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August 24, 2009

Paid or Peer Supervision?

What's the difference between one-to-one paid and peer supervision? I think this is an interesting question and one which I'm often asked.

Let me respond from my own personal experience as a "supervisee".

I have two supervisors - one is a peer, one I pay! With my peer, we meet once every 6-8 weeks and dedicate approximately one hour to each person's work. I chose my peer supervisor because:
- I have seen her working and I respect her own capabilities as a group and organisational change facilitator
- Our shared academic experience on a Masters' degree programme
- From this experience, I trust her integrity and her capacity to 'hold' me and my work.
- We have a certain shorthand when I am discussing my coaching or consulting work within an organisational context which feels 'easy'

I'm not aware that she colludes with me at the expense of challenging my thinking or reflections. However, unwittingly on occasion, we may both make assumptions because of our shared theoretical underpinnings and personal and professional history built up over 10 years. At the same time, she has been participating in a programme of learning around groups and organisational change work. Subsequently she brings this fresh lens to our reflective practice. My sense is that we are both exploring and learning, particularly in the domain of organisational consulting through the work that we each bring.

So, what is different about working with the supervisor whom I pay?

This is a different relationship - one that has developed through our supervision alone. It feels more 'formal' and I learn different things here in terms of the content and our process of working together. Because there is no reciprocal arrangement, I experience what it can be like for my supervisees, which informs my practice as a supervisor. I have a two-hour session with her once a month for about 8 sessions a year.

I chose this supervisor because:
- Her breadth of psychological knowledge and wisdom
- As a facilitator of learning she has deep understanding of psychology and unconscious processes, especially in groups so I felt that I could learn a lot from her
- She has huge experience in the theory and practice of supervision in both the psychotherapeutic and organisational consulting contexts.

With her background, expertise, and relational sensitivity, I bring whatever is happening that is signficant in my life and how this may be impacting on my work, particularly with my supervision practice.

So, to conclude. I value both relationships. I really appreciate the dedicated "me" time that enables me to reflect, plan and recharge my batteries. The important ingredient is that I continue to learn with and through the work that I do with each person and they contribute different ingredients to my well-being, my development and in turn, my practice as a coach, consultant and coaching supervisor. I trust that they too may learn from our relationship and work together.

Posted by Alison at 10:23 AM | Comments (0)

August 16, 2009

In danger again......

And suddenly a fortnight has slipped away and I've not added another entry. But, I was encouraged last week when a colleague mentioned that she enjoyed reading my blog, so here goes again.

At the end of July I attended the annual BASPR conference (British Association for Supervision Practice and Research). This year's theme was 'Benefits of Supervision'. Here I immersed myself for two days in the many dimensions of my work as a coaching supervisor. This conference is primarily for psychotherapeutic practitioners, but I learn such a lot from this domain. With Andrew Samuel's keynote we discussed the need to attend to the issues of politics, culture and social differences in the therapeutic relationship. He also raised the question of the political nature of agreement, disagreement and false agreement between supervisor and supervisee. I still need to process this for myself and how I might address this in the supervisory relationship.

I went to a session on Ruptures - this is the jargon for disagreements/breakdowns in the supervision relationship. I found this extremely interesting because I don't have much 'felt experience' of this with supervisees, but have sometimes wondered whether there is any unfinished business which we may not have addressed when a relationship has ended. And I realise as I write that if I am wondering, there is probably something lurking that I or we missed. I remember during my inital training that the tutor proposed that in repairing the rupture we can go on to co-create a stronger working alliance. I did have an explicit experience on one occasion when a prospective supervisee refused to complete the written contract that I had prepared. We discussed his resistance, I accepted that I was happy to work without a signed document from him on the understanding that he was clear about the basis on which we started work, and I mentioned the value of repairing ruptures to our relationship. We have continued to work together ever since.

The question I continue to hold and ponder from this conference session is: "How do I let my clients know that it's ok to discuss that what I do is not actually helping them?" I'd like to pick up on this after further reflection, on another day.

And before this becomes a major tome, just a reminder that next year's conference will be on 24th & 25th July 2010 and the title is "The Competent Supervisor: Imprisonment or Liberation". More on competences later!

Posted by Alison at 04:48 PM | Comments (0)