Personal Philosophy and Supervision Forms

Comparison between Approach to Counseling and Approach to Supervision

In the practice of psychology, counselling is the process through which a practitioner facilitates the personal and/or interpersonal fractioning of a client for an indefinite period (Capuzi & Stauffer, 2016). Supervision is the process through which a senior practitioner in a psychology field superintends over the professional activities of a junior practitioner (Goldnerg, 2015). The two parties of supervision under this definition are the supervisor and the supervisee (Capuzi & Stauffer, 2016). Supervision can be conducted through electronic means albeit with a careful ethical consideration on privacy issues (Shires & Vrklevski, 2015; Glosoff, Reinfro-michel & Nagarajan, 2016). Rigorous regulations of the concept of supervision have been introduced, and these include minimum qualification for and certification of supervisors who are dubbed as Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS) (Litiou, 2015). 

Congruencies

The first point of congruency is that the two obligations emanate from my professional obligation as a psychologist practitioner. They are, therefore, undertaken carefully and conscientiously. Over and above obligational duties as set down by the precepts of counselling and supervision, I also out of a moral obligation seek to go the extra mile in the fulfillment of the two obligations. The second point of congruency is adherence to ethics. The professional conduct in counselling is guided by well-set ethics by the APA (Campbell et al., 2010). Similarly, the practice of supervision has a set of ethics as set and published by the Center for Credentialing Education (CCE) (Litiou, 2015). This, therefore, creates another congruency of a commitment to be bound by the ethical obligations as emanating from the two codes of ethics. 

Differences  

Among the major difference between my approaches toward the counselling as opposed to supervision is the commercial aspect. Whereas the practice of psychology is both a professional affiliation and a vocational calling, it is also a commercial venture (Shires & Vrklevski, 2015). At the end of the day, there is a bottom line to be considered. Even the best professional practice in any sector cannot survive without being commercially viable. This affects the element of prioritization between the two distinct obligations of counselling and supervision (Shires & Vrklevski, 2015). Therefore, when counselling and supervision cannot be done contemporaneously, counselling takes precedence. 

The second point of divergence in approaches is consideration towards the respective clients in counselling and supervision. Counselling is conducted towards a patient or kindred client. All rules of decorum, separation of personal and professional feelings as well as professional and legal restrictions and obligations come into play (Goldnerg, 2015). On the other hand, supervision is conducted towards either a current or future colleague. There is, therefore, an element of informal camaraderie involved that would not apply in counselling. 

Finally, counseling assists one patient and those kindred to the patient (Goldnerg, 2015). Supervision on the other hand entails assisting several patients who will be handles in the future by the supervisee. It also entails an improvement to the future of the profession as well as ensuring continued respect towards it. Albeit prioritization from a commercial perspective tilts towards counselling obligations as far as paying clients are concerned, going the extra mile due to professional inclinations is more of supervisory obligations. 

Specific Supervision Models Utilized

Psychodynamic Approach to Supervision

The psychodynamic approach to supervision is among my primary modes on supervision. This approach falls under the broad categorization called Psychotherapy-Based Supervision Models (Ladany & O’Shaughnessy, 2015). This is a practical approach to clinical supervision where as a supervisor, I consider my supervisee as a patient during counselling. During this process, there are three main approaches to the collection of data for use in the supervision process (Ladany & O’Shaughnessy, 2015). The first is the patient-centered approach, which has its genesis from Sigmund Freud, and entails the observation of the patient in the attempt to check how the patient reacts to the supervisee. Among the fundamental notables include the general feeling of comfort for the patient, the capacity to open up and defence mechanism adopted by the patient against the supervisee (Ladany & O’Shaughnessy, 2015). 

The second is the supervisee-centered approach (Ladany & O’Shaughnessy, 2015). In this approach, the supervisor collects data based on the character and conduct of the supervisee during a counselling session or other sessions relating to the practice of psychology. The final approach entails the supervisor-centered data collection (Ladany & O’Shaughnessy, 2015). This is slightly different from the other two approaches as it is not observatory but internal. It entails how I feel about the counselling session being conducted by the supervisee. The data collected from the three methods will then be used to evaluate, rate, and counsel the supervisee (Ladany & O’Shaughnessy, 2015). 

Cognitive-Behavioral Supervision

This is a more interactive form of psychotherapy-based approach to supervision and entails superintending the development of the behavioral aspects of the supervisee (Ladany & O’Shaughnessy, 2015). As indicated above, counselling and other psychological practice activities rise over and above simple academic learning. A psychology practitioner over and above education and certification has to learn how to behave and the conduct regiments that are engendered during sessions (Ladany & O’Shaughnessy, 2015). A practitioner can know all the right things to say but through conduct creates a barrier with a patient. Through cognitive-behavioral supervision, I seek to assess the behavior of the supervisee during sessions and assist the supervisee to develop them towards perfecting counselling sessions (Ladany & O’Shaughnessy, 2015). As with all cognitive processes, this is a progressive process undertaken over a period of time with the requisite behavior being learned and perfected by the supervisee.

Integrated Development Model (IDM)

As opposed to the two models listed herein above, this is a developmental model of supervision that entails dealing with a supervisee according to the level of development on the profession (Calvert, Crowe, & Gerenyer, 2016). This model was developed by Stoltenberg and later advanced by both Stoltenberg and Delworth. Several improved versions of the same have been published over time. IDM categorizes supervisees into three major developmental levels. Level one consist of entry level students and first time supervisees who are in most cases highly motivated, eager to learn but extremely anxious and fearful of being evaluated (Calvert, Crowe, & Gerenyer, 2016). I usually put these factors into consideration when working with such, similar to the treatment meted to a handicap player. 

Level two supervisees have a higher academic and experience qualification and are also aware of the elementary elements of supervision. They have however, not developed the cognitive secondary qualifications of active practice especially in interaction with patients and other clients. Finally, level three supervisees have both the academic acumen and cognitive knowledge and experience in active practice. Their temperament, objectivity, and motivation are well horned and matured. Therefore, their consideration as a supervisee is much more stringent than the other two categories. 

Developmental level as a supervisor, its impacts on my view of supervision and personal supervision model

As indicated herein above, supervision is more of mentorship than teaching. As a supervisor, I have been through the processes that my respective supervisees have gone through hence my capacity to understand them, empathize with them and also properly deal with the issues pertaining to them. This is premised on the fact that my developmental journey as a supervisor commenced with formal graduate level psychological studies. At this level, I underwent several levels of supervision from my seniors in the profession. This was followed by specialized psychological education at a master’s level. Finally, after aspiring to be a supervisor, under the precepts of CCE, I underwent a supervisory course, which also included rigorous supervision. It is after this entire process that I was certified as an ACS and began my practice as a supervisor. Later I undertook further education and attained a Doctor of Psychology Degree. 

There are, therefore, three major bearing factors that impact my performance as a supervisor. The first two are my personality as an individual and a practitioner in the field of psychology. This creates the moral fiber upon which my mode of operation in supervision is premised. Over and above what I have learned through training, my decisions and activities draw a lot from who I am. The second is formal training as a supervisor. This gives me the technical knowhow on what to or not to do during the course of supervision. The technical elements of supervision are fundamental to the modeling of future practitioners in the field of psychology (Litiou, 2015). Finally, my experiences through the academic learning of psychology and kindred disciplines, my experiences during my years under supervisors in the profession, and my experiences as a supervisor are a major third bearing factor. This mainly affects my relationship with my supervisees over and above my academic training as a supervisor. They also affect my temperaments as I deal with supervisees who are in different levels of development. It is premised on these three bearing factors that my primary model of supervision as aforesaid is IDM. 

Significance of Being a Multiculturally Competent Supervisor 

There is a very high correlation between counselling and supervision when looked at from the perspective of the supervisor being the counsellor and the supervisee being a client (Creaner & Timilak, 2015). There are, therefore, two major aspects involved; the input and the output. The input as shown above involves the collection of the data emanating from the supervisee and the sessions so conducted by the supervisee. The output involves how the supervisor deals with the supervisee through instruction, advice, and professional mentoring (Creaner & Timilak, 2015). From both perspectives of input and output, cultural differences are major bearing factors. 

The first fundamental element of culture is language. Whereas there is a fundamental assumption that all American students understand the English language, the level of understanding is relative (Creaner & Timilak, 2015). Further, the client may also be having a limited understanding of the language which will have an adverse effect on the session. As a supervisor, therefore, it is fundamental for me to appreciate and work around the complications that emanate from variances in the understanding of and use of the English language. Further, under some cultural affiliations, terms and words that would be generally acceptable would create unexpected reactions, which are liable to being misunderstood. For example, in a session where a supervisee is handling an Islamic client and mentions a pig perchance in an example, there will be a different reaction compared to if the client subscribed to another religion (Creaner & Timilak, 2015). 

Similarly, the reaction might also be the same when the supervisee is of Islamic descent. The capacity to understand the different cultural derivatives will be necessary for an accurate discernment and recording of what took place and how it ought to be handled. Finally, my cultural background as a supervisor will also be a factor bearing on supervision in a multicultural environment. 

By its very nature, culture is biased towards congruency and against diversity. In a situation where my cultural background as a supervisor is congruent with that of the client but divergent from that of the supervisee, it is possible and indeed probable for this to come into play in my perception of the ensuing scenarios ( Niño & Davey, 2016). Therefore, just as I need to learn how to deal with cultural divergences in the supervisees and the client, it is fundamental to learnt to recognize, appreciate, and check the issues directly emanating from my cultural background ( Niño &, Davey, 2016). 

Professional Disclosure Statement

Herein are my professional particulars as a supervisor 

Name and Title _____________ ________________ PsyD, LPC, ACS

I am a licensed professional counselor (LPC) under the terms set by the American Psychology Association. I am also an Approved Clinical Supervisor under the terms set by the Center for Credentialing Education (CCE). From an academic perspective, my highest academic qualification is Doctor of Psychology. 

My main areas of professional competence are psychiatric analysis, counselling and Cognitive therapy (CT).

I have been offering professional supervision for the last 17 years in different fields and over different levels of competences. This includes supervisees from undergraduate student level to a master’s level licensed practitioners. 

My supervision process entails three main elements, assessment, evaluation and mentorship of the supervisee. Assessment entails one on one meetings, sitting in actual sessions, and perusing records. Evaluation entails a careful analysis of the data collected during assessment. Mentorship is the application of the outcome of evaluation upon the supervisee. 

Over and above the ethical obligations emanating from the professional Ethics as set by the APA, I also adhere to the ethics specifically set for supervision by the CCE. 

The main purpose of supervision from the perspective of the supervisee over and above accomplishment of CCE terms is the betterment of the psychology profession as well as assisting the junior members of the profession achieve their highest potential. 

To achieve my primary duties and responsibilities pertaining to assessment, evaluation and mentorship, the supervisee has the duty to be honest, available, forthright and committed to the supervisory program. 

To ensure ease of recording and access of information, my supervisory data will be collected, stored and retrieved through a secure IT system accessible only to myself by with limited access to the supervisee. This limited access will also form the primary communication mode between myself and the supervisee to ensure confidentiality of communication and a record thereof. Some aspects of assessment can also be conducted online through this secured system. 

A reasonable per unit hour remuneration rate is to be agreed between myself and the supervisee premised on several factors including number and length of sessions, distance and level of the supervisee. 

The main method of supervision will be premised on the psychodynamic approach to supervision model. 

The duration of the contract will be determined primary by CCE regulations as per the level of the supervisee. 

In the case of any emergencies, the supervisee shall be free to result to the mainstream communication systems such as mobile telephony over and above the mode of communication indicated above. Maximum rapidity will be implemented in the response thereto.

In the case of any disagreement between myself and the supervisee on any issues relating to the professional relationship, industry resolution mechanisms under the APA and CCE will be the point of first result. Other avenues can only be reverted to when this absolutely fails. 

Supervisory contract

This deed of Agreement is made this _______ day of ________ 2016 between __________________ (Supervisor) and _________________ (Supervisee).

WHEREAS the supervisee has carefully perused the Professional Disclosure Statement of the Supervisor and subsequently conducted due diligence thereof.

AND WHEREAS the Supervisor has perused the application for supervision submitted by the supervisee and is in approval thereof

NOW THIS DEED WITNESETH that the supervisor and supervisee hereby enter into a supervisory agreement as per the terms and conditions indicated herein below, the terms of supervision as set by the Center for Credentialing Education (CCE). 

Terms and Conditions 

The Supervisor and the supervisee shall undertake all the duties and responsibilities as reduced in the aforesaid Professional Disclosure Statement which attached herewith (Annexure 1) at the fixed price of US$170 per hour. 

By virtue of this contractual relationship, the Supervisee will subject to requisite notice have access to the vast technological advancements and other facilities available at the supervisor’s practice a subsidized prices. The Supervisee also attains the right to cite the supervisor during the duration on this contractual relationship. 

Assessment of the supervisee shall take place at the supervisees practice for one hour after every fortnight. Evaluation of the assessment will take place at the convenience of the supervisor with a record of the duration it will take. Finally, mentorship sessions will be set between the two parties as and when it is deemed expedient. 

The nature of the assessment shall be determined immediately after the previous session. This will vary from counselling of an individual, groups therapy sessions and an analysis of previous sessions through joint perusal of records. However, no two subsequent sessions will be of a congruent nature. 

Evaluation of the Supervisee shall be conducted purely at the discretion of the Supervisor but in strict adherence to the APA and CCE rules and guidelines. The Supervisee however reserves the right to seek a clarification on any evaluation issues but with substantiations. Evaluation will therefore only become final upon conclusion of any clarifications or ensuing re-evaluations. 

The terms and conditions of this agreement cannot be amended except mutual consent of the parties herein. 

In witness thereof, the two parties set their respective hands of the day and date aforesaid. 

Supervisor ____________________

Supervisee _____________________

References

Calvert, F. L., Crowe, T. P., & Grenyer, B. F. (2016). Dialogical reflexivity in supervision: An experiential learning process for enhancing reflective and relational competencies.  The Clinical Supervisor ,  35 (1), 1-21. 

Capuzzi, D., & Stauffer, M. D. (2016). ACA Counseling and Psychotherapy: Theories and Interventions. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. 

Creaner, M., & Timulak, L. (2015). Supervision in Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy.  The Handbook of Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy , 314. 

Campbell, L., Vasquez, M., Behnke, S., & and Kinscherff, R. (2010). The APA code of ethics: Alive and applied.  Psyccritiques ,  55 (30), 392. doi:10.1037/a0020483 

Glosoff, H. L., Renfro-Michel, E., & Nagarajan, S. (2016). Ethical Issues Related to the Use of Technology in Clinical Supervision. In Using Technology to Enhance Clinical Supervision (pp.31-46). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Goldberg, R. M. (2015). Individual and Group Supervision.  Supervision and Agency Management for Counselors , 21. 

Ladany, N., & O’Shaughnessy, T. (2015). Training and supervision in career counseling. In APA Handbook of Career Intervention ( pp. 375-387). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association

Litoiu, N. (2015). Professional Training Programs for Practitioners in Career Counseling. In  International Conference of Scientific Paper, AFASES, 1-6. 

Niño, A., Kissil, K., & Davey, M. P. (2016). Strategies Used by Foreign‐Born Family Therapists to Connect Across Cultural Differences: A Thematic Analysis.  Journal of marital and family therapy ,  42 (1), 123-138. 

Shires, A., & Vrklevski, L. (2015). Barriers to Clinical Psychology Supervision. A report on the barriers to provision of clinical psychology supervision to trainees on placement in NSW. Retrieved from http://www.heti.nsw.gov.au/Global/SPE/ICTN/SICTN_Barriers%20to%20Clinical%20Psychology%20Supervision%20Report.pdf