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REFLECTIONS FROM THE SUPERVISION AND SUPERVISOR ACCREDITATION COMMITTEE AND A PROPOSED VISION FOR IAHIP SUPERVISOR EVENTS 

By ELAINE SMITH

At a Supervision and Supervisor Accreditation Committee (SSAC) meeting in the Autumn of 2021 the theme of support emerged as one of felt importance. The Covid context of the previous year and a half, combined with a diminished committee for the majority of that time, as well as evolving reflective considerations within the committee around its own practice, resulted in a commitment to try and implement and activate a sense of support for supervisors within IAHIP. This became referred to under the banner of “Supporting Our Supervisors” with, perhaps, a covert nod to the “SOS” connotation within this.  

Over the last year, a couple of other strands have greeted the wider contextual issues of our current Covid-impacted life to suggest useful directions. The committee had already begun to respond to its observations that supervisors were struggling to engage with aspects of one of the committee’s core remits; that of managing the accreditation and re-accreditation process. In looking at this more closely, it became clear that we, as a committee, had shaped this to some extent and needed to rectify it.  

Writing about one’s own practice as a supervisor, or about one’s supervisee’s practice as a supervisor, according to the functions of supervision, has been part of the (re-) accreditation process for a long time, yet appeared to be causing confusion for many of us. We asked ourselves, as a committee, why pose the question at all if applicants were not going to address it and we, in turn, were not going to look for it to be addressed. A process ensued in which we explored whether to drop the functions element of the question or, indeed, whether to drop the entire written statement in the (re-) accreditation process altogether. All were possible, and all are still options for the future. The outcome of these discussions, at this time, however, supported the idea that functions (e.g., Proctor’s (1987) “normative, formative, and restorative” aspects of supervision) of supervision are too important to ignore. The functions of supervision are what make supervision, quite simply, supervision, as distinct from something else.  

Of supervision, Milne (2009) states that it is “the formal provision, by approved supervisors, of a relationship-based education and training that is work focused and which manages, supports, develops and evaluates the work of colleagues. It therefore differs from related activities such as mentoring and therapy…” (Milne, 2009: 15). Furthermore, the opportunity to reflect on, write about, and communicate the unique relationship one has to the practice of supervision and its functions, is intrinsically linked to the essence of our humanistic Association. For now, therefore, we cannot justify the elimination of a question which conforms so intimately with IAHIP’s core identity.  

The committee’s response to this observation, having reflected upon, and having decided to keep, the requirement for a reflective statement of practice, was to offer general and individual feedback to assist people in those reflections. Over the course of 2021 this came in the form of direct communication and revisions of the application forms themselves. This was not sufficient, however, because it lacked any personal contact with members and any rationale both for the changes made and for our persistence with those changes. By the time the committee came to have its reflective discussion in the autumn it was clear that we needed to do something else.  

The rationale for doing ‘something else’ did not confine itself to the subject of supervision functions or application forms. These were simply reflections of the need and appetite which we felt was prevalent amongst the members. Supervision fees had been introduced, Covid had shut down many events, and in any case, events can be expensive. There were wider needs surfacing amongst what we sensed was a ready and very able supervisor population.  

In response to both our needs as a committee, and the needs of this population, a “Supporting Our Supervisors” survey was developed and disseminated across the supervision membership in October 2021. This survey was the start of a vision, a hazy mirage of supervisor relevant CPD events for IAHIP supervisors. The administration of this survey had a number of aims; firstly, to examine people’s willingness and motivations to attend IAHIP supervision events; secondly, to explore the potential for the delivery of events using the knowledge and experience of that very membership; and thirdly, to identify the ways in which any such events might be delivered.  

This survey resulted in a 43%1 response rate, a reasonable return, given web survey averages of 36% (Daikeler, Silber, & Bošnjak, 2021). The vast majority of these (98%) stated they were interested in attending supervisor events, with people commenting on the isolation that working privately can generate and reflecting almost exclusively on the value of networking and sharing knowledge / wisdom. The survey also identified a strong cohort of people (n = 46) who are willing either to facilitate or co-facilitate an event, as well as a large number of viable2 supervisory topics (i.e. approximately 223 ). These topics include themes relating to: the supervisors themselves, the people within the supervisory relationship, the more technical aspects of supervision, the nature of supervision, ways of approaching supervision, supervision considerations, and supervision applied to particular populations or subject matters (see Table 1 for topic examples of these themes). These themes corresponded broadly with the topics suggested by respondents as ones they would like workshops on, with perhaps a slightly heavier emphasis on the need for input on ethical issues. 

 

Finally, the survey also explored people’s willingness both to attend, and to facilitate, varied kinds of events – half day or full day, in person or online. Figures 1 and 2 show how the responses between those willing to facilitate / co-facilitate an event and those wanting to attend one were broadly similar. Whilst all possibilities were endorsed by a sizeable percentage of the respondents there is a clear preference for holding shorter workshops (defined as two to three hours) with 63% of both sets of respondents favouring this. This is perhaps not surprising, given that many of the same respondents answered both questions. There is a slight preference for facilitators / co-facilitators to run shorter events in person whereas attendees show a slight preference for attending shorter events online. Both other options are comparable across both sets of responses (i.e. day long events online or in person). Within this, people were also asked about their preferences for when in the week shorter events might be held, with 42% willing to attend a weekend morning (i.e. 9.00am – 1.00pm) and 34% a weekday evening (i.e. 7.00pm – 10.00pm). Weekend evenings are not a popular time at 6% and weekday afternoons (i.e. 2.00pm – 6.00pm) a moderately popular time, with 20% endorsement.  

               

The vision for a series of events discussed above, which motivated this survey, was presented as part of the “Functions of Supervision” workshop held online in December 2021, and was outlined as part of the rationale for that event. During this event the European folk story of “Stone Soup” was introduced as a conceptual way of conveying our goals. “Stone Soup” is the story of sharing what smaller bits we may each have, in the interests of the wider community. Here, a man with just a stone in his possession looks to make a pot of soup. He offers, as a starting point, his stone, and appeals in turn to each member of a village to share just one ingredient each – salt, potatoes, some bones, an onion, and so on. Eventually there is a large pot containing a nourishing and tasty meal for everyone to benefit from and enjoy.  

As a community of supervisors, it is clear to the SSAC that we have a lot to offer to each other. The list of 22 separate topics, at a steady rate of one event every three to four months, could hypothetically keep us going for five to seven years! Even if not all topics come to fruition in the form of an event, there is enough to keep our bellies full, and regularly so. Attention was drawn during the recent event to the idea that we could revisit previously discussed topics again and again; we are in the business of revisiting old topics from new angles anyway (“once more with feeling”, perhaps), such that time, and the new experiences that time brings, can allow us to get something different out of a previously attended event from the first time. This vision responds to that palpable appetite for events but does so in a way which utilises our own experience and does so in a way which taps into our community’s need; in this way events can be both timely and culturally relevant.  

Furthermore, we would like such events to incur no further cost to members. IAHIP supervisors already pay for their membership and their supervisory status. An external event often involves a significant financial outgoing, and might it be suggested, is unnecessary? Finally, the vision wishes for such events to be easy to access. The benefits of Covid are such that we are now far more open to the idea of virtual attendance for all kinds of events. Feedback from the “Functions of Supervision” event showed that 87%4 were happy with the online format and the rest found it acceptable. Of those attendees who responded to the feedback form, 89% felt it provided them with a sought-after networking opportunity.  

In relation to the vision, the SSAC has consulted with the IAHIP Governing Body (GB) around the possibility of having in-person events funded, given that this can carry a significant cost. To Support Our Supervisors, the GB has graciously suggested it could fund the cost of room rental for a small number of in-person events a year. As a result, the possibilities for a mixed and rich variety of free (or at worst, heavily subsidised), regular, easy-to-access, supervisor-relevant CPD events going forward, is very promising.  

The SSAC, in conjunction with the IAHIP office, will now start approaching those of you who stated your willingness to facilitate an event. Any supervisor who did not return the survey in October, or indeed any member with an interest / experience in supervision, is welcome now to volunteer hosting an event of your choosing, as long as it is relevant to the practice of supervision. We ask you to consider the story of “Stone Soup” now and to come forward in adding to the pot.  

Elaine Smith is SSAC Chair, an HSE supervisor, and professional supervision course trainer for the HSE. She is a senior clinical psychologist within the HSE and a psychotherapist with IAHIP.  

Notes  

1 This represents a sample of 132 supervisors within a population of 308.  

2 By “viable” it is meant that some topics did not appear to lend themselves particularly well to the practice of supervision as distinct from the practice of psychotherapy.  

3 The number of topics is fewer than the number of people suggesting topics because many of the same topics were suggested by multiple people. In addition, some people were willing only to co-facilitate an event and therefore did not suggest a discrete topic.  

4 Of approximately 65 attendees n=53 completed the feedback form.  

References

Daikeler, J., Silber, H., &, Bošnjak, M. (2021). A meta-analysis of how country-level factors affect web survey response rates. International Journal of Market Research, 0(0), 1-28. DOI: 10.1177/1470785321 1050916  

Milne, D. (2009). Evidence-based clinical supervision. Principles and practice. BPS Blackwell.  

Proctor, B. (1987). “Supervision: A co-operative exercise in accountability” in M. Marken and M. Payne (eds.) Enabling and Ensuring. Supervision in practice, Leicester: National Youth Bureau. 

IAHIP 2022 - INSIDE OUT 97 - Summer 2022


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