Recently, I caught up with one of my friends.
“What have you been up to these days?” he asked.
“I’ve been studying a professional supervision course lately.”
“Supervision? What’s that?” His eyes sparkled with curiosity.
I paused for a moment, lost in thought.
Not knowing how to explain it clearly, I brushed it off.
“Um… it’s kind of like counselling for professionals.”
Describing what supervision actually is can be surprisingly difficult. Most people are not familiar with this concept. They might not even be interested in it. Moreover, there’s no single Korean word that fully captures its meaning. This concept itself isn’t deeply rooted in our Korean culture.
The word ‘supervision’ comes from the English words ‘super’ and ‘vision’.
‘Super’ means ‘excellent’ or ‘transcendent’. ‘vision’ refers to ‘sight’, ‘perspective’, or ‘the ability to see’. So, in a literal sense, supervision can be understood as someone with a broader perspective overseeing and managing the overall progress of work from above.
In the dictionary, supervision is defined as “the act of overseeing or directing work or employees.” This kind of supervision is something we often see in everyday life – especially in Korean dramas.
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“What are you doing? Are you out of your mind? You call this a report?”
A boss yells at a junior employee while throwing documents. - Or in medical dramas:
“Are you not thinking straight? You should’ve checked the patient’s vitals properly!”
A senior doctor shouts at a first-year house officer
These are typical portrayals of supervision as surveillance, control, or authoritarianism.
However, the meaning of supervision has gradually evolved. Its primary focus is now to support and guide less experienced practitioners (actually all practitioners), helping them navigate ethical dilemmas and workplace challenges wisely. It also aims to empower practitioners to grow and succeed continuously.
Problems That Arise Without Supervision
At this point, you might be wondering, “What is professional supervision?” Before defining it, let’s first look at what happens when supervision is absent.
Professionals play crucial roles in people’s lives, health, and well-being. They are expected to uphold high standards of professionalism and ethics. However, they also face psychological stress, ethical dilemmas, heavy workloads, and feelings of isolation.
For this reason, the Social Workers Registration Board (SWRB) in New Zealand states:
“The SWRB requires all practising social workers to access regular and relevant supervision at least monthly and in a manner that is consistent with the level of skill and practice experience of the individual social worker.” (SWRB, 2024)
In other words, in New Zealand, all social workers are required to receive supervision at least once a month. To support this, organisations provide financial assistance to ensure social workers can access regular supervision. For example, non-profits may offer around $150 NZD per month to cover the cost of attending supervision. Government agencies may provide internal supervision, but some social workers still choose to pay out of pocket for external supervision.
So why go to such lengths for supervision?
Without it, professionals must handle all their challenges alone. This can lead to burnout, impaired ethical judgment, and repeated mistakes.
Without supervision, feelings of isolation and anxiety grow, job satisfaction and efficiency decline, and ultimately, this negatively affects the patients or clients they serve.
Supervision goes beyond simple counselling or feedback. It is a process that helps professionals reflect on themselves, reaffirm ethical standards, and continue growing. That’s why countries like New Zealand mandate supervision and even fund it—because when professionals are healthy, the people they serve can be healthy too.
Revisiting the Definition of Supervision
“So, what exactly is supervision?” You might be feeling frustrated by now. Remember what I told my senior pastor? That it was hard to explain. And indeed, defining supervision is not easy.
Dr. Michael Carroll, a leading expert in the field, writes in his book:
“Supervision is a concept as difficult to define as love, relationships, or ethics. Its meaning changes depending on the person, time, and context.”
He reportedly gave up after trying to collect definitions and couldn’t even fill four pages.
Dr. Carroll describes supervision not as mere oversight or surveillance, but as a “work-focused relational conversation.” It’s a process where professionals reflect on their work experiences to gain insights for better practice. He defines the essence of supervision as:
- Memory: Recalling past experiences
- Reflection: Revisiting those experiences from a current perspective
- Imagination: Designing future actions anew
Supervision with Reflection
Supervision is a time for remembering, reflecting, and imagining. It’s not just a meeting or feedback session—it’s a journey of revisiting one’s work, rediscovering its meaning, and reimagining the path forward. That’s why Dr. Carroll calls supervision a “deliberate interruption.”
In the midst of work, we often fall into routines or repeat tasks without thinking. For example, a doctor might automatically prescribe treatment based on symptoms. A social worker might immediately look for shelter when a homeless person asks for help. These are known as “quick fixes.”
Supervision deliberately interrupts this flow:
- “Wait, do you remember the patient who came in with a cold last time? What happened then?”
- “Was shelter really what that homeless person wanted?”
- “What was my feeling at the time? Was I indifferent?”
- “Why did I choose that approach?”
Supervision invites us into deep reflection.
The Change Brought by Reflective Supervision
When you experience supervision that includes memory, reflection, and imagination, a remarkable transformation occurs. Your perspective and attitude toward patients, clients, colleagues, and even yourself begin to shift. Most importantly, the repetitive words and actions you once parroted stop, and meaningful conversations and practices take their place.
Supervision: The Power to Change Perspective
Supervision is not just about techniques or knowledge transfer. It’s a process of revisiting memories, finding meaning through reflection, and designing the future through imagination. This process changes how we see and relate to patients, clients, colleagues, and ourselves.
Please note: This post features an example created by AI, not a real case, due to client confidentiality,
One of my clients, Mark, frequently visited our center, struggling with chronic unemployment and loneliness. Each week, our conversations followed a familiar pattern. I’d ask standard questions and suggest job resources or participation in our self-sufficiency programs, which I’d offered countless times before. “Mark, have you checked the job listings I gave you last week?” “It’s tough, but you have to keep trying.” After he left, I’d sigh, thinking, ‘Same old story. He just won’t budge.’ I felt like I was merely going through the motions, following a script.
Supervision: A Moment of Realisation
Feeling this deep frustration, I turned to my supervisor. They encouraged me to remember my past interactions with Mark, reflect on my approach, and imagine alternative possibilities.
‘Why was I always trying to ‘fix’ Mark’s problems?’, ‘Was what I suggested truly what he needed?’, ‘Could I inadvertently be fostering his dependency?’
As I wrestled with these questions, a crucial realization dawned on me. I was attempting to be a ‘solver,’ but in doing so, I might have been preventing Mark from discovering his own strength, trapping him in a cycle where he continuously relied on me.
Breaking the Silence: The Start of a ‘Real’ Conversation
The following week, when Mark came in, I put my computer aside and made direct eye contact. I asked him, genuinely, “Mark, I’ve been thinking, and I wonder if I’ve been too focused on solutions, perhaps missing what’s truly been hardest for you lately. What’s weighing on you most right now?”
Mark’s answer was unexpected. “Honestly… the hardest part is feeling like I’m useless. Like no one really needs me.”
I listened without interrupting, facing the profound despair within him. Then I asked, “Mark, have there been any small moments, no matter how insignificant, where you felt like, ‘I can do this’?” He paused, then recalled helping a neighbor move a heavy box, remembering feeling ‘useful’ in that moment.
A Transformed Relationship: Towards Meaningful Practice
That day, I didn’t directly solve Mark’s problem. Instead, I helped him recall a moment of his own inherent strength. In that conversation, Mark was no longer just a ‘problem to be fixed’ but a ‘person capable of finding his own strength.’
Mark will undoubtedly continue to visit our center. However, I no longer feel the urgency to immediately ‘fix’ his situation. Instead, I will stand by him, offer support, and wait patiently, empowering him to discover his own path forward.
Reflective supervision is a powerful tool that helps us break free from routine, deepen our understanding of client relationships, and ultimately achieve more effective and profoundly human practice.
References
Beddoe, L., & Davys, A. (2016). Challenges in professional supervision: Current themes and models for practice. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Carroll, M. (2014). Effective supervision for the helping professions. Sage Publications.
Schirmer, J., & Thompson, S. (2021). Supervision from two perspectives: Comparing supervisor and supervisee experiences. Australian counselling research journal
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