| ARC CPD Newsletter: Autumn already – what happened to summer? |
 ARC Supervision & CPD Newsletter Autumn already – what happened to summer!  Well summer didn’t last long. When I sent out the last newsletter there was hope that the weather had finally improved and summer was here. The end of July and into August we did have some dry and warm weather with sunshine but by the end of August it was back to cloudy, windy and wet. The shortest summer I can remember, with the fire already being lit in early September, the ground has never dried out, and the grass has never stopped growing (much to my husband’s frustration!). As we move into the autumn we can hope for calmer, dry days so we can enjoy the wonderful colours that come with the season. Our annual spectacle, and sound, of flocks of cranes in V formation heading south for the winter will start soon which is normally accompanied by blue skies so fingers crossed.  To Prepare or not to prepare? Let’s consider the question! As always with clinical supervision there is not a straightforward answer to whether or not we should prepare for our supervision sessions. What is clear is that the session should be supervisee led (HCPC is clear on this point) and to me that means the supervisee should lead in negotiating the agenda for a session. There should be a conversation at the beginning about what to talk about that day. Davys (2021) points out that supervisees don’t always get what they hoped for from a session. She points out that a good supervisor can guide a conversation in many different directions (all valid), but that the supervisee will often know what they particularly need to ‘sort out in their head’ during that session. So, it is important to make sure that the session covers that ground. So if you know you have supervision at the end of the month it makes sense to keep jotting down ideas (even one word) to remind you of the events/conversations which have made you – Stop to think- Wonder if there might have been a different way of approaching the situation- Worry about it afterwards (aka carrying it round with you)- Apprehensive about a review meeting which is approachingSometimes we notice patterns and themes that are happening in our ‘clinical life’ which can be explored in a supervisory conversation. I remember when I used to take something which had happened that day, or the day before to supervision, because it was ‘in my head’. Over time I’ve got better at thinking about it over time. There are still times though where I have several possibilities for discussion and it is only during that initial conversation with my supervisor that I work out the priorities for time. So it is good to prepare, and we will each do it in our own way. I have worked with some therapists who like to send me information the day before about what they plan to bring to supervision. Others will decide ‘on the day’. I guess the key is to consider it and not just bring what happened immediately before the meeting to supervision. Practice SupervisionSome of you will know that I am enthusiastic about the idea of ‘our practice’. Our individual ‘clinical practice’ being our knowledge, skills, experience, which extends and changes as we learn from doing the job, or going on a course. Reflective practice being the foundation stone of how we extend our ‘practice’.I was pleased then to see in the new HCPC Standards that the term ‘practice supervision’ is used. I talk in the supervision training about supervision being about more than a caseload – it’s about situations and caseworking. It is often as much about a strained or problematic relationship than about what direction to take next clinically. So I think I will be using the term ‘practice’ supervision a lot in the future. Over the summer I went back to my roots in early language development and ASD and fine tuned a series of training courses which I’ve been working on for some time (years if I’m honest). I’ve pulled this Therapy Series into a simple diagram – and you will see at a glance that the focus is on practical approaches integrated into everyday life.  Reflective Questions When we supervise we are asking questions which encourage reflection on events. It can feel quite technical, but if we think instead about these being Curious Questions. It is very much the same thing, but it takes the stress out of trying to think of reflective questions. A new framework When putting together a Study Day on extending your supervision skills (Advanced Supervisor) I did a lot of reading. There is still sometimes that insecurity and imposter syndrome creeping in to my role as trainer. I came across a very useful framework by Davys and Beddoes, The Reflective Learning Model, which they devised earlier this century and have kept adapting and the latest version is from 2021. It has useful Cue Questions for each of the stages in their framework. In fact there are 100 + Questions!. I’ve just added just a snapshot below to give you an idea, and because at first glance the framework can look a little complicated.  However something clicked into place as I read their book. The idea that frameworks are valuable as we learn to guide a conversation and support a colleague in being reflective, but that as we gain experience they become internalized and we don’t refer to them in the same way. This is part of the normal process of extending our skills as a supervisor. Of course! I remembered when I first started asking Solution Focused Questions how I needed a crib sheet of ideas to refer to in a session.“Profession supervision is generally between two people and assists practitioners to increase their understanding of oneself; one’s relationships with others; to develop more fulfilling and more resourceful ways of providing : and to bring about change in professional behaviour and practice.” Davys, et al. (2021)  “This approach develops a more holistic understanding of the complexity of experience that practitioners encounter in their day-to-day work” (Fook and Askeland 2007).  With Best Wishes See you next time Ruth |
Speech & Language Therapy Training & Development 