.

S l Iperc'isor's expericllcc willi clIltllrnl fnctors

One of the awkward moments in supervision comes when a

supervisee presents a case that represents a problem with which I
have little experience. One of the best moments comes \'\-'hen a
case represents a problem with which I have worked repeatedly
and about which I have immersed myself in the relevant literature
on its aetiology and trea tment. My personal experience of work­
ing with ethnic minorities and working within predominantly
white institu tions contributes to my ability to help supervisees of
all races address cultural issues with their clients. It is a per­
spective that I could not bring to \'1'ork if my supervisees were
working with thought-disordered clients. To be effective in this
type of supervision, I would need to take certain steps. Initially, I
would have to familiarize myself with the current thinking on
thought disorders. I would then need to work with several such
clients under su pervision. At this point, I would be better qual­
ified to supervise others in this work. For a supervisor to be
effective in helping supervisees integrate multi-cultural counsel­
ling competence into their professional identi ty, it is useful for the
supervisor to have done so. The most effective way to achieve this
integration is through supervised practice.

S l i perl'isor's (eclillgs n/lollt c l l l l l l m l fnctors

As important as knowledge and skills are in the practice of mu lti­

cult ural counselling, issues of trust tend to determine the differ­
ence between being effective and ineffective with clients
(Nickerson, Helms and Terrell, 1 994). Many ethnic minorities
enter counselling with personal and cultural issues concerning the
degree to which the counsellor will respect them as an individual
and as a cultural being. The former is certainly shared by all
cultures, but the latter gets exacerbated within both cross- and
same-culture counselling relationships. These feelings are power­
ful in the client and draw powerful feelings from the counsellor.
The more a counsellor is aware of his or her cultural being, the
 TRAINING FOR MULTi-CULTURAL SUPERVISION 1 49

better able he or she is to manage those feelings and use them

to benefit the counselling relationship. Supervisors also need to
understand how they define and feel about their cultural being in
order to address those feelings effectively in the supervisory
relationship. Whenever I work with African descended super­
visees I need to be constantly aware and responsive to two aspects
of my own internalized racism. On the one hand, I need to resist
my urges to protect other African descendants from discrimina­
tion and feelings of isolation. When r feel that urge to protect, I
start working very hard at being accepting of the supervisee and
emphasizing their strengths. In turn, this allows me not to con­
front them around the areas in which they need to gain greater
competence. I am afraid that they wiII feel bad, that it will have a
negative effect on their racial self-esteem, or that they wiII think J
am rejecting them because of their race. This urge seems to be
dominated by my own feelings about being African descended in
a predominantly white profession, and not about the professional
needs of my supervisees.
On the other hand, my internalized racism can lead to a hyper­
critical stance in evaluating the work of African descended stu­
dents. This stance can lead me to be less perceptive concerning the
quality of their work and more likely to devalue their work as
coming from a stigmatized source. This gets expressed in expect­
ing less of them and giving less feedback than I do with European
descended students. In both these reactions, my feelings lead me
to treat the supervisee as a member of a race rather than as an
individual who has a race. When I act out of these feelings, I fail to
create the positive working alliance that is based on mutual and
accurate respect.
It is only through examining these uncomfortable feelings that I
can gain control of them. It is when I can control them that they
can become a useful part of my supervision. When I am in touch
with those feelings, I am better able to respond to the positive and
negative projections of my supervisees. I am also better able to
work through these issues and concerns in my own life.

Conclusion

From a transcendent perspective, there is no one way to view the

effect of cultural factors in counselling or supervision, but there is
150 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

an imperative to explore the ways in which these factors are part

of the warp and woof of counselling and supervision. In this
chapter, I have attempted to describe various ways in which
cultural factors can be addressed within supervision to facilitate
the acquisition of multi-cultural counselling competence among
supervisees. It is important to recognize that this competence can
most effectively be acquired if it is addressed at the institutional
and process levels of counsellor training and supervision. It is also
important to recognize that this is a dynamic and ever changing
process. It is the supervisor 's responsibility to develop a system­
atic method for understanding the effect of cultural factors in his
or her work and to communicate that method with supervisees
and colleagues.

Appendix A: Multiculturally focused portfolios

During this semester, the portfolio will be used as a means of

focusing training and learning on the area of multicultural coun­
seling competence. Thus, you will be focusing on multicultural
issues as you develop your portfolio. The term 'multicultural' is to
be interpreted inclusively and will thus reflect a broad concept of
diversity (i.e. age, gender, sexual orientation, physical (dis)ability,
socio-economic status, race and ethnicity). Appropriate material
for the portfolio would include anything that reflects your own
multicultural awareness, knowledge and skills. At the end of this
manual are a number of resources that may help you reach these
objectives.

GUIDE TO PORTFOLIOS

A portfolio is:

[A] purposeful, interrelated collection of student work that shows [his

or her] efforts, progress or achievements in one or more areas. The
collection includes evidence of [the students'] self-reflection, and their
participation in setting the focus, selecting the contents, and judging
merit. Activities are guided by performance standards. A portfolio
communicates what is learned and why it is important (Paulson,
Paulson and Meyer, 1 991 , p. 62, bold and italics added).

A portfolio may be used by a counselor trainee to demonstrate

his or her competence in one or more areas of counseling (aware­
ness, knowledge and skills) . The development of a portfolio is
 TRAINING FOR MULTI-CULTURAL SUPERVISION 151

guided by its purpose (why it is being developed), its goals (what

will be demonstrated), and the context in which it is created. A
portfolio consists of (a) exhibits (work selected for inclusion), and
(b) reflections about the selected work.
Each portfolio is the unique creation of its developer, and no
two portfolios are exactly the same. Guidelines, rather than spe­
cific dictates, are provided to aid in the development of the
portfolio. Material can be selected and 'deselected' for the portfo­
lio at any time during its development, and the final decision
regarding what goes into the portfolio is made by each individual
trainee.

PURPOSE OF A PORTFOLIO
Portfolios generally serve one (or both) of two functions:
1. Pedagogical (where the focus is on instruction and learning)
2. Assessment (where the focus is on formative and summative
evaluation)
a. Formative assessment - the ongoing assessment of the trainee's
progress
b. Summative assessment the final, or end-point assessment of
-

the trainee's status compared to an external, professional

standard of excellence

The purpose of the portfolio will guide its development and the
types of material selected to be included. At this time, there is
greater empirical support for the use of portfolios in instruction
and learning than in assessment.

GOALS
The portfolio should provide concrete evidence of your aware­
ness, knowledge and skill in counseling - it will reflect what you
know and are able to do. The portfolio assembled this semester
might be used to demonstrate:
(a) Your current level of multicultural counseling knowledge,
awareness, and skill
(b) Your particular strengths and identify areas in which you
need more experience
(c) The progress you have made over the course of the semes­
ter

A key component of any portfolio is the self-reflections that are

required at each step of portfolio development. Self-reflections are
1 52 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

documented in brief 'captions' that accompany each 'exhibit'

selected for inclusion in the portfolio, as well as in a 'competence
statement' completed at the end of the semester summarizing
your efforts and learning. 'Caption' forms are provided with this
manual to help guide the self-reflection process.
As you review your portfolio over the course of the semester, it
will provide the basis for ongoing (formative) self-evaluation,
which may be helpful in guiding your future efforts.

STEPS IN DEVELOPING A PORTFOLIO

1. Determine the function/purpose of the portfolio A s part of

-

your training, your portfolio will be used as a strategy for

instruction and learning. It will also be used as a form of
assessment of your competence in this area.
2. Establish learning goals - what you will demonstrate
through the portfolio exhibits
3. Development of the portfolio
a. Table of Contents - a 'working' exhibit which is open to
modification and revision as exhibits are selected (and
deselected). At the end of the semester, a final table of
contents should be included in the front of the completed
portfolio.
b. Competence statement - also a 'working' exhibit during
the semester, completed in final form at the end of the
semester. The competence statement should include:
1. Your goals for the portfolio
ii. What you learned (strengths and areas where there is
room for change, growth or improvement)
Ill. The personal meaning of what was learned
c. Portfolio exhibits/selections may be drawn directly from
class assignments
d . Each selection should b e accompanied b y a brief caption
with the following information:
i. Title of the exhibit
ii. Date and context in which the item was produced
Ill. Brief description of the selection
iv. Statement as to why the item was selected
v. What competence you feel the selection demonstrates
4. Organization of the Portfolio - The portfolio should be
organized so that a third person, unfamiliar with your work,
can understand and evaluate the material.
5. Establish a Time-line for the Development of the Portfolio
including the date for submission of the completed project.
 TRAINING FOR M U LTI-CU LTURAL SUPERVISION 1 53

CONFIDENTIALITY �
In developing counseling portfolios, steps must be taken to
,
ensure confidentiality of the materials selected for inclu­
I

j
sion.
1. Remove any information that identifies individuals or
institutions (unless the portfolio is being used only
within the institution).
2. If identifying information cannot be removed (i .e. video-
tape), the ind ividuals whose material is being used must
1. give their informed consent. A copy of that written
consent must be included in the portfolio.
_

Appendix B: Issues in multicultural counseling competence

LEARNING OBJECTIVES for Multicultural Training (Rid ley,

Mendoza and Kanitz; 1 994). Culturally competent counselors
should demonstrate:
1. Culturally responsive behaviors (i .e. appropriZite cultural
factors reflected in observable behaviors, that are beneficial to
the client (or other persons in the professional setting)
2. Ethical knowledge and practice perta ining to multicultural
counseling and training issues
3. Cultural empathy (reflected through (a ) identification of
culturally relevant applications of traditional counseling
skills, (b) mod i ficet tion of traditionetl counseling skills/
techniques to make them culturetlly relevant, and (c) creating
new skills/ techniques when necessary to address the needs
of culturally d ifferent clients)
4. The ability to critique existing counseling theories for cul­
tural relevance
5. Development of an ind ividualized theoretical orientation
that is cultura lIy relevant
6. Knowledge of normative characteristics of culturetl groups
7. Cultural self-awareness (i.e. cultural heritage, values,
assumptions, world view)
8. Knowledge of within-group differences (i.e. level of accul­
turation, age, ind ividual expression of cultural values, cul­
tural identity)
9. Knowledge of multicultural counseling concepts and issues
10. Respect for cultural differences
1 54 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

CAPTION SHEET

Title (of the exhibit) ________________

Date

Brief description of the selection

What competence do you feel the exhibit demonstrates?

Why was the exhibit selected (why is this exhibit important to you)?

What did you learn as a result of producing this exhibit?

DIMENSIONS OF PERSONAL IDENTITY

(Arredondo et al., ] 996) Characteristics that contribute to each
individual's identity. Different characteristics will be more or less
important, depending on the individual.
 TRAINING FOR MULTI-CULTURAL SUPERVISION 1 55

• Dimension ' A' - Characteristics that are innate, or basically

'fixed' and, therefore, less changeable:

Age, culture, ethnicity, gender, language, physical disability,

race, sexual orientation, social class
• Dimension 'B' - Characteristics which often reflect the con­
sequences of the first and last d imensions ('N and 'e' noted
above and below):

Educational background, geographic location, income, marital

status, religion, work experience, citizenship status, military
experience, hobbies / recreational interests
• Dimension 'e' - Characteristics of the individual's historical,
political, sociocultural, and economic environments (contexts).
Events over which the individual has little or no control:

Historical moments or events, eras (i.e. Vietnam War), relation­

ship between the U nited States and an individual's country of
origin, periods of oppression or disenfranchisement

QUESTIONS TO GUIDE THE EXPLORATION OF MULTI­

CULTURAL I S SUES
The following questions may be used to raise your awareness of
multicultural issues.

la. What are the main demographic variables that make u p my

own cultural identity and that of my client (i.e. age, gender,
sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, race/ ethnicity)?
1 b. What worldviews (e.g. assumptions, values) do I bring to the
counseling relationships based on my cultural identity?
2a. What value systems, based on my demographic identities,
are inherent in my approach to counseling?
2b. What value systems, based on my demographic identities,
underlie the strategies r ind techniques I use in counseling?
3a . What knowledge do I possess about the worldview of my
client (who may have d ifferent cultural identities from me)?
3b. What skills do I possess for working with clients who have
different cultural identities from me? What other skills
would be helpful to learn?
4a. What are some of my concerns and /or challenges in working
with clients who are culturally d ifferent from me?
4b. How are these issues best resol ved?
5. Hovv might I improve my ability to work with culturally
d iverse clients?
Table 6.1 Summary of multicultural counseling competencies and standards
Cou nselor awareness of own assumptions, Understanding the world view of the Developing appropriate strategies and
va lues and biases culturally d ifferent client techniques

Beliefs/ 1. I s culturally self-aware; values and 1. Is aware of his or her own negative 1 . Respects clients' religious and spiritual
attitudes respects d ifferences emotional reactions towards culturally beliefs and values (including those
2. Is aware of how his or her own different clients and the potentially regarding physical and/or mental
cultural background and experiences, negative impact they might have on functioning)
Mtitudes, and values and biases the client in counseling 2. Respects indigenous helping practices
influence psychological processes 2. Is aware of personal stereotypes and and minority community help-giving
3. [�ecognizes limits of his or her own preconceived notions regarding those networks
competence and expertise who d iffer from him or herself 3. Values bilingualism and dot's not
4. Is comfortable with differences consider another language a hindrance
between self and client in counseling

Knowk'dge I. Knows own racial and culturul heritage 1 . Knows about the life experiences, 1 . Knows und understands how generic
<lIld how it a ffects perceptions of cultural heritage, and historical counseling (cu l ture bound, class bound
normality and abnormality and of background of his or her clients and monolingual) may conflict with
counseling 2. Understands how race, culture, and minority cultural values
2. Knows how oppression, racism, ethnicity may affect development of 2. Knows how institutional barriers
discrimination, and stereotyping affect personality, vocational choices, prevent minorities from using mental
oneself and one's work - this allows psychological disorders, help seeking health services
counselors to acknowledge their own behaviors, and the (in)appropriateness 3. Knows about bias in assessment tools;
racisnl of counseling approaches considers clients' cultural and linguistic
J. Understands the social impuct he or 3. Knows about and understands the characteristics when selecting
she may have on others. [s sociopolitical influences in the lives of procedures and interpreting findings
knowlt'dgeable about d ifferent styles of racial/ethnic minorities (i.e. 4. I s familiar with minority family
communication and how his or her integration, poverty, racism, structures, hierarchies, values and
own style may help or hinder stereotyping, powerlessness) beliefs as well as with community and
communication with a culturally family resources
di fferent client 5. Recognizes discriminatory practices
operating in client's environment and
 how they affect psychological
functioning
Skills 1. Seeks out continuing education, 1. Is familiar with relevant research and 1. Is able to send and receive (accurately
consultation, and training to expand findings regarding mental health issues and appropriately) a variety of verbal
understanding and effectiveness in of culturally different groups ­ and nonverbal messages. Uses a variety
working with culturally d ifferent constantly seeks to develop cross­ of approaches to avoid culture bound
populations; recognizes personal limits cultural knowledge, understanding and and inappropriate services.
of competence and consults, refers, and/ skills 2. Initiates institutional interventions on
or seeks more training when appropriate 2. Becomes involved with minorities client's behalf; identifies problems due
2. Constantly tries to understand self as a outside of counseling setting so that to racism and / or bias to prevent clients
racia l / cultural being and to develop a perspective is more than academic from inappropriately blaming
nonracist identity (community events, social/political themselves
functions, celebrations, friendships) 3. Seeks consultation with traditional
healers or spiritual leaders when
appropriate
4. Interacts in language preferred by client
(seeks appropriate translator or refers to
bilingual counselor when necessary)
5. Is trained in (and is familiar with
cultural limitations of) assessment and
testing procedures
6. Is sensitive to issues of oppression,
sexism and racism and works to
eliminate biases, prejudices, and
discriminatory practices. Is aware of
sociopolitical contexts in conducting
evaluations and providing services
7. Educates client in processes of
psychological intervention (i.e. goals,
expectations, legal rights, counselor's
theoretical orientation)
Tablt' 6.2 Mllitieultllrni wUlIsclillg COll1 lNt('llCC witilill specific treatmellt modalities and across treatmellt settillgs
The following are suggestions of how multicultural counseling competence may be demonstra ted within specific treatment modalities and
treatnwnt settings (Sue et aI., 1 992)

Awareness Knowledge Skills Relationship

Self Is fully a ware of what it Has examined and Can manage non-verbal cues Is aware of social customs
means to be a member of understands his/her stage of to facilitate communication and culturally mitigated
his/ her own cu lture racial identity with a culturally d i fferent styles of i nteraction; is aware
client of the effect of racial identity
on inter-personal
rela tionshi ps
Modalitit's
Indi\'idLial (,,111rt'cog ni/,e ,1 cLi ltU I',l l Can describe the cultural Can address a cultural Is aware of implications of
Ct)nCl'rn etinlogy of a pattern of concern within counseling f;cnder d ifferences within a
behavior (e.g. recovery ski lis) cultural context
Croup Indudes cu ltura l ly r<'lev a n t Can design a culturally Can resolve a with in-group Is sensitive to f;rouP
materi,lls in h i1 l1 d o u t s rl'levant interventioJl conflict that is cultural in its dynamics nnd
et iology communication styles that
may be related to cultural
d ifferences
r<Ul1ily Is aW<He tha t pil rl'n !,, 1 role is Knows the pareJltal role Adjusts interventions to be Is cognizant of cultural
d i fferent i l l each culture within particular cultures cultufillIy relevant d ifferences i n family
structure, and of rela tionships
among members of the
'family' (culturally defined)
Consultation Can identify culture norms Knows how different cultures Can facilitate a d i scussion Is sensitive to and (where
within an orga nization react to d i fferent about cultural norms in appropriate) actively enlists
organizational styles culturally d i verse and the aid of culturally
homogeneous organizations sanctioned hel pers (e.g.
 members of the client's
religious community;
shaman)
Cilse Manager Aware that context can Knows what type of Adjusts interventions to fit Is aware of, and when
influence help-seeking interventions are culturally the cultural norms of clients possible, facilitates, the
behavior appropriate relationships the client must
negotiate to resolve his/her
issues, taking into account
the role of cultural
differences
Settings
School Is ilware that guidance Ciln design guidance Has equivalent success withUnderstands how the client's
ilctivities need to include activities that are culturally minority and majority culture may affect
culturally diverse materials relevant students relationships with peers
Hospital Is aware of the relationship Can design progrilms that Has successfully [s aware of power
between culture ilnd health maximize access to treatment implemented such a progrilmdifferentials within the
beliefs by culturally diverse clients hospital community and is
cognizant of racism/
discrimination that may
interfere with appropriilte
delivery of health care
Community Is aware of the relationship Can design programs that Has successfully Understands the relationships
between culture and help­ maximize access to treatment implemented such a program among and between cultural
seeking behavior by culturally diverse clients groups in the client's
community
1 60 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

References

Arredondo, P., Toporek, R., Brown, S.P., Jones, J., Locke, D.C, Sanchez, J. and
Stadler, H. ( ] 996) Operationalization of the multicultural counseling compet­
encies. /uumal uf Multicultuml Couusciing and Development, 24: 42-78.
Bass, C.K. and Coleman, H.L.K. ( j <)97) Enhancing the cultural identity of early
adolescent male African Americans. Professicl//1l1 School COllnsr!or, 1 : 48-51 .
Bernard, j . M . and Goodyear, R . K . ( 1 992) FUlldall1elltals of Ciinicill S U l 'en'isioll.
Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Claymore-Lahammer, V. and Yutrzenka, B.A. ( 1 <)97) Influence of ethnicity and
multicultural discussions within supervision on supervisees. Paper presented at
the 1 05th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association.
Chicago, I L.
Coleman, H .L.K. ( 1 995) Strategies for coping with cultural d iversity. The Coullselillg
Psychologist, 23: 722--40.
Coleman, H . L . K . ( 1 99.5, August) Contlict in multicultural counseling relationships:
source and resolution. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psycho­
logical Association. New York Ci tv.
Coleman, H . L. K. 0996, August) Heuristics for choosing cultural specific treatment.
Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association.
Toronto, Canada.
Coleman, H . L . K . and Wampold, B.E. 0 993, August) An integrated curriculum:
course examples. Paper presentt-d a t the meeting of the American Psychological
Association. Toronto, Canada.
Constantine, M.e. ( 1 997) Facilitating multicultural competency in counseling
supervision. In D.B. Pope-Davis and H . L. K . Coleman (eds), Mliitieuitumi COII II­
selillg COll1petellcies: Assessiliellt, (dllmtioll IIlld TmillillS. alid SlIl'<'I'l'isioll (pp.
3 1 0-24). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Holloway, E.L. ( 1 995) Clill ical S I II'l'I'('i,iol/: A S I/,; tCIIIS AI 'Prot/ch. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.
LaFramboise, T O. and Foster, S.L. ( 1 9<)2) Cross-cultural training: scientist­
practitioner model and methods. COIIIISe/illg P,ycllOlogist, 20: 472-89.
LaFromboise, TO., Coleman, H.L.K. and Gerton, j. ( 1 993) Psychological impact of
biculturalism: evidence and theory. P"lfchologiml Blllietill, 1 1 4: 395--41 2 .
Leong, FT a n d Wagner, N S ( ] <)94) Cross-cultural counseling supervision: what
do we know? What do we need to know? Coullselor Edllcalioll lllld SlIpfI'l'isioll, 34:
1 1 7-31 .
Nickerson, K.J., Helms, j . E . and Terrell, F. ( 1 9<)4) Cultural mistrust, opinions about
mental illness, and Black students' attitudes toward seeking psychological help
from White counselors. /ullmal or COIlI ISe/illg Psychology, 41 : 378--85.
Paulson, F.L., Paulson, I'.p. and M eyer, CA. (] (91 ) What Makes a Portfolio a
Portfolio? Educatiollal Leadership, 48: 60-3.
Pope-Davis, D.B. and Coleman, H .L . K. (ed,) ( 1 997) Militieu ltllrni Celillsciillg COlll­
petellcies: AsscssmCll!, Edllcatioll IIl1d Tmillillg, alld Supen'isioll. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage.
Ridley, CR., Mendoza, D.W. and Kanitz, B.E. ( 1 994) Multicultural training: re­
examination, operationalization, and integration. The COIIIlSC/iIlS Psyclwlosist, 22:
227-89.
 TRAINING FOR MULTI-CULTURAL SUPERVISION 1 61

Skovholt, T.M . and Ronnestad, M.H. (1 992) The Evolving Professional Self: Stages and
Themes in Therapist and Counselor Development. New York: Wiley.
Sue, D.W., Arredondo, P. and McDavis, RJ. (1 992) Multicultural counseling
competencies and standards: a call to the profession. /oumal of Counseling and
Deve/opll1f11t, 70: 477-86.
Sue, D.W., !vey, A.E. and Pedersen, P.B . ( 1996) A Tlleory of M ulliC/lllural Counseling
and Therapy. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing.
Tuescher, K.D. ( 1 997) The Effect of Portfolios on Self-reflection ill Counseling Studcllts.
Unpublished dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Tyler, EB., Brome, D.R and Williams, J.E. ( 1 99 1 ) Ethnic Validity, Ecology, and
Psychotherapy: A PSyc/1Osocilll Competence Model. New York: Plenum Press.
7 Training for Su pervision
Evaluation
Maria Gilbert and Charlotte Sills

Introduction

We conceptualize the task of evaluation in supervision as assess­

ing answers to the following questions: What is the aim of
supervision? Is that aim being achieved?
This chapter focuses on training supervisors in the evaluation
of their supervision. Supervisors generally agree that the goal of
supervision is to enhance the quality of the service to the client
and towards this end to develop the competence of the practi­
tioner. Given this focus, in thinking about training for evaluation,
we consider it important for the supervisor to reflect on what
evaluation might mean in their own particular context and within
their own theoretical orientation. The specific answers to the
above questions, the details of what constitutes an enhancement
of service and what particular skills are relevant in the repertoire
of the supervisee, will be influenced by (a) the person's orienta­
tion; (b) the context in which they work; and (c) their individual
style and preferences.
For example, the person-centred supervisor might see the exer­
cise of the 'core conditions' as central to the practitioner' s work
and therefore shape his interventions in such a way that con­
gruence and empathy are modelled . In an analytic framework, on
the other hand, where interpretive skill and self-analysis might be
deemed to be more important, the supervisor will place a high
emphasis on the explication of intrapsychic dynamics. Similarly,
the supervisor of a practitioner who is working in a setting where
the intervention for the client is limited to six sessions will be
focusing in supervision on what can be realistically achieved in
 TRAINING FOR SUPERVISION EVALUATION 1 63

that time frame. A supervisor who ignores this critical time

dimension will not be offering an appropriate or effective service
to the supervisee.
All supervisors, in defining their task and goals in the super­
vision process, will need to answer for themselves such questions
as:
What factors do I believe represent an effective service to the
client? (This starts to include a definition of therapy and its
goals. )
What does the client consider to b e a n effective service?
What constitutes safe and ethical practice?
What skills and competence do I believe are effective in a ther­
apist?
How would such skills be learned in supervision?
What is the supervisor's contribution to the achievement of the
desired outcomes?
The specific answers to these questions will influence supervisors'
style and methodology of supervision. The training of supervisors
in evaluation should therefore involve inviting them to think
about what evaluation would uniquely mean to them given their
particular orientation and circumstances. Given these differences
there are, however, certain elements common to the evaluation of
supervision which span orientations and contexts, and these will
be our focus in this chapter.

Different methods of evaluation

Evaluation of supervision can be approached in any or all of the

four ways described below:

Self-evaluation of the process of supervision

This can be achieved by the supervisor reflecting on her own

responses and the reactions of the supervisee to her interventions
in the supervisory dialogue. This would mean assessing in an on­
going way whether you as a supervisor are attuned to the
supervisee and are responding accurately to the supervisee's
needs of supervision. For example, a supervisor may sometimes
give feedback in an overly critical manner that leads the super­
visee to feel shamed and so avoid bringing crucial issues to
1 64 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

supervision in the future. Alternatively, the supervisor might

reflect after the session on an audiotaped recording of the process,
using a technique such as Interpersonal Process Recall (Kagan,
1 980).

Self-evaluation of the outcome of sllpervision

This may involve questions such as: Did I as supervisor meet the
supervisory contract? Does the supervisee feel 'helped' by having
a clearer idea of the way forward? This is particularly helpful in
situations where the supervision may be flowing along 'too
smoothly' or may have settled into a comfortable routine and the
supervisor questions whether he is missing critical elements in the
supervisee's process or is being induced in some subtle way to
avoid certain difficult areas.

Other-eUIl Ilia t ion

This may involve evaluation by peers or of a supervIsIng

supervisor / consultant. It can be evaluation of micro-skills, of a
sessional outcOlT'_e or outcomes over time. The advantage of this
type of evaluation is that a person outside the process is able, for
example, to spot para llel processes, or whether an effective con­
tract has been made and fulfilled. A supervisor is as susceptible as
a counsellor or psychotherapist to entering into confluence with
or becoming enmeshed in the supervisee's process, where an
uninvolved outsider's view can be invaluable.

Emll/atiol! by CO I l S 1 l 1lll'l'S

In this case the consumers are the practitioners receiving super­

vision who can either be asked for direct verbal feedback in a
supervision review or requested to give feedback in a ques­
tionnaire. In this way, supervisors can gain valuable information
both on style and on the effectiveness of what they are delivering.
Contrary to popular belief, research suggests that it is not the
overly careful and 'nice' supervisor who is valued, but the one
who provides both support and evaluation in an open honest
manner (Austin and Altekruse, 1 972; Dodenhoff, 1 98 1 ; Henry et
al., 1 993; Holloway and Neufeldt, 1 995; Holloway and Poulin,
1 995; Leddick and Dye, 1 987) .
 TRAINING FOR SUPERVISION EVALUATION 1 65

We regard feedback as integral to the evaluation process. Carifio

and Hess ( 1 987) report in some detail the results of a study by
Freeman ( 1 985) in which are outlined important considerations for
the supervisor delivering feedback. Since giving feedback is the
essential component of any evaluation, we summarize these find­
ings here to serve as a guide for the supervisor in his evaluative
task, whether wi thin a session, at the end of a session or at the end
of a period of supervision. Effective feedback, according to Free­
man ( 1 985), possesses the following characteristics:

It is systematic (objective, accurate, consistent and reliable,

minimally influenced by subjective variables) .
2 It is timely (delivered soon after the event).
3 It is clearly understood (both positive and negative feedback
are based on explicit and specific performance criteria).
4 It is reciprocal (feedback is provided in two-way interactions
in which suggestions are made, not as the only way to
approach a problem, but as only one of a number of poten­
tially useful alternatives).

These findings suggest that the supervisor 's feedback will be most
effective if it is directly related to aspects of performance, for
example, to a detailed analysis of interventions of a particular
piece of work with a client. For this reason, we find that using
audio or videotaped segments of a session as the basis for
supervision provides both the therapist and the supervisor with
specific material for discussion and evaluation. A particular inter­
vention or series of interventions can then be reviewed from the
perspective of the outcomes that followed and how these did or
did not relate to the therapeutic goals. Such micro-skills analysis
helps the supervisee to develop internalized criteria for judging
for herself whether an intervention is effective or not, which is one
of the most important goals of supervision.
We will now proceed to d iscuss the model we have developed
for conceptualizing supervision evaluation. In this model (Figure
7. 1 ), we offer a variety of lenses through which to evaluate
supervision from the micro-skills level through to outcomes over
time. Each of the four methods discussed above can be used at
each level. Examples and suggestions are offered throughout the
d iscussion which follows the diagram.
Depending on your learning style, you may wish to use this
diagram from the top down or from the bottom up! We will start
with the broad overview of supervision outcomes over time
1 66 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Effective
sessional skills
and
sessional outcomes

Satisfactory
supervisory development
and effective outcomes over time

Figure 7.1 Lenses for evaluation

(listed at the bottom of the diagram) and then narrow down to the
moment-by-moment skills (at the top).

Satisfactory supervisor development (outcomes over time)

An obvious external measure of supervisors' skills is the success­

ful performance of their supervisees in their work with clients. A
supervisee who is working effectively reflects on the competence
of the supervisor. The clearest measure of this is when the
supervisees are in training and will be submitting themselves to
examination or accreditation processes. These processes provide
an objective and external measure of effectiveness which reflects
directly on the supervisor's work. We are taking into account that
some students are better suited to the profession than others and
no supervisor can realistically expect a 1 00 per cent success rate!
However, we do believe that examination successes are related to
the effectiveness of both training courses and the competence of
 TRAINING FOR SUPERVISION EVALUATION 1 67

supervisors involved in the process, because they provide an

external measure of effective outcomes.
This facet of supervisor evaluation does of course introduce the
dilemma of the supervisor's ego-involvement in the supervisee's
success. This tension can create serious difficulty in the super­
vision relationship. A supervisor may put undue pressure on a
student by suggestions that sound more like demands for perfec­
tion. If the student's assessment achieves a less than glowing
result, the supervisor, fearing ad verse judgement himself, may be
unsupportive in his disappointment. This can turn the assessment
process into a shaming experience for the student. In the super­
vision of their own supervision, we consider this a particularly
important focus for supervisors.
Not all supervisees, of course, are in training and other evalua­
tive measures of the supervisor 's performance are called for that
are more directly based on the supervision relationship. These will
provide a general measure of satisfactory outcomes over time and
can be applied to both training and consultative supervision.
Supervisors will regularly be evaluating the effectiveness of
their supervision over varying periods of time, for example at the
end of a year's contract with supervisees. To aid us in this section
we have drawn on some of the outcome research into supervision.
From this research which reflects the needs of 'consumers' of
supervision, we have sought those factors that have been rated by
supervisees as measures of effective supervision over time. Since
this research was conducted almost exclusively with students in
therapy or counselling training, it may reflect more heavily the
needs of therapists in training rather than the needs of qualified
practitioners in search of consultative supervision. We decided,
however, that the variables that emerged are, in our experience, of
sufficient interest and relevance to supervision in general to form
the basis of two scales that can be used to evaluate outcomes in
supervision. (One of these scales can be found in the following
section since it is aimed at assessing the outcome of an individual
supervision session.) The first one (Figure 7.2) looks at desired
outcomes over timc.
This list can be used in the context of group or individual
evaluation sessions with supervisees by which means supervisors
get feedback on their own effectiveness. It also lends itself very
well to use in an on-going training context where peer supervisors
in a training group can be taught to evaluate one another's
progress and development over time in terms of these criteria.
1 68 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Relationship dimensions: The Supervisor

I . Communicates respect for differences in values and experiences as
well as respect for personal privacy.
2. Values independence of supervisee.
3. Respects the supervisee as a person.
4. Uses humour in supervision.
5. Avoids conducting psychotherapy during supervision.
6. Provides consultation in dealing with supervisee's emotions.
7. Helps supervisees to realize that new skills seem awkward at first.
8. Discloses her own experience as this is directly related to
supervisee learning needs.

Professional Role: The Supervisor

I . Agrees mutual goals which are renegotiated at regular intervals.
2. Monitors sessions either by video or audiotape.
3. Provides direct training in intervening with clients.
4. Provides direct training in conceptualizing cases.
S. Gives feedback on supervisee's therapy style.
6. Balances the facilitation of supervisee's self-understanding with a
focus on client dynamics and how to help the client.
7. Focuses on strengths and growth areas instead of concentrating on
weaknesses.
8. Helps supervisees assess their own weaknesses.
9. Uses supervision relationship to demonstrate principles of therapy.
1 0. Provides conceptual frameworks for understanding client processes.
I I. Encourages supervisee to experiment with novel strategies.
1 2. Provides modelling of relevant skills.

Figure 7.2 Assessment of supervision outcomes over

time (derived from Leddick and Dye, 1 987; Carifio and
Hess, 1 987)

Effective performance along these dimensions will be a good

indicator that the supervisor is ready for accreditation.
Feedback along these dimensions can also regularly be sought
from the supervisee in the course of a routine supervision review
in order to discover how far the supervision is perceived to be
meeting the supervisee's needs. This information provides an on­
going evaluation of the supervisor's performance. Inskipp and
Proctor (1 993) describe the importance of regular reviews in
supervision and suggest at least one a year. Such a review has
several purposes. One obvious one is to agree a goal for the
coming period and to assess how far the previous goals have been
met. However, it is also an opportunity for supervisor and super­
visee (as well as group members if the supervision takes place in
a group context) to give each other feedback about their work in
 TRAINING FOR SUPERVISION EVALUATION 1 69

Client work
How is my work with individual clients going? With groupsl
How do I rate my effectiveness?
How is the balance of my caseload? Are there changes I wish to make?
I s my case-recording adequate and appropriate for mel

Use of supervision
What have I learned from this supervisor?
How do I work differently as a result'
I s my preparation appropriate!
Do I present in a way that serves my purposes and is helpful to my supervisor I
Am I using the sessions well - to explore - to understand better - to practise more
effectively I

Development as a psychotherapist
How far have I met the goals I have set myself?
What skills. understanding. personal qualities do I now want support and challenge in
developing?
Do I need other professional development (training. the opportunity to present
workshops etc.)?

Effectiveness of the working alliance

What has been enjoyable for mel What have I not enjoyed I
What would I like more ofl Less of?
What balance of normative. formative and restorative work! Of support and
challengel
How safe do I feel in this relationship I In this group! How empowered do I feeJl
What would I most like to hear from the supervisorl
What would I least l i ke to hear'
What do I most want to say to my supervisorl
What do I least want to say!
What feedback do I have for the other individuals in the groupl

Changes to the contract

I In the light of this review what changes to the contract do you want to negotiate I
L-.-___

Figure 7.3 511pcruision rez'it'll' (hased Oil 111�kipp Illld Proctor,

1 993)

I �
Short Supervisi n Review ··------------------

What was our contract and have we met it?

1
What have you found most useful from your supervisorl
What do you want more of from your supervisor!
What do you want less of from your supervisor?
What is the next developmental edge for youl

Figure 7.4 Short sllpt'rvision rel'it'w for1l1

1 70 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

the group and to remind themselves of their rights and responsi­

bilities. All this can be a useful part of evaluating the supervisor's
effectiveness and is best viewed as a collaborative process. In such
an evaluation process, the supervisor may grow to realize that her
style of supervision suits some supervisees better than others and
can be challenged to extend and deepen her repertoire. Inskipp
and Proctor include a detailed suggestion for conducting a super­
vision review. With their permission, we reproduce it here (Figure
7.3) with very little amendment. This review is conducted by the
supervisor and the supervisee jointly at regular intervals. The
material can subsequently form the basis of a further review of the
supervisor's learning goals in the context of the supervision of
their supervision.
We also include a short supervision review form (Figure 7.4)
which has fewer questions and can therefore be done more
quickly and thus perhaps more frequently than the full one. I t
nevertheless provides a powerful tool for monitoring the effective­
ness of supervision. This shorter review can provide a rapid
assessment of the on-going supervision contract.

Successful Sessional Outcomes

The following is a list of sessional skills (Figure 7.5) valued in a

supervisor (based on Carifio and Hess, 1 987; and Leddick and
Dye, 1 987) which research has revealed to be the consumers'
perceived needs of supervision. Although several of these items
refer to specific categories of supervisor skills, we have included
them in this section because they relate more to an evaluation of
the overall sessional outcome of supervision. This list provides the
supervisor with valuable information about the effectiveness of
supervisor performance in a particular session. We consider that it
may be used as an occasional check on how the supervisor is
progressing with particular individuals, where there is doubt
about the effectiveness of service to an individual supervisee and
in the training of supervisors where much of the training is based
on evaluating single supervision sessions.
Following reflection on the research findings and drawing on our
own experience as supervisors, we find that there are three main
elements which are generally thought to contribute to a successful
sessional outcome:
 TRAINING FOR SUPERVISION EVALUATION 1 71

• effective completion of agreed tasks;

• the development and maintenance of an effective supervisory
relationship;
• the creation of a safe learning environment which includes
both challenge and support.

These three areas are covered in the twenty statements in Figure

7.5 below and in our view constitute the essence of a satisfactory
sessional outcome. Supervisors are encouraged to check back with
the supervisee that the contract has been met and that the
supervisee has experienced the session as facilitative of their client

I . The supervisor negotiated specific objectives. explicit and measurable goals.

2. Goals were mutually arrived at by supervisor and supervisee.
3. Goals appropriately addressed the supervisee's concerns, e.g. treatment issues,
therapist skills i n relation to client characteristics, diagnoses, ethical or dynamic
issues.
4. There was identification and discussion of expectations.
5. Supervision was structured towards task efficiency.
6 . Evaluation was specific, concrete and clear.
7. The session allowed for an honest, open exchange.
8. The supervisor gave direct suggestions rather than using exclusively Socratic
style questioning.
9. The supervisor provided both support and evaluation.
1 0. The supervisor framed feedback in terms of whether i nterventions either did or
did not facilitate therapy objectives (rather than in terms of , right' or 'wrong').
I I . The supervisor encouraged the supervisee to experiment with a new
technique(s) to discover their own styles and develop self-confidence as
therapists.
1 2. The supervisor gave feedback about supervisee's pOSitive and non-facilitative
behaviours with clients.
1 3. The supervisor was actively empathic, genuine, warm, flexible and non­
restrictive .
1 4. The supervisor aimed to manage rather than eliminate tension in supervision to
enable supervisee to reduce performance anxiety while stimulating motivation to
learn.
1 5. The supervisor dealt directly with supervisee defensiveness.
1 6. The supervisee benefited from a mix of modalities, e.g. didactic presentations,
feedback and evaluation. etc.
1 7. Supervisory feedback was specific and related to therapy goals.
1 8. Supervision was highly active . providing large amounts of observation. feedback
and instruction.

I
1 9. The supervisor demonstrated a wide range of interpersonal skills.
20. The supervisor showed patience'
---- ------- ----'

Figure 7.5 Assl'ssml'lIt of a s u cces sful st'ssiollill oli trolllC

1 72 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

work. It is likewise important for the supervisor to reflect on the

session in terms of these three dimensions.
We find that a focus on the tasks (or different 'roles') required of
a supervisor can assist the supervisor in assessing the delivery of
supervision in relation to the three areas summarized above.
Michael Carroll (1 996) offers a particularly useful overview of the
tasks of supervision which can be used as a format for evaluating
a session (or assessing the process of supervision over time). The
seven tasks he identifies encompass much of the material dis­
cussed above and provide a way of focusing on the different
facets of the supervisor's role. Following his model, the following
evaluation can be done by the supervisor or by observers (in a
group or training context).
In this particular session which of the following tasks has the
supervisor performed effectively?

• setting up a learning relationship

• monitoring administrative aspects
• consulting
• counselling
• monitoring professional or ethical issues
• evaluating
• teaching

An assessment of the tasks within a session will allow the

supervisor to reflect on the initial contract and whether it has been
satisfactorily completed. The supervisor will also be accumulating
information about herself and her supervisory style which will
contribute to her long-term evaluation of her competence. For
example, the supervisor who finds that most of her sessions are
taken up by teaching, or for that matter by counselling, may wish
to develop skills in some of the other tasks. This method is very
helpful for monitoring rigidity and flexibility in style since as
supervisors we may easily settle into a preferred style and so not
be challenged to broaden our repertoire (Holloway and Wolleat,
1 981).
One of the supervisor 's primary tasks in any session is to
identify the central concern or issue that the supervisee is bringing
to the session, whether consciously or unconsciously. This chal­
lenging task will inform the supervisor 's choice of focus, whether
that is a more profound understanding of the client's presenting
problem or an exploration of the therapist's counter-transference.
Hawkins and Shohet (1 989) and Clarkson and Gilbert ( 1 99 1 )
 TRAINING FOR SUPERVISION EVALUATION 1 73

provide two useful frameworks for conceptualizing the super­

visor's options. However, the choosing of priorities in a super­
vision session is a task that is learned over time as the supervisor
becomes progressively attuned to the finer nuances of the supervi­
sory process in relation to the supervisee's level of development
as a practitioner. The frameworks mentioned above can provide a
teaching and learning tool in this challenging process.
We include here an example of a sessional process evaluation
that occurred in the context of a longer supervision session.

Margaret has been observed in a training session doing a piece

of supervision with a fellow trainee. The observer noticed that
she established a safe relationship in which her supervisee
clearly felt able and willing to explore and learn. She negotiated
a goal for the supervision which she returned to regularly.
However, her interventions were almost exclusively restricted
to reflective listening and to commenting on the supervisee's
process in the room. She drew attention to the super­
visee's language, she mirrored his gestures and bodily postures
and she shared the response that they evoked in her. At the
end of the supervision, it became clear that Margaret had had
several hypotheses about what might be going on for the client
as well as between the client and the therapist (her super­
visee). However, she had not spoken them out loud. Neither
had she thought to explore the context of the work. When she
reflected on the process she realized also that she had a
specific recommendation for the supervisee concerning an
aspect of the therapy. She realized that her desire to be
'person-centred' had limited her from taking her authority in
the situation. Her growing edge was formulated as identifying
(and carrying out) the appropriate use of clear feedback and
direction.

Effective micro-skills

We have been examining the skills and tasks involved in the

supervisor's role as identified by an evaluation over time, of
sessional outcomes and of the sessional process. It is important at
this point therefore to address our attention to the specifics of the
supervisor's interventions. What skills are needed to accomplish
the desired effect? Clearly, the supervisor needs to have a range of
1 74 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

interventions which will support, instruct and challenge the

supervisee and which will also invite her to develop her thinking,
her intuition and her observational skills.
Various writers offer us ways of deconstructing the dialogue
and categorizing types of intervention. Heron (1 989) offers six
categories broadly separated into two groups of 'Authoritative'
and 'Facilitative' . Berne (1966) describes eight 'therapeutic opera­
tions' designed to increase the awareness of the client (or in this
case supervisee), broaden understanding and facilitate change
and development.
We believe that it can be misleading to categorize interventions
according to type without relating them to their purpose. For
example, giving information to a supervisee may be seen as
supportive, reassuring, challenging or directive depending on
what its intention is and what effect it achieves. The evaluation of
interventions must therefore be seen in this light. It can be useful
however, to use a general framework for types of intervention and
then in terms of this to analyse the moment-by-moment process of
the supervision in order to develop awareness of the supervisor's
range of interventions and ensure that her scope is not limited by
such factors as habit or anxiety.
We have identified the following categories of intervention, all
of which have a part to play in successful supervision. We have
drawn on and adapted the work of Berne (1 966) and integrated
this with our own experience.

lllqlliry

Phenomenological inquiry involves careful exploration of the

supervisee's experience. The supervisor gathers information, lis­
tens and invites the supervisee to reflect on the issue brought to
supervision. Socratic or circu lar questioning which deepens the
person's understanding can be combined with the use of 'con­
tinuation responses' which encourage the supervisee to speak
freely.

Specification was the word chosen by Berne (1 966) to describe the

style of intervention which underlines or highlights some central
aspect of the narrative. Specification includes reflective listening,
 TRAINING FOR SUPERVISION EVALUATION 1 75

summarizing and paraphrasing. As this process can be strongly

confrontative, careful empathic attunement is essential.

Challenge

Challenge involves commenting on discrepancies between two or

more previously specified pieces of material. It also includes
offering feedback on skills levels, making observations on body
signals or the use of words and commenting on dynamics in the
therapeutic relationship, for instance unrecognized counter­
transference responses.

Explanation

Intervening with explanation includes giving information, offer­

ing a particular view or relating material to a theoretical frame­
work. The function of explanation is often an extension of training
as it broadens and deepens the supervisee's knowledge base. It is
appropriate to offer explanation where there is an obvious gap in
knowledge but the supervisor needs to be alert to avoid thinking
for the supervisee instead of alongside him.

Confirmation

In the process of confirmation the supervisor draws together

themes which have previously emerged and been specified in the
course of the supervision in order to highlight important issues in
the work. In this way, the supervisor invites the supervisee to
notice recurring patterns in interpersonal dynamics that affect the
therapeutic relationship or the intrapsychic world of the client.

Illu stration

Sometimes the supervisor will illustrate her point by sharing her

own experiences or relating relevant examples from the clinical
literature. She might also use or invite the use of metaphor or
imagery in order to expand the supervisee's range of under­
standing of unconscious processes. This might include moving
1 76 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

from the purely intellectual to the intuitive, or from empathic to

observational functioning.

J n tcrprctlltion

The supervisor may choose to invite the supervisee to explore

various interpretations of the clinical material. The dynamics of a
relationship or the possible meaning of the client's words or
actions may be explored in terms of theoretical concepts (or
'hunches' l ) which may illuminate the therapeutic narrative.

Crystllll iZllt i071

Crystallization means summing up succinctly the essence of a

situation, issue or theme in such a way that the central dilemma is
highlighted. In this process the supervisor does not seek to offer
answers but rather to focus a spotlight on what may be the
emergent core issue. Offering such clarity enables the supervisee
to reflect not only on the direction but also on the significant
impact on the client of the process of change.
In addition to his therapeutic operations, Berne also adds what
he calls 'parental operations' ( 1 966: 248) al though, speaking to the
therapist, he advises against them. Hovvever, one of the significant
differences between the role of the supervisor and that of the
therapist or counsellor, is that the supervisor is required not only
to assist the supervisee to develop her own thinking but to
moni tor, to evaluate and to guide. For this reason, it is appropriate
to include them in the list of supervisor interventions.

Slippurt

Part of the supervisor ' s role is to offer appropriate support to the

supervisee who is often under pressure in working in a setting
where it is rare and usually inappropriate for a client to offer
feedback or praise to his therapist. As a consequence of this a
practitioner might feel isolated and uncertain of his own skills.
Supervision may be the main place in which he can receive
support and encouragement, even reassurance or sympathy. The
supervisor needs to avoid empty palliatives but be prepared to
fulfil the 'restorative' role in supervision (Proctor, 1 986) .
 TRAINING FOR SUPERVISION EVALUATION 1 77

Exhortation

While normally the supervisor will seek to model an empathic

facilitative process, there may be occasions when the supervisor
decides that it is important to interrupt the direction of the clinical
work and recommend or even instruct the supervisee to follow a
particular course of action. This might take the form of encouraging
a supervisee to have the confidence of his convictions but more
usually it will have to do with the therapist's greater awareness of
ethical or professional considerations which may be involved.
From the above list we have drawn up a checklist (Figure 7.6)
which can be used by the supervisor using a tape-recording or
transcript and/ or by the observers and tutor watching a piece of live
supervision. Supervisors receive concrete feedback about their
tendencies towards one or another type of intervention. Gaps in the
range are usually significant. Common amongst new supervisors is
an avoidance of those interventions which require them to take their
authority as a supervisor. Others, perhaps through anxiety at the
responsibility, find that they are using far more 'parental inter­
ventions' than are effective for the development of the supervisee.
Even experienced supervisors can benefit from this sort of analysis,
as habits develop of which they are not aware.
An alternative way of looking at the moment-by-moment proc­
ess of supervision is to use the Interpersonal Process Recall
method described by Kagan (1 980). The IPR is a way of develop­
ing a person's own capacity to self-supervise, to develop his
curiosity and awareness of his own process. I t was originally
designed for use by practitioners, but it is equally useful for
supervisors and can therefore form part of an evaluation of
supervision. Although it is a tool for self-examination, it is best
used with the help of an 'Inquirer' who facilitates by structuring
the process. Normally it requires a video or tape-recording of a
session, although it can be adapted to be used following an
observed piece of live supervision if necessary.
The tape of the session is played by the supervisor and her
inquirer. The supervisor is in charge of the process and stops the
tape from time to time, at any point which seems interesting to her
- a choice point, a moment of anxiety, doubt or confusion, and so
on. The advantage of this method is that the supervisor remains
'in charge' of the process since he can decide when to stop the
tape and initiate the process. The inquirer then facilitates an
1 78 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Tick each time the intervention is used.

o Inquiry
o Listening (silently or with 'paraverbals')
o Socratic questioning
o Reflecting
o Summarizing/paraphrasing
o Expressing empathy
o Commenting on discrepancies
o Offering feedback (positive)
o Offering feedback (constructive/negative)
o Noticing process (body signals. use of words. etc.)
o Naming themes/patterns
o Sharing own experiencesltelling anecdotes
o Suggesting avenue of exploration (e.g.. encouraging imagery)
o Commenting on dynamics (in here or out there)
o Offering hunches
o Making theoretical interpretations
o Highlighting key issue
o Suggesting a course of action
o Recommending/instructing
o Supporting. encouraging. etc.

Figure 7.6 Micro-skills checklist

exploration of the supervisor 's recalled process by such questions

as:
1. What were you feeling?
2. What were you thinking?
3. What were you feeling in your body?
4. What did you do?
5. What could you have done or said instead?
6. What would have been the risks for you in doing or saying
this?
7. What do you think the supervisee might have experienced?
8. Do you have any images, association from other situations?
9. Do you remember anything else about that moment?
An example of the Interpersonal Process Recall method in super­
vision is contained in the following transcript from a supervision
session.
John is listening to the tape of his supervision. His supervisee is
describing how she confronted her client about apologizing for
having 'rabbited on' in the previous session. She says that she
pointed out to her client that what he had been talking about
was very important and that he had been 'discounting' with his
remark. She went on to list three important areas that he had
 TRAINING FOR SUPERVISION EVALUATION 1 79

identified and suggests that they address them in order. John

repl ies 'Mm'. He stops the tape:
Inquirer: What were you feeling?
john: I was feeling uncomfortable and a little sorry for the
client.
Inquirer: What were you thinking?
john: I was thinking that she was being a little . . . well . . .
business-like with a very sensitive subject.
Inquirer: And feeling in your body?
john: I don't know. Uncomfortable really.
Inquirer: What could you have said ?
john: Well, thinking about it now, I could have said something
like 'I wonder what your client felt like when you said that to
him', or 'Why do you suppose he said that?'
Inquirer: What do you think stopped you from saying some­
thing like that?
john: I think it was that at the time I couldn't think of any
tactful way to put it. Actually I think I was feeling a bit
appalled. I wanted to say 'For heavens sake, that poor guy
needs you to really empathize with him.' Then her face
would have fallen and I would have hurt her. But she was
dealing with the client as if he was a kettle to be mended and
seemed to be missing the importance of the issue for the
client. Oh! That's interesting, there's some sort of parallel
there. Either minimizing the importance or smacking some­
one in the face with it. I need to model something different.
[Pause to reflect] I think I'll go on now.

Use of this IPR method combined with the micro-skills checklist

can be an extemely powerful way of developing understanding of
the supervisor's use of self, and what lies behind her choice
of intervention.

The formal evaluation of supervisees: writing reports

A task that often falls to the supervisor is to provide a written

evaluation of a supervisee's competence. In this process a super­
visor can use any of the tools or approaches to assessment that we
have already discussed. We find it useful to devise a set of criteria
against which to assess the supervisee, and we find the following
1 80 TRAINING COUNSEL LING SUPERVISORS

list (Carroll, 1 998: personal communication) to be a compre­

hensive overview of the relevant areas to be reviewed. It can, of
course, be easily adapted for supervisor evaluation.

I . The counselling/therapeutic relationship

I s the practitioner able to establish an effective therapeutic relationshipl
Does the practitioner engage appropriately with the clientl
Does the practitioner use power appropriately in the therapeutic contextl

2. Self-awareness
Is the practitioner aware of himself/herself and his/her own strengths and
limitations I
Is the practitioner able to reflect on his/her practice!

3. Skills/competence
Does the practitioner demonstrate the following skillsl
Self·presentation
listening and responding empathically
Effective challenge
Range of effective interventions

4. Understanding the therapeutic process

Does the practitioner understand what is happening between self and client!
Is the practitioner aware of the stages of the therapeutic process I

5. Diagnosis/assessment
Has the practitioner a method of assessing/diagnosing clientsl
Is the practitioner able to make clear and accurate diagnoses I

6. Contextual issues
Is the practitioner aware of relevant contextual issuesl
Is the practitioner aware of individual differences and their significancel

7. Ethics/professionalism
Does the supervisee subscribe to a clear code of ethics I
Is the supervisee ethically sensitive to what happens in the therapeutic contextl

8. Theory
Does the practitioner have a coherent theoretical orientation guiding r.he workl
Is the practitioner congruent in theory and practiceI I

II'
Does the practitioner have sufficient knowledge to back up practice!

9. Attitudes, beliefs, values

Is the practitioner flexible I
Is the practitioner tolerant and able to stay with painful issues!
Is the practitioner able to learn from supervision I
I
I
L-____
D o e s th e p ra ct ition e r de a l p o S itive ly w ith fe e db ac k I
____
__

_____________. _
_ _____
__

_________
_________ �
Figure 7.7 FOrlnai eVililiatioll of ,lIpl'}'('isee progress
 TRAINING FOR SUPERVISION EVALUATION 181

A final word: troubleshooting

As regards troubleshooting, we think that some of the issues that

we face as trainers training in the area of evaluation involve
personal issues or sensitive areas on the part of both supervisor
and supervisee.
Most people have emerged from such a shame-based educa­
tional process that any feedback which is in any way critical
seems to 'devastate' the person, so that as trainers and supervisors
we can become disempowered by this process. We may end up
avoiding giving necessary feedback and confrontation of a trainee
supervisor in order to spare their feelings while condoning inef­
fective work in this process. The experience of shame is under­
mining for the person in the learning context since it leads to
people hiding their perceived weaknesses and faults so that they
do not get the input that would most help them to develop
effective assessment processes for their own work. Part of teach­
ing evaluation becomes the healing of the wounds that people
have incurred in previous learning situations where being
assessed has led them to conclude that they are 'stupid', 'ineffec­
tual' or even 'bad'.
This is often exacerbated by the person's extremely critical
'internal supervisor' (Casement, 1 985) which requires perfection
and is satisfied with nothing less; any feedback is interpreted as a
fall from perfection ('I should have known that') which stands in
the way of developing effective internalized standards. What
underpins an attitude of this kind is the assumption that there are
'wrong' and 'right' interventions in supervision and that some­
where there is a blueprint that people must get to know, rather
than that it is a process of learning and shaping one's responses to
suit the individual's needs and learning style in order to meet an
agreed contract. So in a sense a large part of the training is
involved in working with these two related issues (shame in the
Child and the power of the internalized critic in the Parent) until
gradually people can develop criteria for evaluation that are
realistic and accept that everyone is going to be making mistakes
and is on a learning curve at any point in their developmental
process.
Another of the particular 'troubleshooting' issues is that trainee
supervisors may collude in group exercises by not giving each
other any negative feedback so as to avoid receiving any in return.
1 82 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

This process then leaves the trainer in the unenviable position of

having to assume the role of critic in the group while all the other
members remain overly supportive. The supervisor will need to
challenge this process and teach people ways of giving feedback
in line with the guidelines given in this chapter so that everyone
can gradually become more robust around the evaluation process.
In addition, for some people evaluation is seen to conflict with
humanistic values such as 'unconditional positive regard' so that
they do not wish to involve themselves in a process that they
perceive as 'power-based'.
Dealing with the supervisor 's issues around taking their own
authority becomes figural here. This is often the most difficult
aspect for beginning supervisors. In addition to this is the issue of
the fair and appropriate exercise of power in the evaluative
processes. We cannot avoid the fact that we are evaluating peo­
ple's performance and that this is a crucial aspect of any training
process. What is vital here is that the criteria are clearly expressed
and understood so that trainee supervisors are able to assess their
own work and that of others in terms of very specific criteria.
Many of the tools we have included in this chapter are designed
to be used in this way. An open process in which both the trainer
and the trainee-supervisors understand what is being asses­
sed and looked for in the evaluation task is the goal in teaching
this most challenging area in supervision training.

References

Austin, B. and Altekruse, M.D. ( 1 972) The effect of group supervision roles on
practising students' interview behavior. Counselor Education and Supervision, 1 2:
63-8.
Berne, E. ( 1 966) Principles of Group Treatmellt. New York: Oxford University Press.
Carifio, M.s. and Hess, AK. (1 987) Who is the ideal supervisor? Professional
Psychology: Research and Practice, 1 8: (3): 244--50.
Carroll, M. ( 1 996) Counselling SlIperl'ision: Theory, Skills and Practice. London:
Cassell.
Casement, P. ( 1 985) On Leaming from the Paticnt. London: Routledge.
Clarkson, P. and Gilbert, M. ( 1 99] ) The training of counsellor trainers and
supervisors. In W. Dryden and B. Thorne (eds), Traillillg and Supervision for
Counselling in Action. London: Sage.
Dodenhoff, J.T. ( 1 98 1 ) Interpersonal attraction and direct-indirect supervisor int1u­
ence as predictors of counselor trainee effectiveness. !oumal of Counselil1g Psy­
chology, 28: 47-62.
 TRAI N ING FOR SUPERVISION EVALUATION 1 83

Freeman, E. ( 1 985) The importance of feed back in clinical supervision: implications

for direct practice. The Clinical SUl'crl'i"or, :I (1 ): 5-26.
H awkins, P. and Shohet, R. (1 989) SUI'crl'isiul1 ill the Hrlpil1g Professiolls. Milton
Keynes: Open U niversity Press.
Henry, w.P., Schacht, T.E., Strupp, H . I-I., Butler, S.F. ilnd Binder, J . L. ( 1 993) Effects
of training in time-limited dynamic psychotherapy: mediators of therapists'
responses to training. /oumal of ConsllllillS alld Clinical PSljciwl(JSY, 61 : 441 -7.
Heron, J. ( 1 989) The Facilitato r 's Handhook. Lundon: Kogan Page.
Holloway, E . L. and Neufeldt, S.A. ( 1 995) Supervision: Contributors to treatment
efficilcy. /oumal of GlIIsultillg alld Clillical Psychologlj, 63 (2): 207-13.
Hol loway, E.L. il nd Pou lin, K. ( 1 995) Discourse i n supervisilll1. I n j . Siegfried (ed'),
Thertlpeutic a n d Euertldm/ Discourse liS Behavior Change: 7('wards a M icro-allllil/sis i l l
PSI/chothempy Process /\csenrcil. New York: Ablex.
Holloway, E.L. and Wol leat, P.L . ( 1 98 1 ) Style difierences uf beginning supervisors:
an interactional ana lysis. /ounlal of COIIIISe/illg Psychology, 28: 373-6.
Inskipp, F. il nd Proctor, B. (1 993) Makillg t/:e Most af S uperl'i5iOlI, Part I. Twicken­
ham: CascildE'.
Kagan, N. ( 1 980 ) IllfluetlcillS humall illlcrnctiou - eisittcel1 years witlt ll'l?. 1n A . K . Hess
(ed . ) Psyclwtltcrapl/ Supervisioll. New York: Wiley.
Leddick, C.R. and Dye, H . A . ( 1 <j87) E ffective supervision as portrayed by trainee
expectations and preferences. COlllISc/O! EduCll t iol1 al1d S Ul'crvisiol l . 27, 2: 1 39-54.
Proctor, B. ( 1 986) Supervision: a co-operative exercise in ilccountabili ty. I n M .
Marken ilnd M . Payne (eds), EIIIINillS al1d El1sll ril1g: Supervisioll ill Practice.
Leicester: N a tional Youth Bureau.
8 Training Su pervis ees to Use
Su pervision
Francesca Inskipp

Introduction

I was originally trained in supervision in the late 1 960s by Joan

Tash ( 1 967) who wrote one of the early books published on
supervision. This was a course for supervising Youth and Com­
munity workers where I was involved in training at that time.
Joan Tash came from social work with some interest in counsel­
ling, and my training contained elements of both. In 1973 I moved
into training counsellors and supervising their work, and was not
aware of any training for supervising counsellors at that time, or
of any literature on supervision, apart from some American
papers. My supervision, like that of most of my colleagues, was
based on how I had been supervised and it was not until the 1 980s
that, driven by the British Association for Counselling, super­
vision became mandatory for all counsellors belonging to that
association. At that stage BAC began to set up a process for
recognizing supervisors and I was fortunate in taking part in the
working group.
From this, courses for training supervisors began to spring up,
and, with a colleague, Brigid Proctor, who was a very experienced
supervisor, we decided to produce some audiotapes to elucidate
and demonstrate supervision. As we began to think about what
we wanted to say we came upon the then novel idea that we
wanted first to train supervisees on how to use supervision. Thus
our first project was 'Skills for Supervisees', including one audio­
tape with a booklet of exercises and some theory. It was an
interesting project and stirred up a lot of thinking about power,
responsibility, self-managed and reflective learning and the
 TRAINING SUPERVlSEES TO USE SUPERVISION 1 85

importance of contracting in supervision. We followed this by two

audiotapes on 'Skills for Supervisors', with a booklet. Both sets
have sold well to a variety of the helping professions.
We then began to design and run supervision courses and were
influenced in our thinking by the books and articles which began
to appear - particularly Hawkins and Shohet ( 1 989), Carroll ( 1 995,
1 996), and workshops run by Elizabeth Holloway, subsequently
published (1 995). We wanted to make our training available to a
wider audience so have written and published a training resource
or open learning course, 'The Art, Craft and Tasks of Supervision' :
Part J , 'Making the Most of Supervision'; and Part 2, 'Becoming a
Supervisor ' . Part 1 continues our thinking on training for super­
vision and I hope to expand on that in this chapter. Our next
project is to make some demonstration videos of experiential
exercises and supervision sessions which could be used for super­
visor training courses, particularly training for group supervi­
sion.
I am currently involved in a group that is setting up and
running a new BAC Accreditation Scheme for Supervisors, and
also in helping with the design of N a tional Vocational Qualifica­
tions in supervision. Both these stimulate me to explore and read
some of the literature on supervision which now pours out of the
presses. I hope this chapter will perhaps add something to encour­
age further exploration, and provide even better ways to develop
reflective practitioners, who can give their best possible service to
their clients.

Why train supervisees in the use of supervision?

I suggest there are three main reasons:

1. It is empowering for the supervisee. If the supervisee has a
clear idea of what is expected of her in supervision and what
she may expect and require, this changes the power base. I
believe that if supervision is seen as primarily a sharing of
responsibility for the supervisee's professional development
and for protection of the client, this enhances the learning
possibilities. It also provides a model for work with clients.
2. The supervisor can only supervise on what the supervisee
brings, and I believe it is the supervisee's task to find ways to
make her work and herself increasingly visible both to herself
and to her supervisor. To do this she needs to feel safe to
1 86 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

expose herself and her work; training how to make a clear

contract to set up a working alliance can aid this, and can help
her feel confident to ask for what she needs. Some research
has shown that there is a correlation between the quality of
the working alliance, as experienced by the supervisee, and
the extent of the self-disclosure in supervision (Webb, 1 997).
3. The supervision alliance is a facilitative relationship which
requires active and intentional participation by both parties.
The working alliance is a particular set of role relationships.
The boundaries of the roles, rights and responsibilities of both
parties need to be clearly defined, understood, and agreed
between supervisor and supervisee in an explicit working
agreement.
All this requires special skills, knowledge and attitudes, so a
supervisee needs to be able to:
• understand the tasks, roles and boundaries of supervision;
• negotiate a contract and build and maintain a working alliance
with her supervisor;
• record her work with clients and reflect on it;
• develop awareness of her internal processes, thoughts, emo­
tions, bodily sensations, fantasies, images and be able to
describe them to herself and to a supervisor;
• develop awareness of the moment-to-moment interaction
between herself and her client and the conscious and uncon­
scious processes involved, and be able to articulate this aware­
ness in supervision;
• present her work economically - prioritize, select, use words,
images, metaphors;
• bring her work and share it freely and accessibly and be clear
about her needs from supervision - and the boundaries
between counselling and supervision;
• negotiate with her supervisor how she will present - verbally,
in writing, by audiotape, whether every client every time,
which clients, organizational or ethical issues, her develop­
mental needs, her learning style;
• be open to feedback and be prepared to monitor her practice in
the light of it;
• define her own developmental learning needs and use the
available supervision time to the best advantage for develop­
ing her counselling and for helping clients;
• monitor and review her use of supervision and take responsi­
bility for giving feedback to her supervisor about its usefulness
for her and her clients;
 TRAINING SUPERVISEES TO USE SUPERVISION 1 87

• engage with her supervisor with increasing integrity, courage,

clear intention and openness in order to best serve her cli­
ents;
• search for and select an appropriate supervisor (if given the
opportunity) .

I believe training is the most economical way of developing these

competencies.

Context in which this approach is relevant

The following contexts seem appropriate places for training

supervisees:
First, As part of a professional initial training course when
students are learning how to work with clients/ pa tients. Students
need to learn how to record and reflect on their work, how to
develop their own learning plan, and this can be extended to how
to present in supervision. This is an opportunity for them to learn
how to use supervision, what are their rights and responsibil­
ities, how they can contract to use supervision for their support
and learning - and, if appropriate, how to find a nd choose a
supervisor.
Second, supervisor training courses provide an opportunity for
new supervisors to learn how to make the most of their own
supervision. I have found this has sometimes been an enlighten­
ing experience for supervisors to explore and examine their use of
supervision. They often seem to find they are not rea lly getting
the supervision they want and this may be due to no clear
contracts, no opportunities for review sessions or for feedback to
and from their supervisor. There can be some very useful learning
from this.
Third, some professions, for example health and education
services, which had hitherto only used managerial supervision are
now beginning to provide non-managerial supervision - oppor­
tunities to reflect on their work, to be accountable for their work
with patients or pupils, and to get support for the emotional and
physical stresses which they encounter. These workers are often
suspicious of supervision and have d iffering expectations; they
could make much better use of what is on offer if they have some
training in what to expect and how to use it.
188 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Fourthly, for supervisees who have had no specific training,

supervisors can provide some material for new individual and
group supervisees. I ask my new supervisees, before we start and
during our work together, to use Open Learning materials Skills
-

for Super(1ising and Being Superuised (Inskipp and Proctor, 1 989) for
non-counsellors, and for counsellors, Making the Most of Super­
vision (Inskipp and Proctor, 1 993). Carroll ( 1 996) is also useful
reading for counsellor supervisees. He suggests for supervisees,
'This book may help them articulate their supervisory needs and
put them in a stronger position when they go in search of a
supervisor who will negotiate with them' (p. 4).
Finally, some workers, especially those in nursing and related
health services, are required to produce portfolios as evidence of
continuing professional development. Training for using super­
vision, especially recording, reflecting and identifying their on­
going learning needs, helps to produce proactive learners and can
be a useful lead into self-managed learning and portfolio work.

Theoretical underpinnings of the approach, and relevance to

supervisory action research

There is a still a scarcity of research into supervision, and espe­

cially into exploring how supervisors and supervisees might be
educated into providing and making the best use of supervision.
Some studies highlight the importance of educating supervisees
how to use supervision. One study by Byrne (1 995) investigated
the supervision experience and perspectives of a number of
trainee counsellors in voluntary sector clinical practice, in partic­
ular their preparedness and preparation for supervision. The
survey comprised thirty-three voluntary counsellors from two
voluntary counselling organizations and represented a minimum
of thirteen different counsellor training courses. Byrne (1 995)
found that '49% of participants had received no formal prepara­
tion for supervision and 91 % believed that counsellor training
courses should prepare trainees for the supervisee role'.
Kaberry (1 995), researching on abuse in supervision, suggests
one way of avoiding abuse in supervision is for 'supervisees [to
bel prepared so that they know what to expect from supervision
and can be assertive about poor supervision' (quoted in Carroll
(1 996): 1 56). Carroll's research (1 996: 4) indicates that 'there is
 TRAINING SUPERVISEES TO USE SUPERVISION 1 89

some evidence that even after two years of being supervised

regularly supervisees are still uncertain about what to expect from
supervision.
Webb ( 1 995: 1 86), in research on how honest counsellors dare to
be in the supervisory relationship, used an anonymous ques­
tionnaire with 216 counsellors, all from the psychodynamic tradi­
tion. The research conclusions state: The inhibition of counsellors
to explore sensitive areas in supervision under certain conditions,
is of serious concern . . . the shocked reactions implicit in a
proportion of participants at even being asked about such issues
suggest that further attention to supervisees' abilities to use
supervision is needed.'
These studies highlight the importance of preparing super­
visees - not only trainees but experienced counsellors - for
supervision, and more studies are needed into which methods
might be most efficacious.

Training suggestions

As an example of possible training, I outline below an instruc­

tional module /unit to include in the initial training for counsel­
lors - Diploma or Masters Course. This could be set up before and
during the early stages of starting work with clients and starting
supervision. Much of this training will probably already be part of
course work, especially preparing students to work with clients,
but it could be useful to tie it up with preparing for and using
supervision. I have set this out in time units but courses could
pick and mix items to fit in with their own syllabus. Eight units of
1 .5-2 hours are suggested, spread out over two to three months.
Exercises and handouts can be found in the Appendix to this
chapter.

Aim

To develop counsellors who are intentional learners, who can

reflect on their work, can use supervision to integrate theory with
practice and so develop into competent, confident and ethical
practitioners who give good service to clients.
1 90 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Teachillg/learning goals

To understand the purposes, tasks and boundaries of super­

vision.
To develop motivation to make the best use of supervision.
To develop skills of:
• negotiating a supervision contract;
• sharing in the building and maintenance of a working
alliance;
• recording and reflecting on client work;
• preparing for and presenting in supervision;
• developing ability to prioritize and use time well;
• using feedback and monitoring the use of supervision;
• giving feedback to the supervisor;
• defining learning needs and learning style.

Progml1l1lle and 111ethods

UN I T 1- INTRODUCTION TO SU PERVISION

Content: Definition, purposes, tasks and roles of supervision;

responsibilities of supervisor and supervisee; ethics
of supervision.
Method: Teaching session with handouts.
Content: Contracting; setting up a supervIsIon contract;
understanding what contracts exist between the
training course and supervisors either within or
external to the course; also any contracts with agen­
cies providing placements for students.
Method: Discussion on how external contracts may affect
individual contracts with supervisors.
Brainstorm items for an individual contract, or
group contract.
Experiential Exercise 1 ' Wants' and 'oughts' in super­
vision (see p. 1 94).
Add any items which arise from this exercise.
Content: Negotiating skills - 'active listening' skills + pur­
pose and preference stating.
Method: Audiotape or live demonstration of contracting ses­
sion, students watch and define negotiating skills
used.
Students work in threes: supervisor and supervisee
 TRAINING SUPERVISEES TO USE SUPERVISION 191

negotiate and set up a contract; observer gives feed­

back on skills and content.
Content: Building a working alliance.
Method: Discuss in threes: What will help to build a good
alliance, what may hinder? What skills are needed?
What qualities? What issues of power exist? How
will assessment or accountability affect the relation­
ship? Compare with counselling relationship - sim­
ilarities and d ifferences, especially boundaries. What
difficulties might arise, and how might they be dealt
with?
Share in large group.

UNIT 2 PREPARING FOR THE SUPERVISION SESSION. PART I :

-

RECORDING
Content: Client records - methods, systems; legal and ethical
requirements; course - or agency-specific require­
ment; keeping a supervision notebook.
Methods: Teaching session with group discussion - handouts,
from flip-chart or OHP.
What to record - content and process.
Teach four-focus method of recording from Handout
1: Recording content and process (p. 202).
Watch video or listen to audio recording of part of a
counselling session with accompanying handout of
example of content and process written record.
Work in pairs. Students do ten-minute session, one
counsellor, one client. Spend fifteen minutes record­
ing content and process. Reverse the process. Hand
in records to tutor for feedback.

UNIT 3 - PREPARING FOR THE SUPERVISION SESSION. PART II:

REFLECTING
Content: Developing physical, emotional and cognitive
awareness and of the interpersonal process - the
internal supervisor.
Method: Set up and teach Interpersonal Process Recall (Exer­
cise 2), using Handouts 2 and 3 (pp. 203-5).
Homework: Do exercise on ' What to bring to supervision' (Handout
4: 205-6) and bring to next session.
1 92 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

U NIT 4 - P RESENTING IN SUPERVISION

Content: Specific requirements of the course, for example case
study or process recording sent in advance, or other
possible ways of presenting; learning to ask for
specific 'wants' from the presentation; recording
learning from supervision.
Method: Teach with handouts, demonstrate live or with
audiotape.
Students practise presenting in threes using material
from homework above. Observer gives feedback on
clarity.

UNIT 5 - FOCUSING IN SU I'ERVISIO�

Content: Seven ways of focusing in supervision.
Method: Teach 'seven-eyed supervisor' with Handouts S and 6
(pp. 206-8).
Set up exercise on identifying different foci - either
demonstrate a live supervision session or show
video or audiotape, students identify and note dif­
ferent foci used by the supervisor or supervisee, and
compare after in threes.

UNIT 6 DIfFICULT ISSUES I N SUPERVISION

-

Content: Self-disclosure in supervision.

Method: Give out Handout 7: Self-disclosure in Supervision
(p. 209), students fill in for themselves, then discuss
in threes and finally explore in large group.
Content: Oppression and difference in supervision.
Method: Use Exercise 3 : Oppression /11 superVIsIOn (pp.
1 99-200).

U N I T 7 - RE V I E WING A N D L E A R N I N G , D EALI NG WITH ASSESSMENT AN D

REPORTS (This unit might come after some months' experience in
supervision.)
Content: Links with Learning Journal (if kept); how to use
reviews; self and supervisor assessment; working
with the supervisor to produce reports; balance of
support and challenge; ending a supervisory rela­
tionship.
Method: Teaching with handouts and discussion.

UNIT 8 (IF RELEVANT) G ROUP SUPERVISION

Content: Responsibilities of being a supervisee in a group;
 TRAINING SUPERVISEES TO USE SUPERVISION 1 93

skills of working in a group - developing relation­

ships and responding to others' presentations;
awareness and use of group process.
Method: Teaching with handouts.
Practising skills of Empathic responding (Exercise 4)
(pp. 200-1 ).
Revision of challenging skills.
Observe video of group supervision session or listen
to audiotape.

Conclusions

In the course outline I have endeavoured to cover most of the

important areas for supervisee training and have included some
exercises and handouts which we have found particularly useful,
in the Appendix. Further information, exercises and illustrations
can be found in the publications quoted above, developed by my
colleague and myself. The Art, Craft and Tasks of Supervision, Part I,
Making the Most of Supervision and Part II, Becoming a Supervisor,
have been written as Open Learning Courses and include audio­
tapes of examples. Besides being useful for individual learning,
the materials are used by many trainers for their own courses.
In counsellor training courses it takes many hours of course
time to cover all these suggested areas. Tutors already struggle to
decide what is essential for counsellor training, but I would
suggest much of this could enhance the other work of the course.
Courses which have set up this specific training find it is some­
times in conflict with supervision external to the course. Some
courses offer training to external supervisors and this can be very
successful in melding the supervision with the general work of
the course. Difficulties in finding client placements for students
mean courses may have little power to influence supervisors, and
students may have supervisors with different counselling theoret­
ical orientations from that taught on the course. I have not
included this specifically in the training for supervisees, but they
certainly need help with this, especially if the supervisor is
strongly boundaried by their orientation. Experienced counsellors
often gain from a supervisor with a different orientation, but also
may need some training in how to use this, especially in a group
of several different orientations. There is a move to develop this in
1 94 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

some supervisor training, and it could be included in supervisee

training.
The British Association for Counselling depends on supervision
for monitoring the profession, but there is some criticism that
there is no research backing to show that supervision is successful
in doing this. It is hard to show that clients really are protected
and helped by supervision, but I believe that the more supervison
becomes a joint responsibility, with supervisees taking an active
part in their own development, the more chance there is for clients
to get the service they need. I hope this book will further that
cause.

APPENDIX
List of Exercises and Handouts

Exercise 1 . E xperiential exercise on 'wants' and 'oughts' in

supervision
Exercise 2. Workshop on Interpersonal Process Recall
Exercise 3. Exercise on oppression in supervision
Exercise 4. Group exercise on empathic responding
Handout 1 . Diagram on recording content and process
Handout 2. Interpersonal Process Recall explained
Handout 3. Inquirer role and inquirer questions for IPR
Handout 4. E xercise on what to bring to supervision
Handout 5. Focusing - the seven-eyed supervisor
Handout 6. Focusing in supervision - an expansion of the seven
possible foci
Handout 7. Exercise on self-disclosure in supervision

Exercise 1 'Wants' and 'oughts' in supervision

Objectives

• To help participants become aware of the unspoken hopes,

fears and expectations which they bring to the roles of super­
visee and supervisor.
• To demystify 'the supervision experience' by playing with
these hopes, fears and expectations.
 TRAINING SUPERVISEES TO USE SUPERVISION 1 95

It helps if the facilitator I s demonstrate very briefly what is meant

by 'hamming up'.

STAGE 1 (10 minutes)

The objectives of the exercise are explained and the participants
are told they will not, in this exercise, be required to supervise or
be supervised. Participants divide into groups of three and opt for
the role of supervisor, supervisee or observer.

STAGE 2 (3 minutes)
The supervisee tells the supervisor all the things he would really
like from his supervisor, but might not usually acknowledge (for
example, tell me all you know, think I'm a very good counsellor,
never disapprove of me, teach but let me think I know it already,
etc.). (In TA jargon he talks out of his Free Child state.) The
supervisor does not reply at this stage.

(3 minutes)
The supervisor then hams up all the things she might really want
from the supervisee and not acknowledge (for example, think I'm
wonderful, tell all your colleagues how good I am, bring me
amazing cases, etc.) (again Free Child). The supervisee does not
reply.

(3 minutes)
The supervisee then tells the supervisor all the things he feels and
thinks he ought to do and be as a supervisee (for example, I ought
to prepare very well, to listen respectfully, do as you say, etc.). (In
TA talk he comes from his Parenti Adapted Child ego-state.) N o
reply from the supervisor

(3 minutes)
The supervisor tells the supervisee what she ought to do and be as
a supervisor (for example, ought to teach you all I know, not
interfere with your way of doing things, protect your clients,
etc.).

The observer takes responsibility for time, but also has the role of
keeping each of the others to the task. It is quite hard for some
participants to stay with their 'wants' and ham up the Child
hopes and fears. It can also be hard for some to acknowledge the
demanding and conflicting 'oughts' they have of themselves and
others, and to take permission to be their most inconsistent selves.
196 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

It is the observer's task to encourage and facilitate them to play

with the task.

STACE 3 (7 minutes)
Supervisor and supervisee together negotiate on the basis of the
information they have given themselves and each other, the
realistic demands they have of each other in order to realize their
realistic expectations. The task of the observer at this stage is to
facilitate the negotiation.

STAGE 4 (10 minutes)

Participants de-role within their triads, and give feedback to each
other about the experience.

STAGE 5 00 minutes)
The group reconvene and share experiences and any thinking and
reflecting that has been going on as a result of the experience.

(Exercise from Proctor, 1 989)

Exercise 2 Workshop for developing awareness of 'process' in

the counselling and the supervision sessions

One of the most difficult skills for counsellors to learn seems to be

the ability to use their inner awareness in interaction with the
client or the supervisor, and to communicate this appropriately. It
often feels risky and against the norms of usual interaction so
needs plenty of practice of both the awareness and the commu­
nication skills.
I have found one of the best ways of training for this is
Interpersonal Process Recall - a training technique which can
help supervisees develop:
• a way of taking responsibility for their own learning;
• internal awareness - what is happening inside them in inter­
actions;
• awareness of what is happening bet\·."een them and a client in
the relationship (transference and counter-transference);
• skills to express this awareness appropriately to the client;
• an internal supervisor;
• a monitoring process to help them use supervision;
 TRAINING SUPERVISEES TO USE SUPERVISION 1 97

• an awareness of when they feel real and genuine in a situation

and when they feel false - and the difficulties of expressing
this.

Interpersonal Process RecaIl is a training method developed by

N orman Kagan (1 975) at Michigan State Universi ty, not specifi­
caIly for counselling but for interpersonal work in the helping
professions. It is fairly widely used in training but all its possibil­
ities are not always exploited. From my early work with Kagan I
developed a workshop which extends and adapts his ideas - and
improvises ".,hen conditions, time and resources are not ideal.

The workshop

Resources: One room to hold all the students and sufficient spaces
where pairs of students can use a tape-recorder without over­
hearing another pair - often difficult but all sorts of spaces can be
used.
Arrange beforehand for students to have at least one tape­
recorder between two, making sure it will work on battery - or
that there are electric plugs available and the tape-recorders have
the necessary adaptors and one audiotape each.
Prepare handouts for
(a) explaining the recall process (Handout 2, pp. 203-4);
(b) the role of inquirer and questions to use (Handuut 3,
p. 204).

Prepare a brief counseIling session of yourself on audio or video­

tape, with a client which you can use to demonstrate the
method.

Session

• Introduce the method and explain the structure for the day.
They will be using their own material as clients, and hearing
each other's tapes, so confidentiality is important throughout
the day and after.
• Start with an awareness exercise - scanning the body (can lead
this by going round the body identifying all the parts outside
and in), relaxing, watching breathing, watching thoughts,
watching emotions, visualizing a beautiful place to go to, using
all the senses to experience it, going back to watching
1 98 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

thoughts, breathing, and back to the room. Talk to a partner

about the experience.
Encourage the use of this exercise during the day - and
regularly, in part or whole. I have found this exercise increases
the learning from the day.
• Teach the recall process and the inquirer role by demonstra­
tion, using the taped session and having another trainer play
the inquirer role. If no other trainer, teach inquirer role first
and ask a student to volunteer to work with you - or get a
student to make the counselling session beforehand and do the
recall with you as inquirer. Or show a video or audiotape of
the process.
• Give out handouts of the recall process, the inquirer role and
inquirer questions (Handout's 2 and 3, pp. 203-4). Allow time
for questions and clarification.
• Write up on flip chart and explain the logistics of the recall
process and get co-operation from the group to keep to time
and return to the main room punctually between rounds.

Round 1 Ns are counsellors.

B's are clients for a 1 5 /30-minute counselling
session, recorded.
Round 2 Ns will do the recall.
B's become inquirers but for another counsellor
(20/40 minutes).
Round 3 B's are counsellors.
Ns are clients and in a different pair from
Round 1 ( 1 5 / 30 minutes).
Round 4 B's do the recall.
Ns become inquirers for another counsellor
(20/40 minutes) (put in times depending the
length of the workshop).

You will work in four different pairs and must return here to
change over.

• Set up the pairs. I usually ask the students to stand in two

circles, A's on the inside, facing a partner, barn-dance fashion.
That is the first pair. They return to this formation each time
and one circle moves on so that they change partners for each
round.
 TRAIN ING SUPERVISEES TO USE SU PERVISION 1 99

Remind them to check tape-recorders before starting - and it

is their responsibility to erase tapes at the end of the day.
• Between Rounds 2 and 3 it is useful to bring the group
together to see if there are any queries and to get comments
how the process is going, what is being learnt.
• After Round 4 bring the group back together; give an opportu­
nity for students to write down some of their learning, shClre it
with yet another partner, consider how they will continue this
learning Clnd how they will use it in their counselling and
supervision. Then hClve some exchange in the big group.
Summarize the learning if this is useful - or your style!
• Ask for feedback on you and on the workshop and end.

If time and space preclude students making tapes during the

workshop, require them to bring a taped session made with a
client - a colleague or real client if permission is given.
When the students have learnt and practised the method they
can set up sessions for themselves, using actual client material.
This is a good build up to supervision and can be an addition to
supervision during the course. It can also be used as part of
supervision at times, either in group or individual supervision. A
student brings a tape, or part of a tape and the supervisor changes
role and acts as inquirer.
The inquirer role needs careful teaching to stay neutral, not to
get involved in the 'case', and not to use counselling skills, but by
questions help the counsellor deepen her awareness. I used to
train inquirers to sit with their back to the video or try and not
listen too hard to the audio tape, so that their focus WClS on the
counsellor and what she was wanting from the recall.
Workshop adapted from Inskipp (1 996).

Exercise 3 Oppression in supervision

Objective: To raise awareness of possibilities for power and oppres­

sion in supervision.

• Ask the participants to work in groups of three, each group

with a large sheet of paper and marker.
• Ask them to divide the sheet into two halves each headed

Ways the supervisor can oppress the supervisee

Ways the supervisee can oppress the supervisor
200 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

In ten minutes discuss and record as many items as possible on

the sheet.
• Display the sheets, read and discuss in the large group.
• Explore with the group how gender, race, culture, class, age,
counselling orientation, and any other differences might lead
to oppression in supervision, recognized or unrecognized.

(Good references and further work for this can be found in

'Working cross-culturally and with difference', Bubble 3, in
Inskipp and Proctor (1995) . )

Exercise 4 Empathic responding i n a group

This exercise is useful for helping supervisees in a group learn to

listen to each other and respond, without giving advice but
helping the presenter do the work. I often use this with a new
group of supervisees.
You need a supervisee willing to present a client or an issue,
and a manager of the process. If you are lucky enough to have a
co-trainer, it is useful for trainers to take both roles. If not, do both
roles yourself or ask for a volunteer supervisee willing to present.
The volunteer supervisee needs to be assertive enough, and
sensitive enough to 'feel' the level of the responses. If you take
both roles yourself you will have to come out of the role of
presenter to teach and manage, but it can be done.
If the students are not clear what a basic empathy response is,
demonstrate it before you start the exercise - either live or have an
audio or videotape.

Setting up the exercise

• Ask for six volunteer supervisees to sit in a circle, with six

coaches sitting behind them.
• The supervisee will present the issue, talking for about three or
four minutes. The supervisees listen, each one then in turn
making a basic empathic response to the presenter, if possible
not repeating each other. Supervisees may pass or ask their
coach for help.
• The presenter responds non-verbally to each response, show­
ing whether it felt empathic or not. (My co-trainer calls the
good response 'getting the noddy-jackpot' .) If they do not get
 TRA I N ING SUPERVISEES TO USE SUPERVISION 201

it right they have another go, with the help of the coach if they
choose. The manager may point out, or get the group to
recognize why some responses do not get the jackpot. This
helps students identify the subtleties of 'good' and 'poor'
responses.
• The presenter then chooses one response and goes on talking.
She can ask for the first responses to be repeated if necessary.
• The supervisees respond as before. If the presenter's response
has been very brief they may not be able to find six different
responses but they can try, and the process is repeated as
above.

The exercise can go on until it is clear everybody in the group can

make very accurate empathic responses - the coaches can become
the counsellors at some point.
The presenter may respond to two or more of the accurate
responses in any round, showing how different responses may
lead to different paths of exploration and this can be discussed in
the group. The idea of coaching can help to build confidence and
reinforce the norm of students helping each other learn. The
presenter often finds a good supervision session comes from this
exercise.
202 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Handout 1 Recording content and process

Content and process

One structure for reflecting on your work is a content and

process model described in the diagram below:

G
-, ,
,
, ,
,
i The client

,
,
,
,
,

The relationship iii : ii The interventions

G'
, ,
,
- ,'

iv The counsellor

Content of the session

i. The client - history etc.

11. The interventions - what the counsellor did, techniques

Process of the session

iii. The interaction and relationship between them

iv. The internal processes of the counsellor

( We define Process as 'the communication which happens in one

second within and between people which 17l00'es them into the next
second' .)

Diagram from Inskipp and Proctor ( 1 993: 59).

 TRA I NING SUPERVISEES TO USE SUPERVISION 203

Handout 2 Interpersonal Process Recall: A method of

individual self-learning, a self-discovery process

In any interaction we pick up many cues from the other person, of

most of which we are only half-aware. Feelings, thoughts and
bodily reactions tlash through us at great speed. Some we sup­
press, some puzzle us, some we communicate to the other person,
but we are probably only half-conscious of most of what is going
on inside us. All of it is potentially usefuL
Awareness of your senses, body sensations, thought patterns,
images, fantasies, self-talk (your inner conversa tions) - and the
ability to explore these - is best developed by having the opportu­
nity to learn to monitor your internal processing in an atmosphere
free of external judgement, for example by a supervisor, and with
increasing internal self-acceptance.
IPR was developed by Norman Kagan at Michigan State Uni­
versity in the early days of video. Professors who had been
videoed asked to see their 'performance' and Kagan, who was
only a respectful onlooker, noticed how much of their internal
processes they remembered and remarked upon. From this
he developed the IPR method, videoing sessions and inviting
the counsellor to replay it in the presence of another person. The
counsellor decided when she stopped the tape and what she
reca lled. Kagan developed the role of the inquirer, a neutral
person who asked helpful questions when the counsellor was
recalling, to help to deepen the counsellor 's awareness of the
processes.

Recalling using an audio or videotape of a session: The fair witness

One of the important skills of self-monitoring is to be able to

develop in yourself a 'fair witness' who can stand back and look
in on your work without judging or criticizing. The greatest
hindrance to good self-monitoring is our eternal critic who sits on
our shoulders (often with parental voice) and judges our
thoughts, feelings, actions - and even our fantasies. We need to be
able to suspend this critic and explore ourselves with uncondi­
tional positive regard and empathy. Assessment can come later!
You are in charge of stopping and starting the tape.
Before you start the tape there may be many thoughts, feelings,
images as you enter the interaction with this person and it is often
204 TRAIN ING COUNSE LLING SUPERVISORS

useful to start by recalling these. Then start the tape and stop it
whenever there are internal stirrings - physical, emotional, cogni­
tive, images - express them and trust your inquirer is not judging
you; notice any of your own judgements. Your inquirer will ask
some questions to help you deepen your exploration of the
process, not the content. You may find you use only a few minutes
of the tape in a 20\ 30-minute recall.
From Inskipp and Proctor ( 1 993).

Handout 3 Inquirer role and inquirer questions for IPR

The inquirer is not concerned with the content of the session but is
there to help the counsellor explore the process.
When the counsellor stops the tape and comments, use any of
the following questions that seem appropriate to help her deepen
her exploration.

What were you feeling?

Do you remember where in your body you felt that?
What were you thinking?
What do you think/ imagine the other person was feeling/
thinking?
How did you want the other person to feel about you?
Were you aware of wanting to do something?
Were you having any fantasies/ images at that moment?
Did you have any plans where you wanted the session to go?
Was there anything you wanted to say but could not find the
appropriate words?
Were there any risks involved?
Did you feel he/she had any expectations of you at that point?
Was she/he giving you any clues as to how s / he was feeling?
What kind of image were you aware of projecting? Is that what
you wanted?
Did you have any goals at this point in the session?
Did s / he remind you of anyone else in your life? What effect did
that have on you?

At the end of the recall:

Was there anything you did that pleased you?

Was there anything you did that was ordinarily difficult for
you?
What enabled you to do it this time?
 TRAINING SUPERVISEES TO USE SUPERVISION 205

What things did you learn from the recall?

If you did the session again what, if anything, would you do
differently?
From Inskipp and Proctor ( 1 993).

Handout 4 What to bring to supervision - a reflective exercise

Have your notebook beside you. Relax, take some deep breaths
and allow yourself to concentrate on your breathing for a minute
or two. Then let your mind drift back over your work with clients
in the last weeki s.
What surfaces for you immediately? Notice it and let it go. Let
your mind wander over the following questions:
What interactions/ sessions/ clients/ interventions were you
pleased with?
What was difficult for you?
What were you, are you, uncertain about?
What are you looking forward to in your next working ses­
sion?
Are there any anxieties about the way you are working with a
particular client?
Are there some anxieties about your relationship with any
clients?
Are there are some doubts/ anxieties just 'out of view' which
you'd rather remained out of view? Identify the feelings not
the items.
Which interactions have you enjoyed most? What were the
feelings?
Now jot down a list of what has surfaced for you as a result of this
reverie.
Scan through your records, do any further points stand out for
you which you might like/ need to talk about? Add them to your
list.
Imagine you are replaying a video of one session (or part of one),
are there ideas or feelings which come up for you which you
might, or might not, like to bring to your supervisor? Note
them.
Read through your list. Mark with an N any items which do not
seem significant enough to take, mark with a P any items you feel
206 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

reluctant to talk about, would rather postpone <there may not be

any). Make a tentative priority of the other items by numbering 1 ,
2 , 3 , etc.

H you have marked some P items, gently explore with yourself

what are the risks to YOll , or to your relationship with your
supervisor were you to bring these up. (The exercise on self­
d isclosure in supervision may help you here). What might you
gain / learn if you did? Leave these to simmer and go back to your
list of priorities.

Think about what you want to learn and how YOll might present
your material - and yourself.

This may not be what you talk about when you go to supervision
- other priorities may arise - but you will have given yourself and
your clients a n airing!
(From Tnskipp Proctor ( 1 989).

Handout 5 FOCUSING - the seven-eyed supervisor

Peter Hawkins' s concept of the Process Model of Supervision

(Hawkins and Shohet, 1 989) is an extremely useful framework for
the possibilities of focus. At one time he named it the six-eyed
supervisor model. We have added a seventh focus, the systems,
and so have renamed it the seven-eyed supervisor.
It is our observation that supervisors and supervisees can
become quite routine in their focusing - both where and how they
direct their attention. It is likely that we will discover habitual
phenomena to focus on, according to our training, that pay good
dividends in most cases. However, we believe that should be
because we have explored other possibilities and find our habitual
focus universally useful.

Factors affecting wlzat may be most useful to focliS all at allY olle time

• the contract
• the developmental stage of the supervisee
• the theoretical orientation
• identified learning needs from the previous session/ s
• tie up with current learning
 TRAINING SUPERVISEES TO USE SUPERVISION 207

• the stage of the work of the client

• time constraints
• the mood of the moment
• 'outside' elements affecting the work

What are the possibilities?

Key: 7. Systems
I . The client's life and experience
2. The counsellor's interventions � ient

1 3� \\
and techniques
3. The process and relationship
2 . Interve
between client and counsellor Relationship
4. The internal experience of
the counsellor 4. Counsellor
5. The here-and-now relationship
and process between
counsellor and supervisor
6. The internal experience of
the supervisor
7. The systems which may affect
any of the others above

It is worth remembering that the decision where to focus may be

portrayed as a continuum supervisor chooses focus . . . super­
-

visor offers option of focus . . . supervisor helps counsellor review

options . . . counsellor chooses focus.
208 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Handout 6 Focusing in supervision - an expansion of the

seven possible foci

Extended '7-eyed' Focus Diagram

��
Suggested headlines present
. chi ldhood
for each focus relationships
history
\
/ development

family
Z I Clien
stage

P",Pc, �
_ transitions

iII'

2 interventions .
pace techniques

development boundaries
�
�-
3 Counsellor-client - - ,
transference relationship
metaphors
counter-transference
emotions

personal
� �
4 The counsellor
theories

re-stimulation � feelings/images

'parallel the 'contract'

process'
5 Supervisor-supervisee
relationship
review conflict

physical
reaction � .
6 The supervisor
� frameworks

ethical immediate

-c;
judgement experience

�� �
�
ie� 's
training
ami y
agency 7 The 'systems
.
emplOYing
----r
l
class culture organization

Diagram from Inskipp and Proctor ( 1 995: 61 ) .

 TRAINING SUPERVISEES TO USE SUPERVISION 209

Handout 7 Thinking about self-disclosure in supervision

Here are some of the feelings/ thoughts/experiences that counsel­

lors can find it hard to talk about and share:

A B
Telling my supervisor an Sharing with my supervisor
instance of when I was when I am
hopeful! cheerful
afraid
feeling guilty / ashamed
feeling appreciated/ admired
critical ! impatient/ disliking
admiring/loving
envious of another's qualities, possessions
jealous of attention given to another
feeling proud
feeling ignorant/incompetent
feeling humiliated
feeling competent
despairing, depressed
frustrated, angry
Score yourself on the A side and on the B side using for a scale:
very hard to do (h)
risky (r)
perhaps (p)
no problem (n)

You may then go on to note those feelings/ experiences which you

would like to feel more free to disclose in a safe enough situa­
tion.

What are some of the factors that you need to weigh up when you
consider:

• the risks of self-disclosing and

• the gains of self-disclosing?

What might your supervisor do to help you disclose appro­

priately? Would it be useful to give this feedback?
(From Inskipp and Proctor (1 989).
210 TRA I N ING COUNSE LLING SUPERVISORS

References

Byrne, E. ( 1 995) Preparcdl1t':':s fl'r 5I1pcrZ'isioll: Tm illee COllllsellors ill Vol l l l i tary Sector
Clil1iml Practice. M.5c. Dissertation, City U n i versity, London.
Carroll, M. ( 1 995) TIl£' Gellaic 7ilsks of 5 I 1 PCfl'isioll: A l l Analysis of 511pcrl'iscc
Expcctaliolls, 5111'('1"l'i50r Ill ta/'il'il'S illlif SIlPl'l'i'isorlf Alldi0-lapcd 5c,;sioll';, Ph.D.
Thesis, U niversity of Surrey.
Carroll, M, ( 1 996) Coun sellillS SlIpcri 'i';i" 1 1 ' Tilt'orl/, Skills illief Practice. London:
Cassell.
Hawkins, P. and Shohet, R. \ 1 989) 511I'CI'('i.s i(lIl ill Ihe Helpillg Professiolls. Milton
Keynes: Open U n iversity Press.
Holloway, E . L . ( J 995) Clillical SlIpt'rZ'isiOl:: A Sl/sll'IIiS Approach. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage,
inskipp, F. ( 1 9'16) Skil,,, TmilliliS for COI I I I Scl lill,\;. London: Cassell .
inskipp, F. and Proctor, B. ( 1 993) The A r t , Crafl a l l d Tasks of COllllsellillg 5 11per1'i5ioll,
Pari 1: Mllkillg lize 1I111SI of 5l1pt'l'uisioll. Twickenham: Cascade
inskipp, F. and ('roctor, 13. ( 1 9R9) 5kill.s till' 5111'['/'(1i5ill,l( lllld Bcillg 5l1pervised,
Principles of Counselling audiotape series. St Leonards-on-Sca: Alexia Publica­
tions.
Inskipp, F. and Proctor, B. ( 1 995) The Arl, Crafl alld Tasks of COII IIScllillg 511pcrl'isi011.
Part 2 : Becolllillg I I 5uperl'isor. Twickenham: Cascade.
Kaberry, S.E. ( 99 5) Abllse ill 5l1pt'r!'isioll. M . Ed . Thesis, U niversity of Birming­
ham,
Kagan, N. ( 1 975) Influencing human interaction, - eleven years with IPR. The
Callndiall COllllsc/or, 9: 74-97.
Proctor, B. ( 1 989) S lIpcl'('isio//: A Worki//g A llia//ce. Videotape and manual (out of
print).
Tash, ) . ( 1 967, 1 984) 5l1pcrl'isioll ill YOllll, Work. London: N a tional Council of Social
Services, YMCA.
Webb, A. ( 1 995) Hall' /-lollest do COll//scllors Dare to be ill tlze 5//pCl'l'isonl Rc/atiollship'
An Exploratory 5t//dy. M.5c. Dissertation. Un iversity of Birmingham.
Webb, A. ( 1 997), How honest do counsellors dare to be i n the supervisorv
relationship? An Expla m tory study, COll l Iscllillg, 8, 3: 1 86.
9 The Portfolio: A M ethod of
Refl ective D evelopment

Shoshana Hellman

For the last twenty years, I have been a supervisor for school
counsellors in Israel. Being born in Israel, even before the country
came into being and carrying the cultural heritage of my family
who settled in Israel long before the declaration of the State of
Israel, has shaped the way I work as a counsellor and supervisor.
Although educated in Europe and the United States in linguistics,
guidance and counselling, and counselling psychology, I feel our
work as counsellors and supervisors in Israel is unique. Living in
a country that is continually on alert affects the daily life and
needs of all the people. It also puts an emphasis on counselling
supervision which plays a central role in maintaining the psycho­
logical health and well-being of our school counsellors. The
schools, as in any industrialized nation, are a part of local com­
munity activity and reflect the socio-political climate of the coun­
try. As a result, they also have become a primary resource for
response to crises in the nation and the stresses of our children
growing up in this environment. As such, the role of the school
counsellor is central to responding to the fears and anxieties of
students in times of uncertainty and insecurity.
Recognition of schools as a vital resource to families and
children, and of school counsellors as mental health professionals
in times of crisis, prompted the Ministry of Education and the
department of psychological and counselling services to set up a
comprehensive system for the supervision of school counsellors.
The primary goals were to assist the school counsellor in the
delivery of effective services within the schools and to provide
guidance and support in their professional development as coun­
sellors. In 1 965, there were only a few hundred counsellors in the
schools; in 1 998 there were about 2,500 counsellors. Each of these
212 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

counsellors, regardless of level of experience, is supervised

through a network of supervisors across the nation. The system
implemented thirty years ago has given birth to a vital and active
group of professional supervisors.
As a counsellor educator, I have been involved in the develop­
ment of a supervision training for school counsellors in Israel as
they progress from their role as experienced counsellor to that of
supervisor. Over the last two years, I have initiated the use of a
portfolio system as a tool to enhance and refine the competencies
of these supervisors. In this chapter [ will outline the purpose of
the portfolio project, its application in training settings, and an
illustration of its use.

Supervision of school counsellors in Israel

Counselling in Israel is prevalent in the school system (see Figure

9 . 1 for a representation of school supervision organization).
School counsellors are employed by the Ministry of Education
which is also responsible for their professional development and
supervision. There are about 25 consulting supervisors appointed

M I N ISTRY OF EDUCATION
GEN ERAL D I RECTOR

HEAD OF DISTRICT
¥// � HEAD OF COUNSELLING
I
SCHOOL SUPERVISOR
SUPERVISOR
I
PRINCIPAL
; SENIOR COUNSELLOR!
SUPERVISOR

... PEER COUNSELLOR

..
....
...
;:>--
__ --'L...-'-
.J.. �...,

COUNSELLOR

Administrative supervision ---­

Professional supervision - - - - - - - - - -
. .
Cons ultation .. . . . ......... . .. .

Figure 9.1 Supervisioll Ilelwork and roles ill Israel

 THE PORTFOLIO 213

b y the Ministry o f Education t o provide supervision for all

counsellors in the country and about 1 00 supervisors who are
senior counsellors trained to deliver supervision mostly to entry­
level counsellors in their first and second year of work. The
supervisors have advanced degrees and have taken a two-year
university course organized by the Ministry of Education. Super­
visory assignments are made for two years. The supervisor is
expected to provide individual and group supervision. Super­
vision is given usually in the office or home of the supervisor,
while the consulting supervisor meets the counsellor usually at
the school. In recent years the counsellor has been able to choose
his/ her supervisor, and supervision models have become more
dynamic and flexible. After the completion of the initial two-year
assignment, the counsellor primarily receives group supervision
and in-service training usually by the consulting supervisor or by
other supervisors assigned by the consulting supervisor.

School counsellor roles and competencies

The role of the supervisor in Israel includes both clinical and

administrative functions, similar to those defined by the Associa­
tion for Counselor Education and Supervision in the United States
(ACES, 1995). Administrative supervision refers to those supervi­
sory activities which increase the efficiency of the delivery of
counselling services - for example, assisting the counsellor in
time-management, staff relationships, and contact with school
administrative personnel. On the other hand, clinical supervision
includes the supportive and educative activities of the counsellor
designed to improve the application of counselling theory and
technique directly to clients. Roberts and Borders (1 994) include
clinical knowledge and skill working with students in individual
or group counselling sessions and in consultation with parents
and teachers, as specific competencies for the school counsellor.
Other models for supervision of school counselling have referred
to supervision focused on programme development, implementa­
tion and co-ordination of classroom guidance activities (Barret
and Schmidt, 1 986; Schmidt, 1 990).
The Ministry of Education has defined the major roles of
counsellors in all settings. These roles require various com­
petencies and skills: individual and group counselling; classroom
guidance; consultation with management, teachers, parents and
214 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

other professionals; working with an inter-disciplinary team;

working with the school as an organization; and programme
planning and evaluation. At each stage of professional develop­
ment the counsellor is requested to demonstrate additional com­
petencies, depending on the setting he or she is working in and
the needs of clients. In addition, because of the socio-political
situation of the country, one of the major roles of the school
counsellor is centred on crisis intervention and coping strategies
for stress. The school counsellor is functioning for all practical
purposes as a mental health practitioner in a school setting. The
constant high stress and emotional demands placed on the school
counsellor make professional burn-out an all too familiar event.
As in supervision contexts in general, the roles and competencies
of the school counsellor necessarily influence the role, com­
petencies and context of the supervisor's work. The supervisor is
crucial for the professional care of the counsellor particularly in
the containing of work-related stress. Thus, the supervisor has to
be trained in the competencies demanded of crisis work and
community disasters in order to help to guide the counsellor in
these respects as well as to provide professional support and
prevent professional burn-out. In this context, it is important that
supervision be viewed as an opportunity to consult, receive
guidance, and share the daily experience of working in a highly
volatile and unpredictable situation.
Because it is not desirable or possible for the supervisor to be
immediately available even in times of crisis, the goals of self­
reflection, self-evaluation, and self-instruction are particularly
important. The first goal of the supervisor is to encourage pro­
fessional reflection which will help the counsellor increase his or
her competence by learning strategies for self-evaluation (Skov­
holt and R0nnestad, 1 992). The second major goal is the facilita­
tion and enhancement of the counsellor' s personal and
professional development. The third is promotion of accountable
counselling and guidance services and programmes (Boyd, 1 978;
Roberts and Borders, 1 994).

Training co u rse for supervisors

Because in Israel supervision is provided not only to student

counsellors, but to professional counsellors also, a supervision
system is required that can be responsive to the learning needs
 THE PORTFOLIO 215

both o f the novice and o f advanced counsellors. Thus, the consult­

ant supervisors appointed by the Ministry of Education are
helped by senior counsellors working in the field who provide
supervision to novice counsellors (see Figure 9 . 1 ) . Instruction for
these supervisors is through university courses in supervision
supported by the Counselling and Psychological Services in the
Ministry of Education. Courses are for two years, one full day a
week. At the end of the course supervisors get a certificate as
school counselling supervisors. The course consists of a theoretical
component, covering theories and models of supervision, differ­
ent orientations to supervision and discussion of articles on
supervision. The other component consists of teaching various
techniques and skills in counselling and supervision.
The main task during the course is for the supervisor to provide
individual supervision to a novice counsellor in the first year, and
in the second year group supervision to a group of counsellors.
The senior counsellors on the course receive supervision of their
supervisory practice with the novice counsellors. Unfortunately,
because of financial and organizational limitations, it is impossible
to provide each of the supervisors on the course with on-going
individual supervision on his / her supervision. In lieu of individ­
ual supervision we decided to use the self-instructional method of
the portfolio.
The portfolio is an instructional technique frequently used in
educational settings. It has proved very useful in helping students
integrate the knowledge that they have learned in applied settings
that demand complex thinking and action. The portfolio, as we
developed it, was used by supervisors to document the process of
their supervision and their learning in general for the duration of
the course. The remainder of this chapter will describe and
illustrate the use of the portfolio as a training and supervision
tool.

The use of the portfolio as a self-instructional tool

Portfolios in counsellor education programmes have been used

for a number of years in the United States (Carney, Cobia and
Shannon, 1 996). The portfolio has had two primary purposes: (a)
documentation of the student's professional work and growth,
and (b) a tool for assessing the quality of the student's work.
216 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Because the portfolio is essentially a qualitative tool, educators

have found it challenging to use as an assessment instrument.
Several educators (Collins, 1 992; Messick, 1 994; Navarrete, 1 990)
have identified the issues of reliability and validity in the evalua­
tive process as a major stumbling block to effective use of the
portfolio. It is difficult to get consistent data over time and
adequate coder reliability, especially with a portfolio rating sys­
tem. The costs in time and resources are very high for developing
and assessing portfolios. I have been involved in projects that
have developed a system for evaluating a school counsellor
portfolio rating system (Coleman, James, Tuescher and Hellman,
1 996), but the complexity and labour demands involved make it
impractical for our situation in Israel. In our experience with
supervisors, therefore, the portfolio has been used mostly as an
instructional tool to sharpen various competencies of the super­
visor. As an instructional tool, supervisors are able to use it to
encourage and enhance a detailed and critical review of their
work and reflect on their individual development as supervisors.
With this approach the portfolio has proved to be a critical vehicle
for self-evaluation and professional growth.

Componwts of the portfolio

A portfolio can be described as a purposeful collection of a

learner' s work that tells the story of their efforts, progress and
achievements. The portfolio requires several skills: documentation
of a process in various ways, assuming responsibility for assem­
bling the evidence of change, reflecting upon the process, engag­
ing in self-assessment, and emphasizing and understanding the
developmental process. The collection of materials and decision
on their inclusion involves a thoughtful decision-making process
for the learner. S / he must consider the guidelines for selection,
the criteria for judging merit, and the evidence therein to attest to
a reflective process of integration (Arter and Spandel, 1 992). In our
supervision course, we identified five major purposes for the
portfolio: self-reflection, self-evaluation, learning progression,
individual active learning, and peer collaboration.
The use of portfolios was found to stimulate self-reflection. Self­
reflection is defined as the process of observing one's actions in a
given event, then interpreting these actions with a broad under­
standing for the purpose of developing and acting on new cogni-
 THE PORTFOLIO 217

tive structures which are based on the integration of new and old
cognition (Tuescher, 1 997). Alschuler ( 1996) and Coleman (1 996)
have suggested that one of the main outcomes of portfolios is a
higher level of self-reflection.
Authentic self-evaluation in counselling and supervision is a
complex task. Many writers have emphasized the importance of
school counsellors being involved in the process of demonstrating
accountability and performing evaluations (Housley, McDaniel
and Underwood, 1 990; Vacc, Rhyne-Winkler, and Poidevant,
1 993). A common approach to evaluating counsellor and super­
visor performance is to collect participant evaluations such as
attitude surveys, direct observations, case studies, goal-attainment
scaling and follow-up studies (Borders and Drury, 1 992; Hollo­
way, 1 995) . The portfolio can include all these approaches and at
the same time demonstrate a progression of learning. Portfolios
have the potential to be authentic assessments of a professional's
work because they call for demonstrations of competence rather
than only scores on tests that are designed to measure the skills
one needs to perform in a given situation. (Wiggins, 1 989; 1 991 ) .
The fact that the preparation and development o f the portfolio
is a learning process, helps the supervisor to document the
learning progression and to see himself/herself in different stages of
his professional development. The portfolio of a first-year super­
visor will be different from that of a more senior supervisor. The
demonstration of supervision skills and theory-based interven­
tions can be chronicled over time in various formats. By using the
portfolio there is a longitudinal month-to-month, year-to-year
record keeping and data collection. Longitudinal samples of
supervisors' work can be assessed by comparing acquired skills
over time.
By developing a portfolio and choosing the evidence to reflect
the competencies of the supervisor, the supervisor becomes an
active learner. It is his or her responsibility to inform and demon­
strate to other people the learning that has occurred through the
evidence presented in the portfolio. It can also be done in different
ways (not necessarily verbal) which allow him/ her to demon­
strate their learning style. The choice of the materials presented in
the portfolio and their demonstration are the personal choice and
responsibility of each supervisor. At the same time it offers a
multi-dimensional view of learning. The portfolio allows the
supervisor to demonstrate skills within the context of certain
218 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

situations, whether by videotape, by describing situations ver­

bally on audiotape, or in any other creative manner. This choice
by the supervisor is in contrast to the dominant position held by
many counsellor educators of utilizing audio or videotape record­
ings as the preferred method to train counsellors and supervisors
(Hum, Calder and Zingle, 198 1 ) .
The portfolio can b e a tool t o promote dialogue and collaborative
learning among peer supervisors on relevant issues. Because the
portfolio involves peer evaluation, and is a process, the super­
visor, while developing it, will not only evaluate himself but will
interact with his peers about issues in the portfolio. It will also
involve an on-going dialogue with the trainers on the course as to
the content and competencies presented in the portfolio.
In developing portfolios there are ethical considerations such as
ensuring confidentiality of the materials selected for inclusion. If
identifying information cannot be removed in cases of videotapes
etc., informed consent must be given. This informed consent
should include what materials would be used, how they would be
used and who would have access to the materials. This can pose
problems, especially if written consent is required.
Trainers must consider carefully the validity, reliability and
psychometric limitations of the portfolio before using it as the sole
means of summative evaluation. Flexibility and individualization
are sometimes contrary to the ethical requirement of having
standardization in assessment. Thus the use of portfolios in
decisions such as termination or extension of training of counsel­
lors or supervisors is inadvisable unless used in conjunction with
other methods (Herman and Winters, 1 994; Trustees' Colloquy,
1 995) . In our context in teaching the supervision course, the prime
value is the process of development and self-inquiry that results
from this activity.

The process of developing the portfolio

Before developing a portfolio for a specific teaching-learning

context, there are several questions that should be addressed.
What is the purpose of the portfolio? Who is it designed for? What
are the components of the portfolio? Its content? How will the
portfolio be reviewed (criteria for evaluation, who will evaluate,
when)?
 THE PORTFOLIO 21 9

Since in the literature one of the important aspects in develop­

ing the portfolio is that it is the responsibility of its owner, we felt
that the above questions would be answered most relevantly by
the supervisors themselves. We chose two focus groups, both
consisting of supervisors, with the task of deciding on the com­
ponents and the criteria for evaluation of the portfolio. The
supervisors were asked what made a good supervisor and to give
examples of competence in supervision. The main points made by
the group were that a good supervisor
• can apply theory to practice;
• can assess the needs of the counsellor, and the contextual
setting;
• can guide the counsellor through the goals that they define
together;
• knows how to raise questions and not necessarily solutions;
• has the ability for self-evaluation and feedback;
• encourages the counsellor to think reflectively;
• is open to new ideas, keeps being updated and develops him
or herself;
• is ethical, knows how far to go (boundaries, limits in super­
vision);
• possesses good interpersonal communication skills and gives
support.
To conclude, the group decided to divide the competencies into
three basic categories: (a) organizational skills: contract between
supervisor and supervisee, common definition of goals, needs
assessment; (b) personal characteristics: flexible, open, clear pro­
fessional identity, supportive; and (c) knowledge: cognitive skills
and knowledge of various techniques; knowledge of supervision
and counselling theories and programmes.
It was decided that the purpose of the portfolio would be to
sharpen the competencies of the supervisors in their practice.
Supervisors and trainers would collaborate in its development
through the duration of the course. Organization of the contents
of the portfolio followed the Systems Approach to Supervision
(SAS) (Holloway, 1 995) because the model is flexible enough to
accommodate different field and cultural settings while also pro­
viding an organized scheme for analysing supervisory interaction.
Thus, all supervisors were trained in the SAS model as a part of
the work of the course. To promote a collaborative learning style
in the course, it was decided that the portfolio would be reviewed
by a peer supervisor on the course. This collaboration would
220 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

promote an on-going dialogue throughout the development of the

portfolio, rather than leaving evaluation to the end when it would
take on a more summative tone.
The portfolio consisted of five parts:
1. Theoretical basis: school counselling as a profession, statement
of goals and philosophy, theories of supervision of school
counselling, various relevant articles, class assignments in
relation to theoretical readings and reflection on the process of
learning and developing a professional identity.
2. Supervision sessions with the supervisee (counsellor) - ses­
sions were described and analysed according to the model of
supervision by Holloway ( 1 995). In addition there were audio­
tapes of three sessions. Materials presented to the supervisee
for use with students were also included. Every session was
followed by self-reflection as to the competencies demon­
strated in the session.
3. General self-assessment of the process of supervision. This
section also included an assessment form filled in by the
supervisee, major strengths and weaknesses as seen by the
supervisor in the supervision process, and description of
critical moments in supervision.
4. Dialogue with a peer supervisor during the process. Major
points of professional development as presented in the port­
folio. Competencies in various stages of the professional
development of the supervisor as seen by the peer super­
visor.
5. External evaluation of the two trainers on the course, given at
three points during the year.
An elaboration of the second part of the portfolio follows, since
it is the core of the work of the supervisor. This section of the
portfolio was organized according to the seven dimensions in
Holloway's systems approach to supervision ( 1 995; see Figure
9.2).

Case example of the SAS supervision portfolio

As described in Holloway's ( 1 995) model, the wings are of differ­

ing importance depending on the training case being analysed. In
this section critical contextual factors of the relationship will be
discussed, and the SAS matrix will be applied to demonstrate the
supervisory intervention. (Names of supervisor and supervisee
 THE PORTFOLIO 221

have been altered in order to protect identity of participants.)

First, J will describe the contextual factors of supervisor, (trainee)
supervisee, institution and client - abridged from the original
portfolio materials because of limitations of space. The core factor
of relationship is the most critical aspect of this training dilemma
and is therefore presented in more detail. This was also the basis
for the dialogue with the peer supervisor.

The supervisor
Professional experience: The supervisor. Aliza. has worked as a
school counsellor for fourteen years.
Role in supervision: The supervisor has been involved in super­
vision informally for the previous three years. She is part of a
(leading) counsellors' team developing specific counselling pro­
grammes for schools and is in charge of teaching those
programmes to her colleagues.
Theoretical orientation: Masters degree in counselling. Aliza is
trained in various approaches. She mainly uses a cognitive­
behavioural approach in her counselling and supervision.
Cultural charaaeristics: M iddle-aged woman. Married. Two
adolescent sons. One daughter who is almost the age of the
supervisee.
Se/f-presentation: The supervisor offers her knowledge in super­
vision and also her functioning as a consultant by being on the
leading team of counsellors.

The supervisee
Professional experience: Batya, the counsellor, is working for the
first time as a counsellor. She has worked for a short period as
a schoolteacher.
Theoretical orientation: Batya is finishing her Masters degree i n
counselling. She is not clear a s to a specific orientation i n
counselling.
Learning needs and style: She likes to collect data and informa­
tion before acting. She can be described as a detail-oriented
person.
Cultural characteristics: Young woman (27 years old), married
with a baby. Israeli Sabra (born in Israel).
Self-presentation: A strong desire to be supervised and a need
to learn more.
 The Institution The Client
(Contextual factor) (Contextual factor)

Figure 9.2 Systems Approach to Supervision (Holloway, 1 995;

copyright by Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA. Reprinted
with permission of the author.)
 THE PORTFOLIO 223

The institution
Agency clientele: Both supervisor and counsellor work in a
school setting. Counsellor (supervisee) is offering counselling
services not only to the students but also to teachers and
management.
Organizational structure and climate: The principal of the school
where the counsellor works is new and introduces a lot of
changes in the school. The supervisee (counsellor) has taken
the place of a senior counsellor who used to work in the
school.
Ethical policies and procedures: Supervisor and supervisee work
in the same d istrict, while the consulting supervisor is respons­
ible for the professional development of both. There are issues
of confidentiality as to what information should be given to the
consulting supervisor and to the principal of the supervisee.

The supervisory relationship: critical (actors

There were three critical phases in the development of this
supervisory relationship. Each phase is represented by the
contextual factors of supervisor and supervisee, the core
relationship, and the process matrix in Figures 9.3, 9.4 and 9.5.
The remaining contextual factors, i nstitution and client, are not
depicted because they were not as prominent in the dynamics
that ensued between the supervisor and supervisee. This is not
meant to suggest that they were not considered in devising
intervention strategies.

Phase one
The supervisor, Aliza, reflects in the portfolio about the
supervision relationship. The supervision relationship at this
early stage was accompanied with a lot of stress and tension,
especially felt by the supervisor (also noticed by the supervisee
as reflected in the taped supervision sessions). To help uncover
the elements that might have been contributing to this inter­
personal tension, Aliza and her peer supervisor engaged in a
focused dialogue using the supervisee (trainee) elements of
SAS (see Figure 9.2). By doing this, the underlying reasons
contributing to her anxiety in this relationship became clear to
Aliza, the supervisor. It was very hard for her to face the fact
that the supervisee, Batya, was a young women who had
224 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

almost finished her graduate studies in counselling, while she,

the supervisor, as an older woman, struggled even to be
accepted for graduate studies.
In the description of the first session (shown aiso on a
Videotape), Batya, the supervisee, brought her frustration to
the session. She explained to the supervisor that she felt a
need to satisfy the demands of the teachers in the school who
tended to refer too many students to her. The teachers were
hoping for immediate solutions to their students' problems.
Batya felt completely overwhelmed by her counselling role and
the teachers' demands, yet also thought that she must do
something to justify her role as a school counsellor. Aliza,
experiencing her supervisee's sense of urgency, responded by
providing her with a series of short-term strategies to deal
with the teachers' needs (Figure 9.3, matrix, advising and
instructing with counselling skills).
I n the portfolio, the supervisor reflected on the parallel
process at this stage. She saw her own need to satisfy the
supervisee and respond immediately by giving her prescrip­
tions rather than engaging in a dialogue about Batya's anxiety
around her role. It seemed to Aliza that she also was trying to
justify her value as a supervisor (Figu re 9.3, supervisor wing,
professional experience). She noted that this first session was
also devoted to express mutual expectations and goals for
supervision (contracting).
This session was analysed according to the tasks and func­
tions of supervision, fol lowing Holloway's model ( 1 995; see
Figure 9.3). The supervisor examined and reflected on the
teaching tasks and functions she demonstrated during the
session. One of the questions the supervisor asked the coun­
sellor was why she chose to become a counsellor (matrix -
professional role). Batya's response was that she needed to be
in control and to satisfy the needs of other people. This
response described the supervisee's primary interpersonal
strategies or 'self-presentational style' (supervisee wing) and
helped the supervisor to reflect on Batya's view of her
professional role and on the role of interpersonal needs in the
counselling and supervisory relationship (relationship­
structure).
The dialogue of reflection with her peer supervisor led Aliza,
the supervisor, to realize that the first phase of the supervisory
relationship was characterized by tension and anxiety. In attend-
 THE PORTFOLIO 225

ing to her own sense of i nadequacy in her professional achieve­

ment, Aliza recognized that she was threatened by Batya's high
motivation on one hand, and her unrealistic expectations as to
satisfying the needs of every one at school. In some ways it
seemed to Aliza that she had taken on those same needs as a
supervisor with Batya. She started to understand that the ten­
sion was related to her own sense of competitiveness with
Batya's academic achievement. She acknowledged that she felt

Supervisor Supervisee

Experience
Professional in role
experience

Learning needs

Self-presentation
(Expert power)

c:
0
.�
"" .to! OJ
OJ c: '"
� :J 0 OJ '"
OJ ... c: Q)
'" c.. .� 0g
0 c:
c: Q)
:J Q) U J:! Q)
�
'" c: '"
0 '" 0 e E
U � U u 0- e W �
Monitoring/
evaluating

Advising/
instructing

Supervisor
Modelling Process Matrix
functions

Consulting

Supporting/
sharing

Figure 9.3 Phase one of supervisory relationship (Holloway,

1 995; copyright by
Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Reprinted with permission of the author.}
226 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

unable to meet all of Batya's needs because of her sense of failure

in relation to her own education and knowledge.

Phase two
The second phase (Figure 9.4) of the supervisory relationship
is centred on the counsellor's response to a student whose
brother was killed in an army attack in Lebanon. As soon as the
school had been notified about it, the counsellor was i nvolved

Supervisor Supervisee

Learning needs
(Dependence)
Self-presentation
Expert power
Distrustful relationship
structure

c:
0
.�
'"
"" .� ..
.. c: '"
� 0 .. '"
a c: Q)
1lc: a.
Q) .� 0 c:
Q)
� u � Q) 'g ...
� c: '"
0 '" 0 e 0 E
U � U u a.. ... w �
Monitoring!
evaluating

Advising!
instructing
1---+---
Supervisor
Modelling Process Matrix
functions

Consulting

Supporting!
sharing

Figure 9.4 Phase two of supervisory relationship (Holloway,

1 995; copyright by
Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Reprinted with permission of the author.)
 THE PORTFOLIO 227

in consulting teachers and talking to the students in the victim's

sister's class. Some of the students also had brothers in the
army and were overwhelmed with fear that their own brothers
might be killed. This is not an unusual reaction and Batya, the
counsellor, was able to provide them with individual counsel­
ling sessions around these issues. However, she felt helpless as
to how to proceed with the teachers and other classmates.
This was surprising to Aliza, the supervisor, because the
constant potential of death from military activities in Israel
means that there are very specific guidelines for handling such
situations. The supervisor reflected on the fact that in the
process of supervision at this point, she herself was mostly
involved in consulting and instructing around the professional
role of the counsellor, almost d ictating to her a plan of action,
while she really felt she should have been involved in uncover­
ing Batya's feelings of being overwhelmed emotionally (sup­
porting and emotional awareness) even though the supervisee
was more likely to present it as not knowing what to do
(learning needs and counselling experience).
In this second phase, the relationship, although not as tense
and competitive, was characterized by the supervisee's
dependence on being told what to do and her unwillingness to
trust that the supervisor would be able to help her. Aliza found
herself instructing and advising in order to be helpful, and yet
she also reflected on how this approach made her feel
superior to and more expert than the counsellor in spite of
her inferior academic qualifications. She saw also how her
sense of inadequacy was being communicated subtly to Batya,
thus promoting Batya's distrust of her advice.

Phase three
The third phase (Figure 9.5) was a supervision session which
was centred on the need of the counsellor to be involved in
group work at school but, at the same time, she reported a
sense of i nadequacy in managing this task. She felt that she was
disappointing the supervisor by not being prepared to do
group work. Aliza, the supervisor, had spent most of the
previous supervision session giving Batya ideas and instructions
on how to proceed with the group, and on hearing Batya's
report felt very guilty that she had not helped Batya. This time,
i nstead of teaching more strategies, Aliza was able to support
228 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

the counsellor by explaining the difficulties of working in

groups, especially under the conditions that the counsellor
described. The reflection of the supervisor moved from advis­
ing and instructing around the professional role, to supporting
and sharing around Batya's emotional response to the group
work and her need for more realistic self-evaluation. She
taught her not to be so critical of her work hoping that it
would free her to be more effective and accepting of where
she was in her learning progression. In this third phase, the

Supervisor Supervisee

Professional
experience

Supervisor role Learning needs

Expert power and affiliation

c
0
.�
"" .�
..::J ..
� c
....a. ·in0 ..c '"'"'"
Qj
'"
c '"U �'" 0 c
'"
::J
0 �
�
'" c '" 'g '-'"
0 e E
U '" U u 0- e W �
Monitoring!
evaluating
1----+--­
Advising!
instructing

Supervisor
Modelling Process Matrix
functions

Consulting

Supporting!
sharing

Figure 9.5 Phase three of supervisory relationsHip (Holloway,

1 995; copyright by
Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Reprinted with permission of the author.)
 THE PORTFOLIO 229

counsellor showed more confidence, but there was still a big

gap between her knowledge and understanding and her ability
to apply it in practice. No longer experiencing competitiveness
with Batya, the supervisor became more supportive and more
involved in developing the supervisee's emotional awareness
around her role as a counsellor. By being able authentically to
offer encouragement and belief in the abilities of the counsel­
lor, yet acknowledge her own shortcomings, Aliza was able to
experience herself as a helpful supervisory guide.
The final reflection on this process of relationship develop­
ment was reflected in the peer supervisor's notes:

I can see the process of the counsellor moving from a dependent

position and lacking self confidence to independence and a clear
professional identity. In spite of the difficu lties you encountered
with the supervisee in your interpersonal relationship, I can see her
using you as a support and a professional resource person. Your
self-awareness, abil ity to apply your theoretical knowledge to
practice, your use of various techniques and your professional
modelling were obvious throughout this process.

The articulation of the phases of supervision became clear

to the supervisor as she engaged in the portfolio process and
reflected on her work with the peer supervisor. The SAS
model (Holloway, 1 995) as a basis of organizing the analysis of
the process and having a common language to frame the events
helped the supervisor to self-evaluate her own dynamic needs,
her supervisor role, and understand how these factors influ­
enced the process of teaching and learning in the relationship.
To summarize, I would like to quote one of the supervisors in
her portfolio:

Developing a portfolio was a very complicated and controversial

task. On one hand it involved a lot of time and thus did not appeal
to me; on the other hand, you hear so much about portfolios in
education that I was curious to be involved in it. There is no other
way but to experience it yourself if you want to know what it is.
The main contribution in developing the portfolio for me was the
dialogue with my peer supervisor and my own self-reflection. There
would not have been any other way to explore, understand and use
my competencies as supervisor if I were not able to look into the
process I went through with the help of the portfolio. For me it
was one of the best learning tools I have experienced. In spite of
the long process and hard work, I can only thank you for allowing
me to know this tool.
230 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

References

ACES (Association for Counselor Education and Supervision) ( 1 995) Ethical

Guidelines for counseling su pervisors. Coullsc/or Educatioll alld S uperpis io l l , 36:
270-6.
Alschuler, A.5. ( 1 996) The portfolio emperor has no clothes: he should stay naked:
Coullselor Education and Supervi:;ioll, 36: 1 33-7.
Arter, J.A. and Spandel, V. ( 1 992) Using portfolios of student work in instruction
and assessment. Educatiollal Measuremellt, 1 1 : 36-44.
Barret, R.L. and Schmidt, J.J. ( 1 986) School counselor certification and supervision:
overlooked professional issues. Cou11';c/or Edu catio ll alld Superl'isioll, 26: 50-5.
Borders, D.L. and Drury, S.M. ( 1 992) Comprehensive school counseling programs:
a review for policy makers and practitioners. lounwl of COl i ll sel illg alld DCl'eiop­
mellt, 70: 487-98.
Boyd, J. ( 1 978) COllllselor Supervisioll. Indiana: Accelerated Development.
Carney, S.J., Cobia, D.C and Shannon, D.M. ( 1 996) The use of portfolios in clinical
and comprehensive evaluations of counselors-in-training. Counselor Education
and Supervision, 36: 1 22-32.
Coleman, H . L. K, ( 1 996) Portfolio assessment of multicultural counseling com­
petency. The Co u nsei illg Psychologis t, 2: 21 6-29.
Coleman, H . L.K, James, A., Tuescher, K. and Hellman, S. ( 1 996) Portfolio assess­
ment of school counselor competence. Unpublished manuscript.
Collins, A. ( 1 992) Portfolios for science education: issues in purpose, structure and
authenticity. Science Educatioll, 75: 451-63.
Herman, J . L . and Winters, L . ( 1 994) Portfolio research: a slim collection. Educational
Leadership, 52(2): 48-55.
Holloway, E.L. ( 1 995) Clill ieal Superl'isioll: A Systems Approach. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.
Housley, W.E, McDaniel, L.C and Underwood, J.R. ( 1 990) Mandated assessment of
counselors in Mississippi. The School COllllseior, 37: 294-302.
Hum, A., Calder, P. and Zingle, H . W. ( 1 98 1 ) Language laboratory use and the
development of self-instructional training tape programs in counsellor educa­
tion. Canadian Counsellor, 15 (4): 1 85-92.
Messick, S. ( 1 994) The interplay of evidence and consequences in the validation of
performance assessments. Educational T� csea rcll cr, 23: 13-23.
Navarrete, C ( 1 990) Tnformal Assessmelz,' in Educatiollal Emluatioll: Implications for
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Minority Languages Affairs. National Clearing House for Bilingual Education.
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Schmidt, J .J . ( 1 990) Critical issues for the school counselor: performance appraisal
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Vacc, N .A., Rhyne-Winkler, M.e. and Poidevant, J.M. (1 993) Evalua tion and
accountability of counseling services: possible implications for a midsize school
district. The School Coullselor, 40: 260-6.
Wiggins, G. ( 1 989) A true test: toward more authentic and equitable assessment.
Phi Delta Kappall, 70: 703-1 3.
Wiggins, G. ( 1 99 1 ) Standards, not standardization: evoking quality student work.
Educational Leadership, 47: 1 7-25.
Ind ex

acculturation, 1 43 Carney, S.L 2 1 5

Acker, M . , 48, 52-3 Carroll, M., 2 , 1 3, 1 8, 1 9, 26, 32, 47, 56,
advising, 20 60-2, 63, 64, 1 72, 1 80, 1 86, 1 88
Alexander, C, 1 4-15, 1 6 Casali, S.L., 30
Alschuler, AS., 21 7 Casement, P., 1 8 1
Altekruse, MD., 1 64 case supervision i n groups, 1 1 2, 1 1 6
Altman, I., 1 4-15, 1 6 challenge, 175
American Association for Counseling Claymore-Lahammer, Y., 1 4 1
and Development, 4 client
American Psychological Association, 3 characteristics, 30
apprenticeship, 45 diagnosis, 30
Arredondo, P., 1 54 identified problem, 30
Arter, lA., 2 1 6 relationship, 31
Association for Counselor Education client conceptualization, 1 8
and Supervision, 3, 54, 2 1 3 clinical rhombus, 49-50
Atkinson, D.R., 28 Clarkson, P., 4, 57, 73, 78, 80, 81, 87,
Austin, B., 1 64 1 25, 172
Coleman, H.L.K., 30, 1 3 1 , 1 35, 1 39,
Baker, R D . , 54
1 43-4, 2 1 6-17
Barret, R.L., 2 1 3
Collins, A., 216
Bass, C K . , 1 31
conceptualizing organizations, 1 22
Bee, H. L., 48
consultation, 2 1 , 35
Berger, CE., 1 6
dilemma, 35
Bernard, L 2, 9, 1 9, 48, 54, 61, 93
SAS aI1illysis, 39
Berne, E., 57, 73, 1 74-6
story, 36
Bion, W.E, 1 1 0
contextual, 22, 1 62
Bond, M . , 58
contracting, 1 6, 52, 57, 68
Borders, D., 28, 54, 2 1 7
multi-based, 70, 75
Boyd, J . , 214
negotiating, 74
Brad ley, L., 4, 25, 27, 54
Bramley, W., 2 overt/ covert, 69
Brenock, K., 29 partners, I I I
British Association for Counselling, 3, and relationship, 69
62, 1 84 counselling skills, 1 8, 1 63
Brome, D.R., 29 sessional skills, 1 63, 1 66
Burns, Cl., 59 Crimmings, A.M., 9, 1 3, 27
Byrne, E., 1 88 cultural factors, 1 31 , 1 47-9
openness to, 1 74-8
Calabrese, A.M., 1 6 supervisor experience of, 148
Carifio, MS., 23, 1 65, 1 68-9 supervisor feelings about, 1 48-9
234 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

cultural identity, 1 42-3 Freeman, E., 1 65

integration of, 1 43 Friedlander, M.L., 29
perspectives on, 142 functions, 1 9

Dell, D.M., 19 Garcia, 1'., 73

Delworth, U., 1 , 27, 28, 1 1 l Garfield, S.L., 30
developmental models, 46, 52, 55, 93-4 Gilbert, M., 4, 6 1 , 73, 1 72
dialogue, 2 1 8, 220 Good, G.E., 1 9
discrimination modeL 49 Goodyear, R, 9, 1 9, 25, 27, 54. 6 1 , 93,
Dodehoff, j.T., 1 64 95, 96
Doehrman, M.j., 31 group supervision
Dye, H .A., 1 64, 1 68-9 characteristics, 1 08-11
contracts, 1 1 1
Efstation, j.E, 54
focus, 1 1 1-12
Ekstein, R, 3 1 , 48, 50
format, 111
E l lickson, J.L., 1 6, 29
goals, 1 1 2
Ellis, M.Y., 1 9
membership, 1 1 2
emotional awareness, 1 23
roles, 108
English, E, 1 1 4
stages of training, 1 26
epics model, 52
tasks, 1 07-8
Erskine, R, 85
termination, 1 07-8, 1 1 2
ethical codes, 62
training programme, 1 27-8
ethical rules, 1 23, 1 24
evaluating, 20, 1 39
Hard y, E., 1 , 27
formaL 1 79-80
Harvey, O.j., 28
formative, 1 38
Hawkins, P., 2, 4, 54, 60, 75, 1 72, 1 85,
lenses for, 1 65-6
self, 19, 1 63-4, 216- 1 7, 229
286
summative, 1 38-9 Heppner, P.P., 1 6
Henry, w.P., 1 64
exercise
Herman, .l .A., 218
client process, 22
institutional, 32, 33 Heron, L 73, 84, 1 74
process, 21-2 Hess, A.K., 19, 23, 25, 27, 48, 50, 53,
reflection, 26, 29 165, 1 68-9
exercises i n supervision Hilbs, M., 1 1 8
empathetic responding, 200-1 Hills, H . I., 1 4
Holland, S., 58
inquirer role, 204-5
Holloway, E.L., 1 , 2, 9-10, 1 3, 1 6- 1 7,
oppression, 1 99-200
self-disclosure, 209 1 8, 23, 26-32, 48, 52-4, 59, 63, 1 06,
wants and oughts, 1 94-6 1 08, 1 1 1 , 130, 1 4 1 , 1 85, 2 1 7, 219-20,
what to bring, 205-6 229
exhortation, 1 77 Housley, W.E, 2 1 7
explanation, 1 75 Hum, A., 218
exploring, 2 1 , 1 76 Hunt, D.E., 28

feedback, 6 1 , 1 64 instructing, 20
for counsellors, 164 interpersonal process recall, 58, 1 64,
effective, 1 65 1 77-9, 1 96-9, 203-4
focusing, 206-8 Inskipp, F, 1 6, 1 68-9, 1 84-5, 1 88, 1 93,
Fong, M.L., 28 1 99
fractal nature of co-operation, 1 20-1 institution, 223
 I N DEX 235

Israel, 21 1 , 227 cultural diverSity, 143

Ministry of Education, 2 1 3 institutional factors, 1 34-9
Iversen, J . N . , 1 issues in, 1 53-9
learning objectives, 153
Juntunen, c.L., 1 relationship factors in, 1 41-9
and standards, 1 56-7
Kaberry, S.E., 1 88 supervisee satisfaction with, 141
Kadushin, A., 54 and treatment, 1 58--9
Kagan, N., 58, 164, 1 77. 1 97, 203
Kardash, C.M., 54 Navarete, c., 2 1 6
Karno, M . P, 23, 94 Neimeyer, G.J., 2 8
Kell, B.L., 1 6 Nelson, M . L . , 1 4 , 23, 29, 94
Kermberg, O.E, 123 Neufeldt, SA, 1, 9, 23, 30, 3 1 , 93, 94,
Kurpius, D.J., 54 95, 96, 103, 164
Nickerson, K.J., 148
Lacoursiere, R, 1 1 0
LaFromboise, TO., 134, 135, 144 Onions, C.T, 48
Lanning, w., 53-4 organizational, 32, 33
Lapworth, P, 80, 87 orientation, 1 62
learning from experience, 57, 95, 1 01
learning progression, 2 1 7 Page, S., 2
learning styles, 45, 5 8 , 1 65, 2 1 7 , 221 parallel process, 60, 69, 73, 89, 164, 224
Leary, T, 14 Patton, M.J., 54
Leddick, G., 54, 1 64, 1 68-9 Pedersen, P., 28
Lee-Borden, N .A., 48, 51-2 Penman, R., 1 4
Lent, RW., 9, 1 3, 27 personal identity, 1 54-5
Leong, ET, 1 34 placement issues, 1 35-8
Littrell, J.M., 48, 51-2 portfolio, 1 39 , 1 50-3, 221 , 21 5-20
Loevinger, J ., 28 components of, 1 5 1 , 220
Loganbill, c., 1, 27 definition of, 215, 216
Lorenz, J.R.A., 48, 51-2 development of, 1 50-1
and ethical considerations, 2 1 7
Martinez, R, 29 goals of, 1 51
mentoring, 45 purpose of, 1 50-1, 2 1 6
Messick, S., 2 1 6 Poulin, K . , 1 8, 20, 28, 1 64
micro-skills, 1 64-5, 1 72, 1 78 Proctor, B., 2 , 1 6, 32, 84, 1 68-9, 1 84-5,
Miller, F.E., 15, 1 6 1 88, 1 90, 1 93
Miller, G.R, 1 4-15 professional role, 1 9
Mitchell, S.K., 48 purpose, 9-11
modelling, 20
monitoring, 20 Rabinowitz, EE., 1 6
Morten, G., 28 Raven, B.H., 1 4
Morton, T., 14-15, 1 6 reflection, 45, 94--5, 1 00-2, 103
Mueller, w.J., 1 6 self, 2 1 6-1 7, 220
multicultural counselling, 1 30 Ridley, C.R, 1 53
assumptions, 1 32 Roberts, E. B., 2 1 3-14
involves, 1 33 Roehlke, H.J., 1 6, 32
three perspectives, 1 30-5 Rogers, L.E., 15, 1 7
multicultural counselling roles, 25, 1 20, 1 22-3
competencies, 130, 1 34-49, 1 53-9 Ronnestad, M.H., 92, 93-5, 96, 1 03,
acquisition of, 1 34-49 1 39, 214
236 TRAINING COUNSELLING SUPERVISORS

Russell, R.K., 1 3,19, 27 rev i ewi ng , assessment in, 168, 1 92

and self-disclosure, 1 86
in GSA, 1
SAS model, 9, 106, 1 08, 2 1 9-28
ilnd working alliance. 1 86
Schon, O.A., 23, 93, 94, 95, 1 0 1 , 1 03
supervision training
school counsellor, 214
macro level, 1 25-6
Schroder, H.M., 28
meso l e v el, 1 25
Schwartz, H., 1 2 1
micro level, 1 25
self-evaluation, 1 23-4
supervisor
self-supervision, 51-2
competencies of, 2 1 9
shame, 69, 1 8 1
consulting, 2 1 2-13
Sherry, P., 1 6, 1 29
experience. 25, 214, 221 , 222
Shohet, R., 2, 4, 54, 60, 75, 1 72, 1 85,
peer, 219-2 1 , 224, 229
286
roles of, 21 3
Siegel, S.M., 29
training course, 212, 214-15
Sills, c., 61
supporting, 21
Skovholt, T.M., 92, 93-5, 96, 1 03, 1 39,
214
social role models, 46, 48 Tash, J ., 1 84
Solomon, B . , 29 tasks of supervision, 2 1 , 47-9, 1 4 1
Stoltenberg, c., 1, 27, 28, 93, 1 1 0 administrative task, 46, 63-4
Strong, S.R., 1 4 consulting task, 60-1
Strupp, H.H., 26, 93, 1 03 counselling task, 58-60
Sue, D.W., 89, 1 32 ethical / professional task, 62-3
supervisee evaluation task, 54, 61-2
and culture, 28 primary task, 1 1 7-18, 120
experience, 27 relationship task, 11, 13-14, 53, 56-7
and learning needs, 28 teaching task, 33-5, 57-8
and learning style, 28 Taylor, D.A., 1 6
and self-presentation, 29 team supervision
skill, 1 86-7 characteristics, 1 1 3-18
and theoretical orientation, 27 contracts, 1 1 3, 1 1 7
supervision, 94 dynamics, 1 1 9
abuse in, 1 88 focus, 1 1 5
across orientation, 78, 1 85 formats, 1 1 5
in Britain, 2 goals, 1 1 4
and context, 63, 76, 1 87-8 membership, 1 1 5
and counselling, 56, 59, 94-5, 96, roles, 107-8, 1 1 8
97-100 skills, 1 21-2
difficult issues in, 192 tasks, 1 07-8
as educational process, 46 termination, 1 1 7
external, 1 93 training, 1 24-9
generic tasks of, 46-7, 53-5, 64 Tevber, E., 26
good /bad, 68 Thompson, A., 84
group, 1 92-3 Tracey, T.J., 1 6, 29
hierarchy in, 120 troubleshooting, 1 8 1
history of, 1 Tuckman, B.W., 1 1 0
honesty in, 1 89 Tuescher, K . D., 1 39, 214, 2 1 7
introduction to, 1 90-1 Tvler, F. B., 28, 1 30-1, 1 33
preparing for, 1 92
presenting in, 192 Vacc, N . A . , 2 1 7
 INDEX 237

Walh;rstein, R.5., 48, 50, 1 3 1 Wiggins, G , 2 1 7

Walsh, J . E, 25 Wolll'at, P. L., 1 72
Wam p ler, L.D., 27 Worthington, E . L., 1 6, 2.7
Wampold, B.E., 30 VVllsket, V, :2
Ward, L.G., 29
Webb, A, 1 89 Yalom, I., no