Conversations on clinical supervision: Benefits perceived by school counsellors

Abstract

This Australian study describes the bene® ts of clinical supervision as perceived by school guidance of® cers who work in a large education authority. The participants were a random sample of guidance of® cers and senior guidance of® cers who agreed to participate in focus group interviews conducted via teleconference calls. The bene® ts of and reasons for clinical supervision graphically described by the participants raise questions about the cost of inadequate supervision to the individual counsellors themselves and to the profession as a whole. The ® ndings become even more important when considered in light of the world of work of the 21st century.

Supervision to enhance educational and vocational guidance practice: A review

“…This primary definition about the function or purpose of supervision may be an assumption and has been challenged. For example, McMahon and Patton (2000) found that, ''Client welfare received little specific mention by participants… support was cited as the predominant benefit of supervision. Many of the participants spoke of support in terms of emotional wellbeing, the reduction of stress and the prevention of burnout'' (p. 348).…”

“…In the USA, Prieto and Betsworth (1999) argued for a comprehensive model of clinical supervision for trainee career counsellors, and Bronson (2001) noted that, at the time, little had been written on the development of supervision for career counsellors. McMahon and Patton (2000) claimed that without on-going supervision the skill level of school counsellor practitioners in Australia was seen to decrease and that supervision should continue beyond initial training. Busacca (2002) noted that supervision is a context where process and content can be examined, in order to enhance the quality and effectiveness of work with clients for both trainees and experienced practitioners.…”

Supervision in Public Sector Behavioral Health: A Review

“…Other articles described supervision as enhancing quality of care as documented through supervisee and agency director self-report (e.g., Strong et al, 2003;Vallance, 2005), increasing competence and professional development (e.g., Berg & Hallberg, 2000;Hensley, 2002;Magnuson, Wilcoxon, & Norem, 2000;McMahon & Patton, 2000;Townend, 2008;Vallance, 2004), and improving adherence to intervention models such as integrative treatment for dual disorders (Brunette et al, 2008). A strong example of the reports in this group is a retrospective review by Arvidsson, Löfgren, and Fridlund (2001), who interviewed psychiatric nurses four years after their participation in a two-year group supervision program.…”

“…This diverse group of publications identified positive effects on supervisees that included decreased stress and emotional exhaustion or ''burnout'' (e.g., Perseius, Kaver, Ekdahl, Asberg, & Samuelsson, 2007), decreased professional isolation (e.g., Clark et al, 2002;McMahon & Patton, 2000), and enhanced feelings of self-competence, efficacy, and well-being (e.g., Vallance, 2005;Warman & Jackson, 2007). Supervision was also described as contributing to the effectiveness of specific trainings, increasing, for example, the acquisition, retention, and application of new knowledge by supervisees (e.g., Gilkerson & Kopel, 2005;Newton & Yardley, 2007).…”

Professionalism in career guidance and counselling – how professional do trainee career practitioners feel at the end of a postgraduate programme of study?

“…Effective support at this stage in the early days of employment can be very helpful as it can help the practitioner cope with the possible inconsistent emotions towards the job. There is an extensive literature on the effect of beginning a new 'helping' job role and the benefits of securing effective support and supervision in the helping professions, including in the field of career guidance: Bimrose and Wilden (1994), Copeland (1998), Edwards (2001), Hawkins and Shohet (2006), McMahon (2003), McMahon and Patton (2000), Moffett and Allan (2003), Reid and Westergaard (2006).…”