Case Study: In support of interdisciplinary supervision
Social worker with a supervisor who was originally a counsellor (ie. me)
Case Study PROFSUPV704
Case study: small number of supervision sessions run in parallel to existing long term supervision relationship: The key issue that emerged for this supervisee was communication. The supervisee came to recognise that it was his verbal communication that is the main area in which he has the opportunity to grow. As a supervisor who was originally a counsellor this potential growth area was easy to spot. Counsellors are expected to be very adept at verbal communication whereas they are prevented by the ethics and boundaries of their discipline from intervening in the lives of their clients. In contrast, social workers are doers, they are fully engaged with their clients lives in a manner that involves action. I believe that the fact that my background was in counselling facilitated me to recognise the growth area of communication for this supervisee. Sometimes the boundaries of our disciplines can 'blind' us to the issues at hand. On other occasions they give us strength to recognise what needs addressed. In this case my counselling background gave me the insight to see what this supervisees potential in a way that his regular supervisor, who was from a social work background, had not.
This works in the opposite direction too. Sometimes the discipline of the supervisee becomes a source of learning for the supervisor. Supervising this supervisee would often highlight for me how much can be achieved through the 'doing' aspect of the social work role.
This experience has informed how I practice as a supervisor and as a counsellor. In both roles I pay closer attention to the actions that I can take and the actions that the supervisee or client can take or the ways in which these clients can tap into resources, people etc. who can take the necessary actions - such as utilising social workers or community agencies for support.