Essay - Counseling Supervisors the Nature and Principles of Counseling Supervision the...

Counseling Supervisors

The Nature and Principles of Counseling Supervision

The Purposes and Roles of Supervision

According to Michael Jacobs - In Search of Supervision: In ***** of a Therapist ***** "supervision refers to the opportunity for the counselor or therapist to discuss her or his w*****k with a more experienced colle*****gue." And certainly, in the counseling profession, supervision is not the equivalent of "line management" - and indeed there is, Jacobs asserts (1)...an establ*****hed norm...that counselors should continue to be supervised throughout their working life." In the codes of the British Association ***** Counselling, *****re is a "minimum of an hour and a half a month for supervision" for all *****.

***** according to Supervising Counsellors: Issues of Responsibility (Wheeler, et al, 2001), the purpose of ***** primarily is "safeguarding the client" by "promoting the development and wellbeing of the counselor," and by "monitoring" the counselor's work, and by "educating / training" the counselor so he or s***** i***** up to the important tasks at h***** (44).

T*****rough the fact of his ultimate responsibility to the safeguarding of the *****, the role of the supervisor implies a "duty to uphold ***** profession," which takes in a bigger picture th*****n merely ***** and overseeing the trainee. The code in counseling supervision which is publ*****hed by ***** British Association for Counseling (BAC) (46) emphasizes that "counseling supervision is not about 'policing'" the trainee; or in o*****r w*****ds, the superv*****or is not ***** not to be about "checking up on you."

Ra*****r, the ***** states that ***** ***** of the trainee in t***** interaction with a supervisor is ***** develop a relationship in which the ***** "is regarded as a trusted colleague who can help you to reflect on ***** dimensions ***** your practice, and through that process, to develop ***** ***** role." *****se *****s will not emerge overnight, Wheeler writes (47): "Time must be taken to form a rel*****tionship in which ***** truth can ***** told" as to the open lines of communication which must ex*****t for the supervisee ***** speak c*****idly ***** his or her clients and their sessions.

Wheeler ********** ***** (45) that the "essence ***** ***** supervisory relationship is the process of human exchange." And it st*****s to logic and reason then that, as Wheeler puts it, the "quality of the relationship" ***** the ***** has with the supervisor is a "signifi*****t determining f*****ctor in the quality of the learning that takes place."

On ***** subject of learning, in Michael Carroll's book, Counsel*****g Supervision: Theory, Skills and Practice, the author makes no bones about ***** fact the he believes ***** most important role a supervisor can play is as a teac*****, an educator, insofar ***** ***** supervisee / trainee's development is concerned. On page 27, Carroll candidly admits his position "sounds like a terrible choice," but, if he h*****d the option between a "good counselor who was a poor *****, or a ***** ***** who was a good educ*****t*****," he would prefer the "latter" as supervisor.

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