Why Have Supervision?
Supervision is of course an essential part of working therapeutically and ensures safe practice. But furthermore, it intends to challenge and reinforce good practice.
It provides emotional support, which promotes self-care and reduces the likelihood of burnout. Also Supervision aims to ensure that practitioners, continue to develop, learn and gain objective insight into their own performance and skills. It additionally provides an opportunity to learn and practise new skills and to find better ways to work with clients.
Within the context of supervision trainee play therapists will have an opportunity to develop their sense of professional identity look at their own beliefs and attitudes in relation to their clients and their work. More experienced practitioners will equally be able to use the space to continue their development. This will lessen the likelihood of these impacting negatively on their therapeutic relationships and ensure they are working with the client’s values and beliefs and not their own.
The three key aspects of supervision are Education, Support and Accountability. I will Educate by drawing on my own knowledge base of working as a play therapist and theories that underpin the practice including the use of the ‘Axline principles’ (1947). I will offer support through focusing on the needs of the client, without judgement and interpretation, letting them lead the way and seeing them as competent and able. Accountability will be attended to by working within the ethical framework, encompassing Fidelity, Autonomy, Beneficence, Maleficence, and Justice.
What will I Strive to Bring.
As I fully recognise the importance of relationship. I will offer a Person-centred approach, holding in mind the Carl Rodgers Core Conditions (1986), Empathy, Congruence and Unconditional Positive Regard. I believe that;
“The individual has within himself or herself vast resources for self-understanding, for altering his or her self-concept, attitudes and self-directed behaviour – and that these resources can be tapped into, only if a definable climate of facilitative psychological attitudes can be provided’.
As I value the creative process as a way of accessing the unconscious and providing a parallel process, I offer my supervises the opportunity to work creatively. Working creatively can be playful, spontaneous and experiential and this can also strengthen the relationship and mirrors the potential of the play therapy space.
However, I recognise that working with metaphor, or fantasy can be tricky for some, especially those that favour right brain processes and tend to intellectualise. Therefore, it may take time to feel safe enough to do this. So whilst this method is offered, it is simply that, an offer, ready to be taken up when and if ready.
Furthermore, I recognise that supervision is different to therapy and I aim to meet with supervises on an adult to adult level. (Bern 1961).
Ultimately, my work as a creative supervisor is a dual process, to provide the supervise with the essentials to view the watery depths of the unconscious, and successfully navigate a path.
