Clinical supervision aims to develop a supervisee’s clinical awareness and skills to recognise and manage:
- personal responses
- value clashes
- power imbalances
- ethical dilemmas.[1]
Usually supervisee-led, this type of supervision allows deeper insight to the work using process reflection.[2] This is where conscious and unconscious aspects of practice and supervisory relationships are explored.
A clinical supervisor can be from outside of the organisation or be an internal line management supervisor or a supervisor who does not have line management responsibilities.
Having distinct roles for clinical and managerial supervision can help ensure critical and process reflection occurs.
‘Supervision is their time, it’s not my time.’
— Ivy Yarram, Yoowinna Wurnalung Aboriginal Healing Service
References
[1] State of Victoria, 2019–20 census of workforces that intersect with family violence: survey findings report – specialist family violence response workforce, Victorian Government website, 2021, accessed 27 February 2023.
[2] Ruch, ‘Relationship-based practice and reflective practice: holistic approaches to contemporary child-care social work’.
Updated