Workshops

The Dynamics and Skills of Effective Practice and Clinical Supervision:
Part Two – The Middle and Ending/Transition Phases

Dr. Alex Gitterman, MSW, Ed.D and Dr. Lawrence Shulman, MSW, Ed.D

Thursday, June 11, 2009

CONTENT SUMMARY
This workshop will build on the 2008 presentation on clinical supervision which focused on the Preliminary and Beginning phases and group supervision. The focus in 2009 will be on the core dynamics of the middle phase and ending/transitions phase of practice (individual, family and group) and the parallels in supervision. The presentation will be structured in such a way that it will not be necessary for participants to have attended in 2008 in order to make use of the content in 2009. The focus of this workshop will be on method - what the supervisor does in interaction with staff.

Dr. Shulman will make a presentation at the start of the morning session conceptualizing the middle phase of practice. The balance of the morning discussion will apply the concepts to supervision. Dr. Gitterman will make a presentation at the start of the afternoon session on the ending and transition phase of practice with the balance of the afternoon examining the parallels in supervision.

GENERAL WORKSHOP FORMAT
Drs. Gitterman and Shulman will conduct the morning and afternoon workshops in a presentation and discussion format, inviting workshop participants to join in the discussion. They will use clinical supervision examples drawn from a wide range of settings and will invite issues and examples from participants. In this way, the theoretical material is kept close to the daily experiences of participants.

The Dynamics and Skills of Effective Clinical Supervision: the Middle Phase (Part One) (Thursday morning – 9am to 12 noon)
While the four phases of work (preliminary, beginning, work, and ending/transitions) framework is used to describe the work with clients and staff over time this session will concentrate on the middle phase. A model that considers an individual client encounter or individual or group supervision session using time as the organizational principle will be presented and illustrated with practice and supervision examples.

Essential skills in communication and problem solving will be described and illustrated. Participants will be encouraged to share their own experiences. While the final selection of specific issues to be raised will be determined during the session they may include among others:

• How to conceptualize the dynamics and skills of a middle phase session
• The importance of “sessional tuning in” and “sessional contracting”
• How to avoid answering a supervisee’s question before the supervisor knows what the question is
• The role of the supervisor and the supervisee in a clinical supervision conference
• The parallel process: How supervisors teach about practice through their supervision
• Understanding and addressing resistance
• Supervising defensive staff members
• Avoiding the illusion of work
• The supervisor's role as teacher
• Using supervisee memory work in conferencing on cases
• Identifying with the worker and the client at the same time
• Helping staff practice effectively in a time of cutbacks and productivity pressures
• Addressing issues of diversity as they emerge in supervision (e.g., the white supervisor with the staff member of color)

The Dynamics and Skills of Effective Clinical Supervision: the Ending and Transition Phase (Part Two) (Thursday afternoon – 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm)
The afternoon workshop will build on the morning session to explore the dynamics and skills involved in endings and transitions. Discussion will examine the unique dynamics involved when helping relationships are brought to a close and the strategies and skills important for practitioners and supervisors to successfully deal with this phase of work. The ending of a supervisory relationship when the staff member leaves the agency as well as the issues involved when a supervisor changes jobs and moves on to another position will be explored.

While the final selection of specific issues to be raised will be determined during the session they may include among others:

• Understanding the stages of the ending process (e.g., denial, anger, etc.) and how to respond directly to indirect communications
• Ending with a staff member you hate to lose
• Ending with a staff member you can’t wait to lose
• Firing a staff member because of staff cutbacks or poor performance
• The impact on the staff who remain – how to respect confidentiality and still address the issues of the survivors
• Helping a staff member end professionally with clients
• Ending the supervisory relationship when the supervisor moves on
• Helping to make the transition to a new supervisor
• Special issues that emerge when a supervisor is promoted to an administrative level but staff keep coming for advice

Biographies of Drs. Shulman and Gitterman