Finding our Spots through Reflection
Being a social worker, we navigate incredibly complex paths every single day. We’re always striving to offer the very best support to our clients, right? But even with years of experience, sometimes a case just doesn’t feel right. Or we might have a niggling sense that we’ve missed something crucial. That’s when we encounter what I playfully call our “blind spots” – those parts of our practice, our thinking, or our interactions that we simply can’t see clearly on our own. For any social worker, identifying your blind spots is vital for growth. And here’s the magic: professional social work supervision, through reflection, is the perfect place to shine a light on them.
As a registered social worker with over ten years in New Zealand, and now providing supervision, I’ve genuinely seen the power of reflection. It’s not just looking back. It’s delving deep into our work, questioning our assumptions, and truly understanding ourselves in relation to our clients and the wider system. So, let’s explore how reflection can help us find these “spots” and grow from them.
Understanding My “Spots”: Blind, Deaf, and Dumb
You might be curious about these “blind spots,” “deaf spots,” and “dumb spots” I keep mentioning. They aren’t formal terms, of course, but they perfectly describe common challenges we face. They highlight areas where our awareness, our listening, or even our actions might be incomplete or a bit off-kilter.
- Blind Spots: These are the biases, the unspoken assumptions, or the unconscious habits that shape how we make decisions and interact. We don’t see them because they’re so ingrained. It’s like Schön’s idea of ‘theories in use’ versus what we *think* we believe. Our blind spots often live in that gap.
- Deaf Spots: This is when we might not fully hear or grasp what our clients, colleagues, or even our own intuition are trying to tell us. It could be missing subtle non-verbal cues. Or overlooking unspoken needs, or simply not truly taking in constructive feedback.
- Dumb Spots: These are moments where, despite our best intentions, we make ineffective choices. Or we might find ourselves repeating patterns that just don’t yield good results. It’s not about intelligence. It’s about a momentary lapse in critical thinking, or a struggle to properly connect what we know theoretically with practical action.
The wonderful thing? These “spots” aren’t permanent. They’re actually incredible opportunities for deep learning and development, especially when explored through the reflective process in supervision.
Reflection: My Lens for Your Growth in Supervision
Reflection is, simply put, the lifeblood of good professional supervision. It’s our unique human ability to think deeply about an experience, make sense of it, and find new meaning. Without it, our practice can become routine. As Michael Carroll (2014) pointed out, we risk just “mindless following of procedures.”
In supervision, reflection allows us to take a necessary step back from the daily pressures. We bring our experiences, our thoughts, and our feelings into a safe, collaborative space. This ‘joint endeavour’ with me, your supervisor, helps you really look at your clients, yourself, and the wider context of your work. This always improves the quality of what you do.
As a supervisor, my role is to shift. I’m not just the ‘expert’ with all the answers. I become a ‘co-explorer’ alongside you. This means we move from just ‘doing’ the work to actively ‘thinking’ about it. This shift is crucial. It empowers you, the supervisee, to uncover your *own* insights. It’s not about me just telling you what to do.
My Story: Shining a Light on My Own Cultural Blind Spot
Please Note: I used AI to generate this example due to confidentiality.
Early in my career, I was working with a young Māori whānau. They were really struggling to find stable housing. I was absolutely focused on finding them a physical house. I connected them with agencies, filled out all the forms. I honestly felt I was doing everything perfectly for them.
In supervision, my supervisor, instead of giving me quick fixes, gently asked me to reflect on my underlying assumptions. “What do you truly believe this whānau needs most?” she asked. I confidently answered, “A warm, dry home, of course! That’s the priority.”
Then she softly pushed me further: “What if their primary need isn’t just a house? What if it’s feeling deeply connected to their marae or their wider whānau in this new city?”
That question was a genuine ‘aha!’ moment for me. My blind spot was assuming my understanding of ‘home’ was universal. I had unintentionally prioritised a Western housing solution. I’d completely overlooked the whānau’s vital need for cultural connection and belonging. This was equally, if not more, crucial to their overall wellbeing. This powerful reflection helped me pivot my entire approach. It led to a far more holistic and ultimately successful outcome for that whānau. That was my lesson in finding my blind spots.
Critical Reflection: Digging Deeper, Seeing More
Moving beyond basic reflection, critical reflection is where we truly challenge our most deeply held assumptions and values. It’s about asking *why* we think, feel, or act in certain ways. Johnston, Noble, and Gray (2016) highlight its importance. It pushes self-reflection beyond just personal thoughts. It moves it towards a relational, service user-centred way of thinking. This is crucial.
This process helps us bridge the gap between our theoretical knowledge, what we ‘know that’, and our practical, intuitive understanding, our ‘knowing how’. When we critically reflect, we’re not just observing our practice. We’re actively pulling it apart to understand the underlying drivers. This is essential for navigating power dynamics. It ensures our interventions are culturally safe and genuinely responsive. Especially within New Zealand’s diverse communities.
A Supervisee’s Story: From “Deaf Spot” to Insightful Action
Please Note: I used AI to generate this example due to confidentiality.
A few years back, a supervisee of mine, let’s call her Sarah, was feeling quite stuck with a teenage client, Jayden. He was consistently missing appointments, even though Sarah was putting in so much effort. Sarah felt she was ‘listening’ to Jayden. But he just seemed so disengaged.
In supervision, we used critical reflection. I asked Sarah to think not just about *what* Jayden was saying. I wanted her to consider *how* he was saying it. And, very importantly, what might be *unsaid*. We also explored her own feelings of frustration. How might they be affecting her view?
We talked about her formal language versus Jayden’s everyday slang. Was she truly hearing him? Or was she inadvertently filtering his words through her professional lens, missing the emotional subtext? This was a clear “deaf spot” for her. She wasn’t truly hearing him.
Then, we explored if her rigid approach to ‘appointment times’ was actually a “dumb spot”. Was it an unhelpful pattern she was unknowingly repeating? Jayden had once casually mentioned he loved basketball. But Sarah hadn’t really explored it.
Through this deep reflection, Sarah realised Jayden’s disengagement wasn’t defiance. It was probably a feeling of being unheard in a formal setting. Her rigid approach, while well-intended, simply wasn’t connecting. She then shifted to more flexible, less formal check-ins. She even went to a community basketball game Jayden played in. This simple change completely transformed their connection. It beautifully showed how reflection helped her move past a “deaf spot”. It guided her into more effective, client-centred action. This effectively addressed a “dumb spot” in her previous way of working.
Developing “Helicopter Skills”: Seeing the Bigger Picture
As you get better at reflection, you’ll start to develop what Peter Hawkins and Robin Shohet (2012) call “helicopter skills.” This means more than just being fully present with your client. It’s about having a broad overview simultaneously. You see the current interaction within its much wider context. This includes the client’s history, their life patterns, their social situation, and their unique cultural and ethnic background.
This macro-level perspective helps you identify those systemic blind spots.
You start to recognise how larger organisational or societal factors might be influencing both your practice and your client’s situation. It allows you to question not just *what* is happening. You also ask *why* it is happening and *how* it fits into the broader picture.
Key Takeaways
Always remember, supervision is a truly collaborative space. It’s where we share the stories of our practice. And with the guidance of a good supervisor, we find new meanings and better ways forward.
Reflection isn’t a passive activity; it’s an active, ongoing inquiry into our practice. It’s how we make sure we don’t just operate on autopilot. It guarantees we remain truly effective and ethical social workers. By engaging in deep, critical reflection within professional social work supervision, we actively work to identify our blind spots. We also sharpen our awareness of our deaf spots, and transform our dumb spots into areas of significant professional strength.
So, next time you’re in supervision, truly embrace those reflective questions. Don’t shy away from the occasional discomfort of self-discovery. It is precisely in those moments that the most profound professional growth occurs. This benefits not just you, but most importantly, the people we are privileged to serve. Keep reflecting, keep growing! Ka kite anō.
Carroll, M. (2014). Effective Supervision for the Helping Professions. SAGE Publications, Limited. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/cpit/detail.action?docID=5163950
Davys, A., & Beddoe, L. (2020). Best Practice in Professional Supervision, Second Edition: A Guide for the Helping Professions. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/cpit/detail.action?docID=6406182
Hawkins, P., & Shohet, R. (2012). Supervision in the Helping Professions. McGraw-Hill Education. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/cpit/detail.action?docID=990490
Johnston, L., Noble, C., & Gray, M. (2016). Critical Supervision for the Human Services: A Social Model to Promote Learning and Value-Based Practice. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/cpit/detail.action?docID=4441864
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