The Complete Systemic Supervisor

Context, Philosophy, and Pragmatics

Thomas C. Todd, Cheryl L. Storm

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN:
  9781118508985
  9781118508978
• Edition: 2
• eBook ISBN:
  9781118509197
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Psychotherapy
• Index: Psychology

The Second Edition of the definitive text on systemic clinical supervision has been fully updated and now includes a range of practical online resources.

• New edition of the definitive text on systemic clinical supervision, fully updated and revised, with a wealth of case studies throughout
• Supported by a range of practical online resources
• New material includes coverage of systemic supervision outside MFT and international training contexts – such as healthcare, schools and the military
• Top-level contributors include those practicing academic, agency, and privately contracted supervision with novice to experienced therapists
• The editors received a prestigious award in 2015 from the American Family Therapy Academy for their contribution to systemic supervision theory and practice

1
Core Premises and a Framework for Systemic/Relational Supervision

Cheryl L. Storm and Thomas C. Todd

Some people collect memorabilia highlighting particular moments in their life, while others collect something for its particular beauty; still others collect things they are passionately interested in; this book is the culmination of our collection of supervision ideas and practices. Our collection began when we noticed that our experiences and those of many of our supervisory colleagues and supervisees were inconsistent with what we read about supervision in the literature (Storm, Todd, Sprenkle, & Morgan, 2001). It includes experiences from those supervisors we trained and supervisees we worked with and our own experiences as supervisors and trainers of supervisors. We invited supervisors who were passionate and highly knowledgeable about various aspects of systemic supervision to contribute to our collection and incorporated results from the limited research on supervision. Our collection brought together ideas and methods reflecting the day-to-day practice of systemic supervision. From this current collection and ideas that have served us well over the years, we culled a set of guiding premises that we offer readers. The hope is that these premises assist readers in transitioning from a therapist to a supervisor who practices systemic supervision.

Core Premises of Systemic Supervision

How is systemic supervision distinct from supervision in the broader therapeutic community? Most agree that supervision is where one professional (who we call “supervisee”) hoping for guidance enters into a learning relationship with another professional (who we call “supervisor”) with a mutual goal of advancing the supervisee’s clinical and professional competencies while ensuring quality services to clients. Although systemic supervisors perform the same normative (i.e., gatekeeping), restorative (i.e., mentor and evaluator), and formative (i.e., developing supervisees’ competence and capabilities) functions as other supervisors (Milne, Aylott, Fitzpatrick, & Ellis, 2008), they are always mindful of their systemic/relational paradigm and the following key premises that we believe underlay systemic supervision. None are more important than the others since they intersect with one another in complex ways.

Contextualization of supervision invites multiple views and acknowledges complexity

Our first core premise is that contextualization of supervision invites multiple views and acknowledges the complexity of the supervision process. Contextualizing supervision is paying ongoing attention to the unique, specific context in which supervision occurs, including considering the many diverse perspectives of stakeholders and participants. As supervisors juggle the multiple demands and obligations of stakeholders and participants, they develop supervisory cognitive complexity. “Cognitive complexity, broadly defined, is the ability to ask questions, admit uncertainty, examine beliefs, tolerate ambiguity, listen carefully, suspend judgments, and adjust opinions” (Granello, Kindsvatter, Granello, Underfer-Babalis, & Hartwig Moorhead, 2008, p. 35). Contextualization contributes to a rich in-depth understanding of the context of supervision and of therapy. Supervision becomes more meaningful and effective when supervisors ask, “Have I invited and considered the relevant perspectives?” Overall, supervision is more nuanced, tailored to the specific context with supervisors having an understanding of the complexity involved.

The perspectives are considered of a broad spectrum of stakeholders and participants including but not limited to supervisors, supervisees, other professionals, clients, institutional personnel, the systemic practice community, educators, and regulators. (See The Systemic Supervisor Electronic Resources for guidelines in locating relevant contexts for consideration.) Perspectives are highly related to personal aspects of their lives including families of origin, conjugal families, and other meaningful relational dynamics; emotional reactions; motives, values, attitudes, and philosophies; biographies or stories; and socially situated identities and influences. Viewpoints vary by professional settings—those in private practices are different than those in organizations, such as community agencies, healthcare settings, churches, and so on. The perspectives of stakeholders and participants are influenced by the sociohistorical place and time of supervision, since supervision has a particular meaning and certain ideas and values are predominant. For example, where collectivist ideas are central, supervisee confidentiality will have a different meaning and value than in individualistic societies.

Contextualization of supervision can be a simultaneously challenging and fascinating process due to the sheer number, multiplicity, and differences in the perspectives. The perspectives are always in flux—with new perspectives continually emerging, variations evolving, and initial viewpoints frequently being discarded. Contextualization requires systemic supervisors to be open to and curious about many differing viewpoints and to thoughtfully reflect on them, including their own and their supervisees’ understanding of them and their implications. This is particularly important because:

…the very nature of being a supervisor lends itself to being surrounded by others (primarily trainees) who typically accept what we have to say without direct challenge. Over time, we may begin to develop a (false) sense of security, believing that our perspectives are “right”—or at least forgetting to stop and consider alternative perspectives.

(Granello et al., 2008, p. 42)

Consider how contextualizing in this situation leads to a nuanced, complex understanding of the specific context for supervision. A supervisor was working with three supervisees in group supervision during their practicum at an addiction agency serving substance abusing teens and their families. ¹ These supervisees have very different personal and academic backgrounds: One, a male, doctoral psychology student in his mid-thirties from a conservative Irish family, is in long-term recovery from drugs and alcohol and has worked in an adult drug rehabilitation program. He has a certificate as an addictions counselor but very little coursework or experience in systemic therapy or with teens. The other two, both female, are masters students pursuing degrees in couple, marriage, and family therapy. One is from a mixed Northern European background, married with a previous teaching career and no individual or family history of addiction. The other is much younger and comes from a close-knit Latino family in which a cousin who was a heroin addict died from an overdose despite repeated intervention from the extended family. Note the different perspectives on addiction of these three supervisees, as well as the variety of academic and life experience they bring to supervision, all of which should be considered by the supervisor.

To add further complexity, what if you were the practicum supervisor at the academic program in systemic therapy where the young Latina student is the only student in your supervision group that is placed in an addiction agency? The other members are placed in a youth services program, in a public school program, and a program for homeless families. How will the contexts of the two supervision groups be different for the supervisors and for the supervisee? What if the agency supervisor and the university supervisor have very different views on treating addiction? Different emphasis on self-of-the-therapist work? Different knowledge, beliefs, and experience about Latino families? Not only do both supervisors need to be prepared to juggle and attend to the complexity of the supervisees in their respective contexts, they also need to help each supervisee manage the same juggling process, within and across multiple contexts, including personal and professional.

Responsiveness to the web of relationships improves process and outcome

Our second core premise is that supervision is embedded in and continually affected by a complex web of intersecting therapeutic, professional, and personal relationships. Supervisors who proactively respond to the effects and reverberations of these many relationships positively impact the process and outcome of supervision, including the supervision relationship and supervisee learning. Managing this complexity is a challenge, and supervisors soon discover that a lot more is going on behind the scene beyond simple case management and therapy. Client relationships continue to be in the foreground; however, systemic supervisors continually consider the client–therapist and supervisee–supervisor relationships in addition to a myriad of others that may be relevant. As they do so, systemic supervisors reflect on the web of relationships and ask: “What are the effects of my actions on the various relationships?”

A strong supervision relationship in which the supervisor keeps an eye on power and diversity is especially important in recognizing and understanding the effects and their reverberations within the web of relationships. When supervision relationships are strong, it is easier to work through the effects and ramifications on the supervision and therapy process, including relational and ethical dilemmas that can occur. New supervisors are often reluctant to admit that they have significant power and that the perception of this power by supervisees and others complicates supervision. Unfortunately, denial and minimization of this power typically make the supervisory process very confusing. While we support a collaborative relationship in supervision, it is important to acknowledge the power inherent in the supervisory role, including the effects of power on supervisors and supervisees’ relationships and how their responses may reflect privilege, marginalization, or oppression. Fortunately, for many new supervisors, the memory of being a supervisee and being conscious of power dynamics is still relatively fresh. Systemic supervisors ask, “Regardless of my self-perception, how might I be seen by my supervisee? What can I do to acknowledge the sources of my power and to have a transparent discussi...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Series page
• Title page
• Copyright page
• The Systemic Supervisor Electronic Resources
• About the Editors
• About the Contributors
• Foreword: Supervision in Today’s Complex World
• Preface
• 1 Core Premises and a Framework for Systemic/Relational Supervision
• Part 1: Context – Multiple Perspectives
• Part 2: Philosophy – Preferred Ideas, Values, and Beliefs
• Part 3: Relationships – Power, Problems, and Complexity
• Part 4: Pragmatics – Practices, Methods, and Gatekeeping
• Part 5: Training Supervisors
• Index
• End User License Agreement