Effective Supervision and Consultation: A Model for the Development of Functional Supervision and Consultation Programs

Abstract

Many public and private agencies lack a systematic process for evaluating the quality of counselor supervision. The Effective Supervision and Consultation (ESC) model is proposed as a guide for counselor educators who are helping agencies build effective supervision programs. The ESC model is presented with an emphasis on the assessment, training, and evaluation components of consultation services in counselor supervision.

Post‐Degree Supervision: Existing and Preferred Practices

“…One implication of the strong preference for a trained supervisor is that opportunities for supervisor training need to be expanded. Few current supervisors have had such training (Hart & Falvey, 1987;Holloway, 1982) and few in-service training programs currently exist (Harvey & Schramski, 1984). Although more counselor education programs are adding supervision courses to their curricula, most are offered only at the doctoral level (Borders & Leddick, 1988).…”

“…Others have asserted that existing supervision is less than adequate. Supervisors of school counselors may be administrators who have no counseling background (American Association for Counseling and Development [AACD] Task Force, 1989;Schmidt & Barret, 1983), and supervisors in mental health settings may be preoccupied with administrative duties (Harvey & Schramski, 1984;Remley et al, 1987).…”

Curriculum Guide for Training Counseling Supervisors: Rationale, Development, and Implementation

“…Relatively few counselor education and psychology programs offer systematic training (Borders & Leddick, 1988;Hess, 1980;Holloway & Hosford, 1983;Lumsden et aI., 1988;Russell et al, 1984), and in-service opportunities are scarce (Harvey & Schramski, 1984). Training opportunities for supervisors are particularly restricted in areas that have limited access to counselor education programs (e.g., rural areas).…”

Clinical supervision in the alcohol and other drugs field: an imperative or an option?

“…Evidence indicates that mental health, and to a lesser extent AOD, workers who receive quality supervision function better across a range of key performance variables, cope better with the stress of their jobs and are less prone to burnout. Some of the demonstrated benefits from CS include higher job satisfaction, confidence and self-efficacy [4,16,20 -24], reduced turnover [20], improved development of complex clinical skills and delivery of evidence-based practice [24,25], reduced stress and burnout [16,26,27], and improved staff communication [4,20 -25]. Provision of CS for AOD workers can facilitate the transfer of newly acquired clinical skills from training to practice [28,29], and provide less experienced AOD workers with guidance about interpersonal style, counselling skills, and ongoing appraisal [30].…”