1. Supervising social workers in alcohol and other drug work
Wulf Livingston Senior Lecturer in Social Work – Glyndwr University 1

2. AIMS OF PRESENTATION The context Supervision as an experience
Considerations – what and who’s knowledge
The key elements of supervision – alcohol and social work
Using process and experience (rather than content) models of supervision – theory and example 2 2

3. 3

4. The perceived alcohol problem (symptom or problem)
Alcohol and Social Work a Context
Correlation with social work client base
The perceived alcohol problem (symptom or problem)
Strategic responses (Labours addiction)
From CAT to Case Management, with some DANOS thrown in
Ability to parent or Negative Hair Follicle Tests?
(AAPPQ/DAPPQ/SADAPPQ any old PPQ)
Inadequacies (role, support, adequacy and legitimacy) = Training 4

5. Social Worker Supervision – a context
Time
Caseloads
Life
Demands
Clients
What to do?
Help?
Conflicting or Complimentary?
Consistency and Fairness?
Inspection
Monitoring
Supervisors -Four Heads or one?
Managers -
Ownership
Fear
Hopelessness
Inadequacy
Legitimacy
Getting
Supervision?
Theories
Models
Philosophies
Approaches

6. Informing case not practitioner
Case Management Supervision – Balancing audit of accountability with improved staff developmental understanding
Climbie – Laming (2003)
Informing case not practitioner
Risk and case management not social work?
Reflection -Schon
Knowledge Dialogue (Typologies beyond the codified -Collingwood, Drury Hudson, Meemeduma, Trevithick ..)

7. Challenging the two assumptions
Not our work – need to manage risk, by referral to others (Not a supervision and skills conversation)
If we do work, we need more training to inform the knowledge we use (Is alcohol knowledge deficiency issue?)

8. DRINKING LANAGUAGE “Now, I*** drank like a fish…..” (A)
“But my grandfather, wasn’t a teetotaller but wasn’t, he wouldn’t drink really, he was … you remember the Band of Hope?” (A)
“…….who has a sherry at eleven o’clock and she’s not an old biddy, she’s…..” (A)
“……the other one was a much older male and an alcoholic and all of his friends were alcoholics, so there was this kind of community of alcoholism….” (B)
“Not a dependency where they need to drink alcohol but if I do go out at the weekend I’m going to get leathered and I’m going to have a laugh and that’s how he was and that’s how he explained his alcohol use really and....” (C) 8

9. Drinking Language (2)
“He was drinking out but he would also bring it home, as well. So, he’d go out on a Saturday and he’d come back plastered, you know…not falling over drunk...not wetting his pants drunk …” (D)
“….. he is an alcoholic, and he owns his own business and everyone knows he is, and it’s this thing of, “Oh, you know, it’s a shame isn’t it?” ‘cause it’s like every now and again he will go on a binge drink and it’s funny you know that he walks home and falls into the hedge and – but it’s a known thing in the village that this is how he is ….” (E)

10. Non classroom influences
“I must admit I look at my colleagues, forty plus, they do like a glass of wine in the evening. They do smell of alcohol in the morning, when they come to work and they’re driving to work.”
“I saw it at first hand what alcohol can do to people, change them as a person, changes their character” 10

11. 11 UNCODIFIED KNOWLEDGE Life Work PRIOR
(Direct Experience – Interactional and Informal)
Life
Drinking Experience
Work
Family
Self
Social
Others
Clients
Media
Culture
Training
Supervision
“Big Case”
PRIOR
TRAJECTORIES Values ETHICS LEARNING STYLE
CODIFIED KNOWLEDGE
PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE
SUBJECTIVE DISCOURSE
AND
ACCOUNT
NARRATIVE AND DISCLOSURE
CURRENT ORGANISATION
Client
“Alcohol”
Worker
Academic Theory
Professional
Qualification
Research
Policy
Legislation 11

12. Supervisees Clients Quality Protecting Agency Caseload Audit
What is Supervision? What is it for?
Supervisees
Clients
Quality
Protecting Agency
Caseload Audit

14. Thinking and Doing not just Doing

15. Towards Self Supervision (1)
Stage 1 The Supervisee is an Apprentice
skills development
understanding theory and it's application
building up the confidence and self-belief.
Stage 2 The supervisee is a journeyman craftsman.
how can I help this particular client
starting to make his / her work a reflection of themselves.
Knowledge - Understanding  - Application - Reflection on practice -

16. Towards Self Supervision (2)
Stage 3 The supervisee is an independent Craftsman.
- seeing work/therapy in it' s wider context and to deal with the relationship process.
Stage 4  The supervisee is a master craftsman.
- the experienced practitioner with the ability to self evaluate in the wider context.
  Analysis -  Synthesis – Evaluation – Reflection on Self.

17. Process Supervision Not external content but what is in the room
Not just client feelings, behaviour and relationships but those of supervision/supervisee.
Exploring the here and now to learn
-more about self
-more about clients
Supervision as reflective mirror on practice
In action and counter transference
Principles

18. What (1) Transferable skills and knowledge
(2) Risk (Problem) or Complicating Factor (Symptom)
(3) Codified Knowledge (identification, assessment, working with and referral on)
(4) Experience – (process with client and in supervision)
(5) Wider Drinking influences (own, family culture, society, colleagues and agency)

20. Example (1) –What?
“Quite a few times actually, just – this is going to sound really bad now, it’s just, like I say, when we drink, I say, “we” collectively, as in me and my friends, someone always tends to fall over or something happens or you know the usual, and then the next morning, I don’t know how many times we’ve been – but you know, to casualty ‘cause someone’s wrist has swollen up or they can’t walk the next day or something like that ..”

21. Example (2) Process - supervision
Joining the team – individual and group discussion
Discussed feelings prior to starting
Shared feelings and relationships as she began
(some on going –feelings , relationships and behaviour including drinking)
Shared feelings as she ended

22. What did we learn (2) Mirror – the step parent, child, new born,
Enriched understanding of beginning middle and ending of relationships
The power of changing dynamics
Drinking in context
Inclusion and exclusion
Acceptance and Resistance
Changing roles

23. must surely question what makes us suppose we can practice effectively
Any one of us looking back at the human pain and social distress of others to which we have been exposed,
not to mention our own,
must surely question what makes us suppose we can practice effectively
without such a regular,
conscientious examination of our own work, of what might improve it and what impedes it,
and of our own feelings about it.”
Swain 1998