A supervision model E-Book

Lilja Cajvert

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 213

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

The book presents a personal model of supervision developed by the author and based on her long experience as supervisor and university teacher in Sweden and in continental Europe. Working models by the author and other supervisors, and appreciated in supervision groups, are described in detail. Several quotes are given from supervisees within a range of activities. The book may be used of many professionals within various supervision activities: newcomers and students in supervision training will learn how a supervision model can be formed and developed. Those with more experience as a supervisor may be inspired to consciously reflect on their own style and get new clues on how to work in a different way. Supervisees may also benefit by taking part in experiences of others. Managers budgeting supervision may find useful information about how supervision can be perceived and experienced by the supervised. Procurers can also gain broader knowledge and take part in the experiences and expectations the supervised have of supervision and of the supervisor. Lilja Cajvert: "Through continuous reflection on experiences, a model has emerged. There is a meaning in what I do, a common thread, a thought, a theoretical idea. Supervision is a complex professional practice and too responsible, demanding and lonely work to be practiced without reflection and awareness of what you are doing, why and for what purpose". Lilja Cajvert is senior lecturer in social work, previously at Gothenburg University, Sweden. She is a social worker, licensed psychotherapist, supervisor and author. She has a long experience as teacher and supervisor for professionals within various occupations of care, social work and school. She is also working internationally as supervisor and lecturer.

Leseprobe

To my grandchildren Julia, Linnéa, Ellen and Oscar Carry on being playful and creative.

Lilja Cajvert

Contents

Preface

What has shaped my model of supervision?

Why do I author this book – to whom?

Introduction

What is supervision?

Agreements

My approach in the book

Synopsis – first interview with a supervision group

The Interview

The supervisor

Information prior to the interview

Interview with a potential supervision group

Presentation of the supervision model

How to present your experience of work?

Theoretical basis and how to use theories in supervision

Why asking in-depth follow-up questions?

Evaluation of the supervision

My strengths and difficulties

Supervision of the supervisor – meta supervision

Group members

Group members experience of supervision

Group members’ expectations

Expectations of the supervision

Group members’ expectations of the group

Group member expectations of oneself

Expectations of the supervisor role

Contact with manager or group leader

The management’s role in supervision

Contact prior to – and what can be raised in supervision

The manager’s expectations of the supervision

The manager’s role in evaluation of the supervision

Contact on specific issues raised in the supervision

Writing a contract

The supervision begins

Introductory lecture on unconscious processes

Projection

Induction

Resonance

Transference

Countertransference

Projective identification

Parallel processes

The supervision session

Stages of the session

Opening

Feedback and choice of supervision question

Feedback on the previous supervision session

Who has brought a supervision question

When no one has any issue to raise

Formulate a supervision question

Just describe a problem and then frame a question

The supervision process

Bridge to the work context

Review of the supervision session and feedback

Tools and approaches in supervision

The importance of reflection

Tools to help reflecting on a supervision question

Using pictures and cards

Pictures and cards to start

Group cards

“If it was my client, I would …”

Using Ullman’s dream method in supervision

Stages in my method of supervision – summary

Stage I Who has a supervision question?

Stage II Dialogue supervisee – supervisor – group

Stage III Regrouping

Stage IV If it was my client, I would …

Stage V Regrouping again

Stage VI Summing up – Where to go from here?

Stage VII What is your take home message?

Writing on the board

Model for working with unconscious processes

Model using questions and answers

Reflection

Model for working with parallel processes

Stage 1: The supervisor’s inner experience

Stage 2: To “freeze” the situation – here and now

Stage 3: Visualise everyone’s experience of the process

Stage 4: Back to the supervisee

Stage 5: Theorizing and inter-subjectivity

Stage 6: How could the work with the client continue

Could all supervisors use this model?

Silent positioning – Life Staging

Ideas underpinning the supervision model Life Staging

Silent positioning in practice

The supervisor – ‘an artistic director’

Taping with Playmobil® figures in supervision

Evaluation as intervention

When can evaluation as intervention be used?

Quantification & dialogue based on past – today – future

Reflection

Feedback & Evaluation in supervision

Feedback

Evaluation

What could be evaluated?

Evaluation focused on the group

Evaluation of individual development

What did you get from the supervision?

What do you want to focus during the next semester?

Evaluation of supervisor, supervision style and model

Discontent with the supervision

What the supervisor may maintain and continue doing

What the supervisor should change

Closing the supervision

Agreement to close

Closing according to the contract

Closing before the end of the contract period

A group searches new supervisors during the supervision

Model for collegial supervision

How to articulate your style of supervision?

Closing words – importance of using process supervision

References

Preface

Today there is a great deal of literature on supervision, in Swedish and in other languages. My own library at home contains around 80 titles on the subject, which is just a selection of what is currently available on the market. Aside from these books I have many articles, dissertations, essays etc. The sources are theoretical, describing various supervision models and methods. Many of the authors of these books are themselves supervisors, describing their own experiences of supervision.

This book is unlike other books on supervision. It describes the model I am using as a supervisor, how it was developed and how I apply it in practice. I’ve been using my own notes since 1983 and continuous evaluations of my supervision groups assessing what I’m doing and potential benefits for the supervisees: What should I continue to do as supervisor? What requires further development? What should be deleted or modified?

I usually ask the supervisees for feedback – this is something that we do together. In such evaluations participants often early on remark that my way of asking questions is somewhat unusual. For example:

“You question. You act differently. You want to understand, and I must reassess my thoughts and feelings and respond on a deeper level than simply saying how I am thinking and feeling. You force me to think harder. To reflect. Not just to talk. It’s tough while it’s going on. You don’t give up. I must really think – by reconsidering once more new perspectives open. In that way it’s uplifting, evolving. But it’s tough. Please continue to be yourself and do ask questions.”

Listening to such narratives for 40 years has also affected me. I was forced to think and reflect to understand what I was doing. To understand my intentions, how and why. These ongoing reflections on my own experiences and the subsequent increased awareness have led to a continuous development of my model of supervision. I’ve realised that there is a rationale for what I am doing, a common thread running through my work, a thought, a theoretical idea. I am not guided by chance or impulse. Supervision is a complex professional task, too liable, demanding and solitary to be undertaken without reflection and awareness of each step to be taken. We must know what we’re doing, why and to what purpose.

Reflecting on my experiences and having an awareness of what I do, have formed the basis for the development of my own style of supervision and the model outlined in this book. This book presents just that. I describe what I do as a supervisor and how. It contains many citations from supervisees who over the years and in a variety of supervisory contexts have commented my work as a supervisor.

What has shaped my model of supervision?

Several factors in combination have been essential to the development of the model:

my interest in and curiosity about the dynamic processes within supervision groups

my curiosity about precisely what I’m doing during the supervision sessions

the ongoing reflections and evaluations I undertook together with the supervisees

the process of supervision of my own supervision.

Based on these experiences I developed models also described in the book:

a model for presenting myself prior to a new assignment.

a model for working with unconscious processes in dialogue with the supervisee.

a model for working with parallel processes.

Why do I author this book – to whom?

The book describes a model of supervision from the introduction at an interview with a presumptive group to the completion of a supervision assignment. For beginners and for students enrolled in a variety of courses in supervision the book may be a source of knowledge on how you may shape and develop a supervision model.

The book should inspire other supervisors to clarify their own style of supervision, to reflect on the aims of their supervision assignment. To reflect on their own experiences and the way in which these direct and shape them as supervisors, in what they are doing or not doing during the assignment. An experienced supervisor may ask: What can we do ourselves and how? We could be brave and ask the supervisees what they have benefited from for their own development in the supervision, and how did the supervision concretely help in their own development as professionals. For readers with greater experience as supervisors some areas described will be familiar and others less so. In any case, the book may serve as a basis for the conscious articulation of and reflection on one’s own style and experiences, to gain insight into what you can do and what might be beyond the scope of the supervision.

The book also addresses the supervisees in supervisory groups. The supervisory sessions may inspire the participants to reflect on what they want to get from their supervision. Becoming aware of the impact of what we do on the individuals with whom we are working is an essential aspect of professional practice, whether you are engaged in treatment, as physicians and teachers, in psychotherapy or in mentoring. In meeting with others who are seeking our help and relying on our practice an attitude of reflection and awareness is needed – we must be conscious of the impact of our own participation and its bearing on a meeting, in establishing a relationship – but also, we must reflect on the aims and outcome of what we’re doing.

Reading of other people’s experiences of supervision and the way supervisors position themselves in the pursuit of an assignment inspires us to consider what we wish to take home from our own supervision. From a participant’s point of view: What expectations do we have of the supervision, both as individuals and as a group? What approach should the supervision take to benefit your own professional development? Are you prepared to reflect on your own experiences and what is happening when you meet clients or colleagues? How are you contributing to what is achieved or not achieved? Do you want to get a lot of questions to understand and challenge yourself, or is the supervision more of an opportunity for rest and relaxation? For a manager who is budgeting supervision, this book may inspire to get more information about how supervision is perceived by the supervisees. The book may also stimulate leaders to find appropriate ways to be involved in a group supervision of their employees. What are the desired outcomes for the group? What sort of contact is required with the supervisor and to what purpose? The book may also help deciding whether the group is better off without the manager’s involvement, perhaps not knowing anything of the content or the process, or even not being present at an evaluation. Perhaps no contact is needed after signing the contract. I’ve led many groups in which I have had no contact with the manager or even knowing who that person is. I always offer an opportunity, but it is the management who has the last word.

Thanks

Writing is a lonely job. It is at times filled with pressure and anxiety as it applies to the creative process. You get writer’s block, or is stuck on a line of thought, and it is also hard to know when to stop writing. Whenever I have found myself in this position I have had the support of my publisher Johan Lindgren. Without his support there would be no book. A big thanks, Johan. Thanks Anna Åström and Eva Broberg for your input and skill in making sure that the original edition in Swedish was clear and easy to read. Thanks to Magnus Koch and P-O Aston for a sensitive translation.

My sincere thanks to all the professional persons I have supervised over the course of more than four decades. Without your opinions and feedback on what I do and do not do, I would not have been able to develop my supervision style presented in this book.

Lilja Cajvert January [email protected]

Introduction

What is supervision?

According to current literature supervision provides tools to professionals to create preconditions for further use and development of their competence. The goal of supervision is to develop a “professional identity”, the specific readiness and capacity to use oneself as a tool in the work with clients (Bernler & Johnsson, 1985; Cajvert, 1998, 2013; Gordan, 1998; Hawkins & Shohet, 2000). Supervision may be defined as a process of learning. Anderson and Goolishian (1992) argue that the purpose of supervision is to build a creative dialogue in which new knowledge and insights encourage seeing the work with a client from as many perspectives as possible. The values and attitudes of the supervisee in relation to the ongoing issue should be a focus of the supervision (Cajvert, 1998). The key to learning in supervision is to reflect on your own experiences while carrying out your professional activities (Van Kessel and Haan , 1993). Supervision is in this sense an ongoing process of life-long learning for the professional (Žorga, 2002) and through the supervision the supervisor and supervisee have a continuous dialogue from which both can learn (Cajvert, 2013).

Bernard and Goodyear (2009) use the term “supervision as a three-person-system” to describe the relationships involved. Supervision involves two separate relations client-therapist and therapist-supervisor. The therapist is the person common to both relations and functions as a channel for both information and processes that involve both relations.

In my view, supervision is the supervisee’s creative space, where all thoughts may be spoken out loud and where there is an opportunity to share experiences and ideas through mutual dialogue between the supervisee and supervisor. Dialogue and reflection increase the supervisees’ self-understanding and provide opportunities to process their own experiences. The supervision is aimed at professional development within a given field and becomes a learning process, in which the supervisees may integrate theory and practice, and in an efficient and conscious way utilise their expertise within their professional work.

Through supervision the collective capacity of the group is utilized, and supervision becomes a quality assurance, benefiting the organisation, the client and the supervisees.

Process supervision help us understanding relationships and processes that we encounter as professionals, an opportunity for reflection on what we do in our encounters with clients, to develop our general competence rather than specific skills. Process supervision has an overall focus, and the supervisee becomes part of the treatment or pedagogic system she or he belongs to. It is a step towards greater professionalism. The group and supervisor may together question all that is in focus, view it from several perspectives before embarking on the next step in the process. Supervision is a creative process carried out within different theories and models. It is life-long learning.

A couple of participants in supervision groups:

“Supervision is a space in which I can be myself. I can raise questions on how I feel in any situation. For example, not what to do when giving a client a negative decision, but more related to how it feels to communicate such a decision. To have the opportunity once a month to reflect on myself and my own experiences.”

“I have high expectations of the supervision. To gain an understanding of why I react as I do in certain cases. Gaining new insights. Helping me to develop.”

Agreements

There are various agreements within the framework of a supervisor assignment. Some of these are written as a formal agreement, while others are more flexible, often oral, pertaining to day-to-day activities during the supervision.

A written contract is often established between a purchasing office and the supervisor, where price and content are agreed.

An agreement is also signed between the supervisor and the leader of the supervision group, stating the conditions of the supervision: timetable, scope, rules if the supervision is not done, the leader’s expectations of the supervision as well as other formal details like invoicing.

Most agreements usually orally negotiated between the supervisor and the leader of the supervision group concern mutual expectations of the supervision in terms of activities, openness, and respect. How should conflicts be resolved and how will the supervisor respond to participants who are either very silent, or very talkative. Furthermore, confidentiality is discussed making sure what is raised during supervision is not disclosed.

A mandate is an agreement even if it is not explicitly stated. If the supervisor at the interview introduces a style and method of supervision and the group chooses to work with that supervisor there is an implicit agreement, or mandate. In my own supervision this entails that the group members are willing to be the focus of attention, can be supervised and they also commit to being active. Above all the mandate allows me as supervisor to work with unconscious processes using a model I have developed, but also to work with other methods I have presented at the interview.

Agreements should be flexible and can be changed according to the needs of the group. A clear mandate at the beginning of the assignment is a necessary condition to create a working alliance and relationship with the group members. The agreement clarifies the purpose of the supervision.

My approach in the book

The book is divided into eight parts, corresponding to what I present in the initial interview with a supervision group and how I present my supervision model.

Synopsis – first interview with a supervision group

The table on the following pages is a summary of the presentation of my model I use in a first interview.

The first interview with a supervision groupFramework of the meeting

Who participates in the meeting?How much time do we have?The supervisor interviews the participants and/or the participants interviews the supervisor.

Comment The supervisor and each group select the form that this meeting will take.

Presentation of each participant

NameEducation, professional experience, current position, and area of workExperience of supervision, positive and less positiveExpectation of the supervisionExpectations on the groupExpectations on yourselfExpectations on the supervisor

Presentation of the supervisor and the supervisor’s model (my own presentation)

My view of supervisionMy theoretical basisWhat tools do I use in the supervision?The importance of all participants being in focus during the supervision sessionsShort description of the supervision process and my own attitude:First, a short lecture on interactive processes and how to work with themWhat is the purpose of my questions, in the spirit of Socrates and Wittgenstein?How the supervision session usually developsImportance of avoiding advice and suggestions to the superviseeWorking as “if this was my client, I would…” derived from Montague Ullman’s model on understanding the language of dreams adapted to supervision workWhat I don’t do in supervisionMy wish to establish contact with the group leader and to what purposeReview and evaluation during supervision. How, when and why?

How do we terminate the supervision?

My strengths and difficulties in supervision

Meta-supervision

Preconditions

Who will participate in the supervision?How many supervision sessions per term?How long is each session?Where will the supervision take place?Cost per supervision sessionIs supervision mandatory or voluntary?What is said in the supervision is not shared with others, or the managementWho volunteers to be contact person for administrative matters with the supervisor?Who participates in the meeting?How much time do we have?The supervisor interviews the participants and/or the participants interviews the supervisor.What expectations do I have of the supervision group and of the superviseeEach participant is willing to be in focus and to be supervisedany participant can raise any question without being judged, condemned or questionedif anyone has an issue with the supervision, this will be evaluated and tackled during the supervision

As supervisor it is my role, assignment, and function to:

Maintain structurePave the way for the agreed goals of the supervisionContribute to creating a working alliance, a safe space and constructive climate in the groupEndorse and challengeSupport and offer advice if requestedEngage all participants in what is going on professionally and in the supervision groupStimulate and initiate further professional developmentOffer theoretical analysis and explanation when requiredBe a model

Focus during the supervision

Client-oriented: who is the client?Task-oriented: what is the issue?Method-oriented: how do we work, how do we progress, what is our attitude, which method?Theme-oriented: different themes are raised in the supervision relating to work, to the group in focus, to the organization, to the leadership etc.Theoretical analysis and explanationProcess-oriented supervision at different levels, with focus on:

The supervisee’s own professional process, thoughts and feelings

Interaction between client and supervisee

Interaction supervisee – supervisor

Interaction supervisee – other participants in the group or with colleagues

Interaction supervisor – supervision group

Interaction within the group at the place of work or during the supervision

1. The Interview

The supervisor

How is a supervision assignment established? Usually a manager, or a person who is part of a management team, contacts a supervisor asking if she/he is available to supervise a group of workers. If the supervisor is interested and available, a time is suggested for an interview.

The interview for a potential supervision assignment can take a variety of forms. It depends on who is doing the interview, who is present during the interview, and what one wants to know about the supervisor and his/her supervision model. Here is a description of how the supervisor might present himself/herself at an interview with a potential supervision group based on my own general technique.

The setting of the interview may vary:

The whole group is present

Some individuals are representatives for the group, being assigned by the group to interview a few supervisors

The manager interviews initially and on a later occasion the whole group

Only the manager interviews the supervisor

Less commonly the group does not interview the supervisor at all, but relies on the description in an ad and prior knowledge of the supervisor.

The persons present at the interview influence the content and questions that the supervisor might ask of the group. The purpose of the interview should be to gain a sufficiently clear idea of one another to be ready to begin a supervision together.

Information prior to the interview

Sometimes a group might request a short introduction from the supervisor prior to the interview (see text in the box below); I write a brief note on what I consider important for the group to know about my experience of supervision, my theoretical basis and my supervision method. Furthermore, it’s important for them to know how I perceive my own and their duties, and our shared responsibility.

At the end I give some references from recently completed and ongoing supervisions. Since I’m developing and changing as a supervisor and references from earlier work are no longer representative. I forward the same text if the group has selected me as supervisor prior to an interview with their manager:

Lilja Cajvert, social worker, Ph.lic., lecturer in social work, reg. psychotherapist and supervisor

Experience of supervisionI have been working as a supervisor in Sweden since 1983, for several government and administrative authorities, in therapeutic and other professional areas such as social services, geriatric care, healthcare, childcare, fostering services, penal establishments, institutional care, schools, family law, institutions for migrant minors etc.

Other relevant experienceI have been a teacher, worked as a supervisor and been an academic examiner in university social studies departments, M.A. programs, supervisor training and psychotherapy courses. Since 2015, I have run courses of supervision education in psychosocial work at the Department of Social Work, Göteborg University. I have also since 1998 periodically undertaken supervision internationally in post-conflict countries. Between 2012–2015 I took part in an EU project that developed a European standard dictionary and matrix of competence for supervision and coaching within Europe.

Basic theory and supervision methodMy theoretical basis is in object-relations theory and attachment theory emphasising the importance of relationships for the development of the individual, and systems theory that stresses a holistic view seeing everyone within her social context. My general attitude derives from Wittgenstein, Socrates and Buber’s philosophy, as well as phenomenology. I utilise a variety of supervision theories and supervision methods to develop the dialogue and process within the framework of process supervision, method supervision and task or case supervision. Within supervision the supervisees are given the opportunity to reflect upon and question their task and what is being demanded of them, to use their resources and knowledge/methods and in this way broaden their views and see what unfolds in a variety of perspectives. I work innovatively and develop methods and techniques that I apply practically in supervision and continue to develop on a theoretical level in my texts.

Focus during supervision