6. Feeling Stuck Before Supervision? These 4 Dimensions Can Help You Find the Right Topics!

Feeling stuck in finding Supervision topics

Over the years, I’ve seen how easily supervision can go awry. It can become a mere case conference. Or it might turn into a risk assessment exercise. Perhaps it is simply a check-box requirement. We’ve all heard the stories or even experienced it ourselves.

My own early experiences highlighted this. I once had a supervisor who was brilliant. He always encouraged me to bring something to share in my supervision. This taught me the importance of being proactive. It also showed me the need for clear engagement with supervision topics. It’s about what we bring to the table. It is also about what we expect to gain from those precious sessions.

Supervision is truly a ‘plastic’ concept, constantly evolving. It means different things to different people (Carroll, 2014). It also changes at various points in our professional journeys. This flexibility has been noted by authors like Rangihau and Pipi, who discuss how our understanding of practices like supervision evolves with experience and context.

Deep Dive into Your Practice: Understanding the Multi-Layered Model

Right, supervision topics often use a multi-layered model. Think of it as a ‘supervision triangle’ (Newton, 2012) or ‘four-layered model’ (Rankine, 2017). This framework helps us cover all critical work aspects.

It starts with us, the individual social worker. Then, it expands outwards to clients, relationships, the organisation, and the wider socio-political context. Let’s explore each dimension. We’ll include specific examples for your supervision session.

Developing Your Helicopter Skills with the powerful Four-Layered Supervision Model (4 layered model)

Dimension 1: Your Self and Role: The Inner Landscape

Supervision is a unique space. It helps us explore our inner landscape. What are your self-care strategies?

These are crucial questions. How do specific issues or cases make you feel? Exploring these feelings openly is key. It helps us understand where they come from. It also helps us see how personal experiences might trigger reactions. Here are some examples of topics we often bring to this area:

• Self-care: Discussing your personal wellbeing, burnout prevention, and managing stress or compassion fatigue. This is vital, and something ANZAS often highlights.
• Emotional impact of work: Processing difficult cases, trauma exposure, or ethical dilemmas that affect you personally. Issues which have occurred and need to be processed are perfect for this.
• Professional identity: Exploring your values, beliefs, and how they align with your social work practice.
• Skill development: Identifying areas for professional growth and learning, perhaps related to specific interventions or theoretical approaches you want to master.
• Boundaries: Discussing personal and professional boundaries, and how to maintain them effectively in challenging situations.
• Cultural humility: Reflecting on your own cultural biases and how they might impact your practice, particularly in a bicultural context like Aotearoa.

It is also important to add cultural identity on the list of your topics.  It’s such a deep well for reflection. Our values, beliefs, and assumptions aren’t just “ours”; they’re shaped by everything around us. They definitely impact how we practice.

When we talk about bicultural practice here in Aotearoa, we must include understanding Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Its profound impact on our work isn’t an optional extra. It’s about truly acknowledging that historical context and the ongoing obligations it places on all of us, especially in social work.

It helps us understand our role clarity. What are the boundaries of your role? How might you respond differently in challenging situations? Supervision should build your resilience. It should illuminate your strengths as a social worker. This is about continuous self-awareness. It’s an ongoing reflective process.

Working with Clients: Assessment, Planning, and Implementation

A significant part of supervision is client focused. This involves a systematic review of your work. It starts with assessing and conceptualising the client’s problem. We identify their needs and strengths. Then comes the planning phase. Here, we negotiate goals and structure our work with the client. This includes who should attend sessions. It also covers the methods we use. Ongoing implementation and reviewing treatment plans are vital too. This ensures we are always responsive to our clients’ evolving needs. Authors like Kadushin and Harkness have extensively written on these core functions, emphasising their importance in ethical and effective social work. Specific topics for this area include:

• Case work discussions: Detailed review of specific client situations, their progress, and any challenges encountered. This is a core ANZAS recommended topic.
• Assessment and formulation: Exploring the accuracy of your client assessments, diagnostic impressions, and treatment formulations.
• Intervention strategies: Discussing the effectiveness of your interventions, exploring alternatives, and developing new approaches.
• Risk assessment and management: Addressing any safety concerns or ethical issues arising in practice, as highlighted by ANZAS. This includes developing safety plans and understanding legal obligations.
• Client engagement: Exploring strategies for building rapport, managing resistance, and maintaining productive client relationships.
• Advocacy: Discussing how to advocate effectively for clients within complex systems or when facing systemic barriers.
• Planned activities: Preparing for or processing difficult or unusual situations with clients, another key ANZAS area.

Dimension 2: Nurturing Relationships: With Clients, Colleagues, and Supervisors

Relationships are the bedrock of social work. Supervision helps us explore these deeply. How do your clients relate to you? What about their wider social system? We delve into power dynamics. We examine difference, and cross-cultural identities within these relationships.

Crucially, supervision also provides a space. It helps us discuss our relationships with colleagues and other professionals. What are the power issues you’re observing? How do you engage with others? Your supervisor will often ask about your personal beliefs. They want to know how these impact these relationships. And yes, the supervisory relationship itself is a key topic. We discuss our accountabilities. We also explore how to build a more effective supervisory partnership. This isn’t a one-way street. Supervisors learn from supervisees, too. This reciprocal learning has been highlighted by authors like Proctor, who explored the functions of supervision in depth. Specific relationship-focused topics include:

• Transference and counter-transference: Understanding your emotional reactions to clients and how they might impact the therapeutic relationship.
• Team dynamics: Discussing challenges or successes in working with multidisciplinary teams or other agencies.
• Supervisory relationship: Providing feedback to your supervisor, discussing the dynamics of your supervision, and ensuring it meets your needs.
• Conflict resolution: Developing skills to navigate conflict effectively with clients, colleagues, or other professionals.
• Interprofessional collaboration: Strategies for effective communication and partnership with other professionals involved in client care.
• Managing difficult relationships: Addressing situations where relationships are strained or challenging.

Beyond the Individual: Organisation and Wider Contexts

Our work doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The organisation we work for, and the wider socio-political context, deeply influence our practice. These are essential supervision topics, often considered the broader layers of a supervision model.

Dimension 3: The Organisational Layer: Navigating Systems and Culture

Every organisation has its own nuances. Supervision is the place to unpack these. What is the organisation’s function and purpose? How does its funding impact service delivery? We discuss resources available. We also look at policies and protocols. How do they impact the issues you face? This layer helps us understand organisational culture. It allows us to examine taken-for-granted meanings and power dynamics within the agency. Are there tensions you’re feeling? How can you contribute to positive change within the organisation? Supervision can help us be facilitators of change, not just responders. Authors like Tsui have explored the complex interplay between individual practice and organisational structures in social work. Some organisational topics you might explore include:

• Policy and procedure: Understanding and navigating agency policies, procedures, and their impact on your practice.
• Resource allocation: Discussing access to resources for clients and navigating bureaucratic hurdles.
• Workload management: Strategies for managing your caseload, time, and dealing with organisational pressures. Issues which the supervisee considers may affect their practice, as per ANZAS, often fall here.
• Organisational change: Adapting to changes within the agency and understanding their implications for your work.
• Advocacy within the organisation: Learning how to advocate for better systems or resources within your workplace.
• Inter-agency collaboration: Discussing partnerships with other organisations and how to improve cross-agency work.

Dimension 4: The Socio-political and Socio-cultural Context: Bigger Picture Thinking

This is perhaps the broadest, yet most critical, layer of supervision. It asks us to consider the bigger picture. How does public perception influence your work? What about the power dynamics for social workers within this context? We explore dominant societal discourses. We also look at their impact on our practice.

In Aotearoa, understanding bi-cultural perspectives is paramount. This includes a deep engagement with Te Ao Māori and how it shapes our social work practice. This layer encourages us to examine social justice and human rights issues. What social work theories, ethical guidelines, or research are relevant here? We question assumptions. We explore alternative actions. This critical thinking helps us develop social justice-informed strategies. It also ensures our practice is anti-oppressive and culturally sensitive. It’s about understanding how broader contexts impact our daily work. It allows us to act more effectively within them. Authors such as Rankine have contributed significantly to models of reflective supervision that encompass these wider contexts, particularly relevant to the Aotearoa setting. Key topics here include:

• Ethical dilemmas: Exploring complex ethical issues arising in practice, especially those impacted by broader societal values. ANZAS specifically recommends discussing ethical or safety issues.
• Social justice issues: Reflecting on how issues of inequality, discrimination, and systemic oppression impact your clients and your practice.
• Cultural responsiveness: Deepening your understanding of diverse cultures and how to provide culturally safe practice, including Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles.
• Policy analysis: Critically examining social policies and their implications for clients and the social work profession.
• Current events: Discussing how current political or social events might be impacting your clients or your work.
• Research and evidence-based practice: Integrating new research findings into your practice and exploring relevant social work theories. This helps in exploring practice generally, as ANZAS advises.

Making Supervision Effective: Reflection and Action

Ultimately, the purpose of exploring these supervision topics is to enhance our practice. It is about fostering professional growth. It’s not just a chat. It’s a space for active reflection. My hope for all social workers in Aotearoa is that your supervision is a vibrant, dynamic experience. It should allow you to critically analyse your work. It should also help you integrate new learning into action.

We’ve talked about self-care, client dynamics, and organisational pressures. We also covered the broader societal influences. Each of these areas offers fertile ground for discussion. Bringing these topics to your supervision sessions makes them richer. It makes them more relevant to your real-world challenges. Remember, a good supervisor will encourage curiosity and inquiry. They’ll help you challenge assumptions. They’ll also promote collaborative exploration of meaning in your work. This collaborative spirit is what truly makes supervision a powerful tool for all of us.

So, the next time you prepare topics for supervision, consider these layers. Think about what you need to bring. What questions are bubbling for you? What areas of your practice or inner world need exploring? Your supervision is your space. Use it well. Make it a powerful catalyst for your continued professional excellence.

You might be interested in this book: 100+ Social Work Supervision Topics

Carroll, M. (2014). Effective Supervision for the Helping Professions. SAGE Publications, Limited. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/cpit/detail.action?docID=5163950

Hilary, C., & Trudi, N. (Eds.). (2017). Relational needs The supervision triangle. In Supervision and Coaching. Routledge.

Rankine, M. (2017). Making the connections: A practice model for reflective supervision. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 29(3), 66–78. https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol29iss3id377

About The Author