Supervision for school counsellors: when will we get what we really need?

Abstract

This paper addresses the issues associated with providing quality supervision for school counsellors. The variety of tasks that are required of school counsellors makes it essential that appropriate supervisory support is provided by the employer. Clinical supervision should be carried out by a counsellor who has training in supervision methods and techniques, as well as clinical experience in the tasks being supervised. Administrative supervision can be conducted by a member of the school administrative team. School counsellor competence can be developed in the workplace with the support of a colleague or supervisor until expertise develops.

It is accepted that supervision is a crucial part of the professional support for counsellors. Bernard and Goodyear (1992) suggest that supervision serves three basic and important purposes. First, supervision ensures that those entering the profession have appropriate fundamental skills, second, it enhances the functioning of counsellors, and finally, it ensures the quality of service to clients. The supervisor needs to be competent not only in the process of supervision and the specific issues within the educational setting, but also aware of the particular preference of style school counsellors have for supervision, which research has found tends to be quite directive (Usher & Borders, 1993).