Shaping supervision practice through research: Effects of supervision for counselling practice

Abstract

That there are links between effective supervision and effective counselling practice tends to be taken for granted. As a contribution to documenting the professional knowledges and experiences that might stand behind the profession’s claims for the benefits of supervision, this study interviewed experienced supervisors, seeking their perspectives on the links between effective supervision and effective counselling practice. Taking a social constructionist approach and showing the processes of knowledge production, researchers then engaged with these supervisors’ perspectives, in a series of reflections. These reflections show how the research interviews contribute to shaping the researchers’ ongoing supervision practice. Areas of interest include the power relation between supervisor and practitioner; responsibilities for monitoring practice; taping; supervisor responsibility for evaluating the effectiveness of supervision, and generativity of practice through storying a practitioner’s values and principles. Questions are offered for readers, too, to engage in a shaping of practice through their own responses to the article.