Creative Supervision Across Modalities

Theory and applications for therapists, counsellors and other helping professionals

Anna Chesner, Lia Zografou

• Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781849053167
• eBook ISBN: 9780857006967
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Psychotherapy
• Index: Psychology

Creative methods can bring depth and new perspectives to the supervision process. This book proposes that a firm understanding of supervision theory is the vital foundation to utilising the power of creativity in reflection and learning, and demonstrates that these creative approaches are applicable across disciplines, providing useful reflective tools across and beyond the arts therapies.

Part One of the book provides a theoretical approach to supervision, with a presentation and discussion of the philosophy, theory and place of creative technique. Part Two demonstrates the fluency of creative approaches to supervision with examples of application within different fields, including dramatherapy, psychodrama, family therapy, art therapy, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, dance and movement therapy and church ministry, provided by experienced practitioners from within those fields.

Based in the practice and philosophy of the Creative Approaches to Supervision Diploma course run by the editors and taught at the London Centre for Psychodrama Group and Individual Psychotherapy, this book is a comprehensive resource for anyone with an interest in supervision across the caring and educational disciplines.

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

LIA ZOGRAFOU AND ANNA CHESNER

Our intention with this book is to share reflections and experiences. In the first part of the book we highlight the theoretical underpinnings of the Creative Approaches to Supervision training that runs in London through the London Centre for Psychodrama, and we describe some of the techniques and approaches that we have been developing and refining over the past few years.

In the second part of the book we have invited graduates of our training course to share from their own developing supervision practice. We have chosen practitioners with a variety of theoretical and professional backgrounds in order to celebrate our core belief that intentional focus on creativity enhances supervisory practice, not only in the specialist domains of the arts therapies and creative psychotherapies, but also across various practices and clinical modality. The diversity represented here draws from the fields of systemic family therapy, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, art and dramatherapy, psychodrama psychotherapy and theological education.

We are in process. Neither we as a training team nor our graduates claim to have achieved a final point in our learning. We believe that the process of sharing our growing edge and our learning to date mirrors the very principle of supervision, in which current practice is reflected upon, articulated and explored, providing the foundation for further experimentation and learning.

We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the many creative practitioners, innovators and supervisors who have contributed to the field. We draw heavily on their work and continue to learn from their contributions.

Sue Jennings and Anna Chesner ran the first version of this training in the 1990s. When Sue Jennings retired from it in 2008, Lia Zografou joined Anna Chesner on the teaching team. Sue Jennings’ passion for creativity has inspired more than one generation of dramatherapists and play therapists. Her theoretical, practical and philosophical contributions to the field are immense. We continue to teach one of her discreet techniques, the Mandala, as part of the current version of this course (Jennings 1999), but the subtle presence of her contribution to the field is more pervasive than this.

We also recognise and thank Alida Gersie (Gersie and King1990; Gersie 1997) in particular for her work with story and story making in dramatherapy. Her six-part story making technique, developed over many years as a clinical intervention and widely used by dramatherapists and other practitioners, is the inspiration for Anna Chesner’s 6S structure. She generously met with Anna to discuss the principles behind this new application of the six-part structure for supervision.

For the ritual of playback theatre, which underpins Lia Zografou’s 4Es, we acknowledge and thank Jonathan Fox and Jo Salas (Salas 1993). One of the early pioneers of the method, Francis Batten, developed a playback rehearsal technique using a similar structure.

In the field of creative supervision we acknowledge Mooli Lahad, whose accessible writing in Creative Supervision (Lahad 2000) continues to be a source of inspiration. We have used his term ‘small world’ for one of the key techniques of sculpting in miniature we teach on the course.

Another much-appreciated technique taught on the training as Cycle of Change is based on Liz White’s Seasons of Change (White 2002), which we have adapted as a valuable action-based supervision tool for working with endings. We acknowledge also Ann Hale’s Sociometric Cycle, which Liz used as the basis for her Seasons of Change structure (Hale cited in White 2002, p.94).

We are also deeply indebted to our colleagues Ditty Dokter and Phil Jones (Dokter and Jones 2008) from the field of dramatherapy and Joy Schaverien from the field of art psychotherapy (Schaverien and Case 2007), whose contributions have enriched the theory and practice of supervision as applied to the arts therapies.

Our list of sources of inspiration would not be complete without the mention of the contributions of Hawkins and Shohet (2012), Williams (1995) and Stoltenberg and McNeill (2010), whose models and theoretical perspectives provide the backbone of our approach to supervision. For a detailed exposition of their models please see Chapter 2.

Finally, we would like to thank all our students and supervisees who have inspired and creatively challenged us through the years.

How to use the book

The book is intended for the student, the beginner, as well as for the more seasoned supervisor who is searching for ideas and inspiration to enhance her practice. After we introduce the underpinnings and some examples of our approach in Part 1, we offer a collection of chapters on various applications of creative supervision. These chapters in Part 2 of the book can be read in a pick’n’mix way, according to your own interest in terms of setting and practice modality. Some of the references to the theoretical anchor points, philosophy and techniques in Part 2 will make more sense if Part 1 is read first.

The contributions in Part 2 highlight several challenges in the application of creative supervision, covering a wide range of themes from individual and group supervision. Pushing conceptual boundaries and celebrating an eclectic approach to systemic psychotherapy supervision is Hannah Sherbersky’s aim in Chapter 6, where she demonstrates the theoretical and practical synergy between systemic and creative approaches. The chapter demonstrates how creative supervision can support systemic family therapy in individual and group settings.

Therapy with traumatised children presents Cath Wakeman’s supervisee with the challenge of encountering and containing seemingly unbearable material. In Chapter 7 Cath Wakeman presents, in dialogue with her art therapist supervisee, her efforts in building an imaginative bridge with her supervisee in order to reach deeper understanding of both herself and her clients. The chapter illustrates how creativity provides the tools that make understanding and knowing possible and fruitful.

In Chapter 8 the interplay of verbal and non-verbal language is the concern of Céline Butté and Fiona Hoo, two dance movement therapists who combine awareness of physicality and creative methods in their practice with supervisees who work in education and with children with special needs. Their work is informed by their intention to ‘know’ in a different manner and demonstrate how a creative approach allows them to explore that in an embodied way.

Group supervision is Jane Leach’s domain in Chapter 9, where she explores the themes of vulnerability, spirituality, faith and power within the context of theological education. Addressing existential issues of ‘being’ and ‘knowing’ within religious tradition, Jane Leach approaches the challenges of life in ministry through the use of creative methods, demonstrating how dramatic ritual structures and symbolisation provide a language that is not only accessible but also richly evocative and facilitative of change.

Denise McHugh explores the delicate nature of the relationship between supervisor and supervisee in Chapter 10, drawing on psychoanalytically informed thinking. Her focus is on creating a ‘potential space’ in supervision, whereby attunement to the subtle dynamics of trust is enhanced by the use of creative methods. Attachment theory and contributions from learning theory interweave and find creative expression in her efforts to support her supervisees toward greater understanding of their clients.

In Chapter 11 Eleni Ioannidou takes us on a journey of learning as a supervisor. She demonstrates how she adjusts her supervisory interventions according to the developmental levels of her supervisees and celebrates a parallel journey of personal transformation as a psychodrama psychotherapist supervising novice psychodrama practitioners. Applying her psychodramatic skills and understanding of role theory, she reflects on how supervision can contribute to the greater reflective and reflexive ability of both supervisor and supervisee.

Finally, in Chapter 12 Amanda Strevett-Smith takes inspiration from Shakespeare, as she supports her art psychotherapist supervisee on a journey of personal and professional transformation through a maze of frustrations and traumas in the forensic field. The chapter demonstrates how a dramatherapist’s sensibility may be effective in appropriating dramatic language and applying it to address the impact of this difficult setting on the practitioner and supervisor.

We wish you an enjoyable and fruitful experience exploring this book!

References

Dokter, D. and Jones, P. (eds) (2008) Supervision of Dramatherapy. East Sussex: Routledge.

Gersie, A. and King, N. (1990) Storymaking in Education and Therapy. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Gersie, A. (1997) Reflections on Therapeutic Storymaking: The Use of Stories in Groups. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Hawkins, P. and Shohet, R. (2012) Supervision in the Helping Professions (4th edition). Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Jennings, S. (1999) ‘Theatre-based Supervision: A Supervisory Model for Multidisciplinary Supervisees.’ In E. Tselikas-Portmann (ed.) Supervision and Dramatherapy. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Lahad, M. (2000) Creative Supervision. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Salas, J. (1993) Improvising Real Life: Personal Story in Playback Theatre. New Paltz, NY: Tusitala Publishing.

Schaverien, J. and Case, C. (2007) Supervision of Art Psychotherapy. London: Routledge.

Stoltenberg, C.D. and McNeill, B.W. (2010) IDM Supervision. New York: Routledge.

Williams, A. (1995) Visual and Active Supervision. Baltimore, MD: Norton.

White, L. (2002) The Action Manual: Techniques for Enlivening Group Process and Individual Counselling. Toronto: Liz White.

PART 1

AN INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE
SUPERVISION
across MODALITIES

Chapter 2

PHILOSOPHICAL AND THEORETICAL UNDERPINNINGS

ANNA CHESNER AND LIA ZOGRAFOU

In this chapter we present a summary of the main supervision...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Praise
• Of Related Interest
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Chapter 1 Introduction
• Part 1 An Introduction To Creative Supervision Across Modalities
• Part 2 Applications of Creative Supervision Across Modalities
• Notes
• Contributors
• Subject Index
• Author Index
• Extract