Role of Supervision

Role of Supervision

Introduction

Supervision in itself is a very diverse topic and its meaning differs across the situations in which it is applied. Supervision as defined by Bernard and Goodyear (2004) is, “a training or intervention given to one or more junior members by a senior member of the same profession. The relationship between the supervisor and supervisee can be evaluated with various appraisal techniques; it can last for long periods of time, and serves the purpose of enhancing and improving the professional skills of the juniors. It also serves to evaluate the quality of the professional services that are offered to the customers and keeps a check on those who enter the profession” (NFATTC, 2005).

The term supervision can be used in many perspectives as it is versatile in nature, and it needs to be modified according to the situation, the customers, supervisor, or the supervisees involved in the supervision process. The above quoted definition of supervision is also incomplete in a sense that it does not mention the different methods, models or the theories involved in the supervision process and allows it to be interpreted by the individuals involved in the supervision process on their own.

Role and Functions of Supervision in Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Being a member of the mental health community the foremost and most prominent role of an individual within counseling would be supervision. Supervision in the field of clinical health counseling is performed by almost two thirds of the counseling psychologists, yet some of those psychologists have themselves received professional training in the appliance of those supervisory skills.

It was the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Accreditation which emphasized the need of adding supervision as a skill in the doctoral and internship level accredited programs. Hence, the American Psychological Association stressed the need of having supervision to be a part of the formal education of the psychologists. American Psychological Association has covered a wide array of responsibilities of supervisors including, evaluation, monitoring, instruction, modeling, advising, consultation and support, to promote the self-sufficiency in the supervisee and accountability to the profession, clients, and the society at large. Supervision also is concerned with the ethical and legal issues that might arise and therefore further stresses the need of effectual training in the mental health profession.

At the end of an individual's internship period, the supervision does not come to an end. The interactions between the senior counselors and the junior supervisees can aid in providing even more valuable and beneficial perspectives and knowledge across different situations, and an aiding work environment where the juniors can ask about their issues. Supervision is not only a requirement for the American counselors, but the members of the UK Council of Psychotherapy also need to apply for their membership after every five years and have to affirm their source and style of supervision that they are implementing in their practical work environments.

Models of Supervision

There are various supervision models that are in practice including triadic, group and individual with each ...