One of the hardest things about being a practice supervisor is responding to someone you manage when they are in distress.
When faced with pain and upset, there can be a strong pull to rescue, or find a way to fix the situation. If that distress is aimed at us, we may respond in a way that protects ourselves from feeling blamed.
Earlier this year, Research in Practice had the privilege of spending two days with a group of experienced practice supervisors. We explored what it means to offer thoughtful, meaningful support to practitioners. The workshops, facilitated by Dr Sheena Webb, a consultant clinical psychologist specialising in complex trauma and social care, aimed to enable the supervisors to have the skills and confidence to respond compassionately to supervisees in distress.
Understanding distress and trauma
Over the course of the two days, Sheena brought together theoretical understanding and practical application to support the supervisors to become more confident in responding to the distress and vicarious trauma that they see in supervision.
On the first day, participants spent time acknowledging the reality of the emotional demands of complex work. They explored the impact of trauma and the various ways in which individuals may respond. They also took time to pause and reflect on the supervision situations that felt particularly triggering or challenging, and to notice what those moments brought up in them.
Sheena introduced techniques to help the group develop and maintain awareness of their own responses so they could stay present with difficult emotions in supervision. This was not about offering therapeutic support or trying to remove distress altogether. Instead, the focus was on how supervisors can attune to emotions, validate them, and create space for them to be safely acknowledged.
We then built on this by looking at the importance of practice supervisors modelling the kind of curiosity, empathy and emotional containment that practitioners can take into their own practice.
Putting theory into practice
On day two, we had the opportunity to put this learning into practice. We were joined by an actor, who brought a series of practice scenarios to life by portraying supervisees arriving in supervision with personal and professional distress. This created a powerful space to explore the complexities of supervision conversations, adding a layer to the learning that discussion and reflection alone could not offer.
One participant explained:
[the] different scenarios allowed space and time for people to feel safe sharing their views, validating and offering thoughts.
Workshop participant
Supervisors had the opportunity to experience, reflect and notice what was happening in the moment and apply their learning to an authentic situation.
The actor, instead of us roleplaying amongst ourselves, made all the difference […] it made it feel more real for us to practice as supervisors.
Workshop participant
What made this workshop feel very special was the remarkable participation and openness displayed throughout the two days, even when faced with topics that can be challenging.
This was very inclusive but didn’t shy away from difficult conversations.
Workshop participant
The facilitators and supervisors alike contributed to creating a space where everyone felt valued and heard. We hope this session will not only support the supervisors’ own development, but also have a lasting impact as they put this learning into practice with those they supervise.
Building trauma-informed organisations
Meaningfully embedding trauma-informed approaches requires organisational, cultural and systemic change. Supervision is a key element to provide a safe relational context for practitioners to reflect on their feelings, digest difficult experiences and develop their insight.
Explore a suite of resources designed to support leaders to meaningfully build trauma-informed organisations. A Strategic Briefing addresses why trauma-informed organisational change is needed and what trauma-informed organisational culture looks like. It explores the emotional demands of social care practice, outlining the importance of evolving approaches to supervision.
Supervision and reflective practice are integral to building organisational resilience and supporting practitioner wellbeing. For support to be meaningful it needs to accommodate a range of needs, be modelled by senior staff, and practitioners need to be given the time to participate.
Towards a trauma-informed organisational approach
Trauma and threat impact on organisational functioning. These resources explore how trauma-related processes shape individuals, practitioners, organisations and systems. They then explore the conditions needed for staff to work in a trauma-informed way, and what a healthy trauma-informed organisational culture looks like.
Towards a trauma-informed organisational approach
Explore how organisations can effectively embed trauma-informed approaches. These resources support social care organisations to strengthen and progress their trauma-informed journey.
Reflective supervision: Learning Hub
An open access resource hub to support practice supervisors and middle leaders who are responsible for the practice of others and supports organisations to develop a positive culture of supervision. Resources are relevant to both children's and adults services.