1. The Basics of Supervision: A PowerPoint Presentation For Practicum and Internship Supervisors Master of Arts in Counseling Lakeland University Dr. Deborah Bilzing Director of the Master of Arts in Counseling Program
Hello, my name is Dr. Deborah Bilzing and as the Director of the Master or Arts in Counseling Program I want to thank you for taking time to view this presentation on the basics of supervision. On behalf of Lakeland University, the faculty, students, and myself, by volunteering to be an on-site supervisor, you have provided a counseling graduate student with either a Practicum or an Internship placement and on-site supervision.
Although this presentation was designed to meet several licensing and standard requirements for on-site supervisors, our hope is that viewing this presentation will help ensure that supervising any one of our MAC graduate students, no matter what emphasis area, is both successful and rewarding.

2. Before you begin.
Each slide in this presentation is accompanied by some additional notes. The notes have been added to provide more information to each slide.
As you progress through the slides you will notice slide note pages just like this one.
Let’s begin.

3. This presentation is delivered in Four (4) parts:
Describes the purpose of the presentation, definitions of supervision, supervision requirements, approaches to supervision, and supervision goals.
Part 2
Describes the Three Most Common Styles of supervision.
Part 3
Provides more detail about a particular style of supervision that Lakeland believes works best with graduate students in counseling.
Part 4
Describes tips for giving feedback and asks for some additional information concerning the Internship experience.

4. Purpose of this Presentation This presentation covers the knowledge and skills basic to successful supervision.
The goals of this PowerPoint are to:
Share the importance and content of good clinical supervision.
Increase the capacity of the on-site supervisor to provide quality and consistent supervision for our graduate students during their Practicum or Internship experience.
This presentation covers the knowledge and skills that are basic to the art of supervision. And while the Internet is full of information on supervision, I encourage you to talk and share ideas with your peers and others who have supervisory experience. Whether you are a first time supervisor or have been doing this for years, I hope this presentation continues to help you create and refine your own identity as an on-site supervisor.

5. PART 1 Supervision…..What is it?

6. Supervision
Technically speaking, the primary definition of supervision is to have a more seasoned member of a profession (supervisor) provide to a more junior member of that same profession (supervisee) a regular time and space to:
reflect upon the content and process of their work,
to receive information and another perspective concerning one’s work,
to receive content and process feedback,
to be pro-active rather than re-active, and
to ensure the quality of work performed by the supervisee.
While supervision at the Practicum and Internship level has an element of evaluation, the best experience includes stronger elements of building trust and the desire of the graduate student to want to learn more about his or her chosen field and eventually develop some autonomy. Supervision is about helping a counselor-in-training learn how to apply counseling knowledge, skills, and disposition and is driven by the needs of each individual graduate student.

7. Supervisor-Supervisee Relationship
This relationship between supervisor and supervisee is somewhat evaluative, extends over time, monitors service quality and acts as a gate-keeping process for those who are entering the profession. (Bernard and Goodyear, 2004)
Even though graduate students have been observed by many instructors and other counseling professionals by the time they are ready for these “clinical” experiences, your evaluation is of primary importance. Because you have the opportunity to observe our graduate student on a daily basis, your evaluation helps in determining whether our students are ready to move onto the next level or to become initial professional counselors. As an on-site supervisor, you become one of the “gate keepers” to those entering the counseling field.
Bernard, J.M. & Goodyear, R.K. (2004). Fundamentals of clinical supervision, 3rd ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

8. Supervisor or Coach
Each one of these terms include leadership and a process of either building skills or building upon already established skills. This presentation focuses on the supervisor in both an administrative leadership role and coaching role.
Are you a supervisor or a coach? Quite frankly, you are both.
A supervisor is defined as an individual who is responsible for the day-to-day performance of one or more individuals. The supervisor usually has experience in tasks that an individual or group of individuals perform on a daily basis. The supervisor's job is to guide individuals toward goals, seeing that individuals or all members of the team are productive and can resolve problems as they arise. Some words commonly used to describe supervision are guidance, oversight, stewardship, care, and concern.
A coach is defined as someone who instructs or directs in other words, someone who trains another. Words often used to describe a coach are guide, counselor, mentor, or shepard.

9. STOP and THINK: Do you believe you have the skills and time to be an on-site supervisor? Why have you decided to take on the role of an on-site supervisor?
Being a seasoned and competent professional counselor does not automatically make for a good “clinical” on-site supervisor.

10. Requirements for On-site Supervisors
Most On-Site Supervisors must have
A minimum of a master’s degree in counseling or a related profession with equivalent qualifications, including appropriate certifications and/or licenses;
A minimum of three years of pertinent professional experience in the program area in which the student is completing clinical instruction with at least one year of experience in the organization or agency of current employment;
Knowledge of the program’s expectations, requirements, and evaluation procedures for students; and
Completed a review of the PowerPoint slide presentation on the supervision of graduate students.
This slide describes the qualifications of an on-site supervisor.
For School Counseling placements the on-site supervisor must:
-Hold a Wisconsin license, or an equivalent license where the clinical program occurs, and have volunteered for assignment as a cooperating teacher/counselor or school−based supervisor.
-Have at least 3 years of teaching experience with at least one year of teaching experience in the school or school system of current employment or have at least 3 years of pupil service or administrator experience with one year in the school or school system of current employment.
-Have completed training in both the supervision of clinical students and in the applicable standards.
-Knowledge of the program’s expectations, requirements, and evaluation procedures for students.
For Clinical Mental Health Counseling placements the on-site supervisor must:
-Hold a Professional Counselor License, or an equivalent license where the clinical program occurs.
-Have at least 3 years of professional counseling experience with at least one year of experience in the current system of
employment.

11. Guidelines for On-site Supervisor
The On-Site supervisor is asked to perform the following tasks:
Orient your graduate student to the mission, goals and objectives of your agency or institution as well as to the internal operating procedures;
To familiarize the student with the placement’s counseling program’s expectations and requirements;
To organize the student’s experience and ensure the student will have an opportunity to work with a variety of clients, students, staff, families, and or community members;

12. In addition:
Provide the opportunity for the student to gain supervised experience in the use of a variety of professional resources such as assessment instruments, computers, print and non-print media and professional literature and research;
Meet with the student regularly, (at least once a week) to discuss progress, plan future experiences, and evaluate tapes when available (complete required supervision notes);
Verify student’s log of hours completed; and
Participate in final evaluation of the graduate student by completing a mid-term and final written evaluation form and providing feedback to the Internship course adjunct faculty supervisor.

13. Successful On-Site Supervisors are Proactive
Supervisors who use a proactive strategy seek to avoid major supervisory challenges through:
Planning
Communicating
Being involved
Being open and honest
On-site supervisors have to be well prepared for just about anything….

14. Approaches to Supervision
Goals
Coaching
Support
There are four (4) key points to consider that help you become a “proactive” on-site supervisor:
Having a vision
Setting some personal goals (even though we expect the practicum or internship student to come into this experience with some focused goals
Being a coach
Having both internal and external support

15. Lakeland’s vision of supervision
Lakeland’s vision of supervision As a Practicum or Internship supervisor you will enhance our graduate student’s personal and professional development. On-Site Supervisors will oversee and evaluate how well students integrate and apply the knowledge, skills, and dispositions learned in their previous program coursework.
What would be helpful for you to know about your student? How can you support the student’s continued professional development? How can you build a working relationship?
Share your thoughts on supervision with your student. Are you in-tune with each other?
What might be some concerns you have about being a graduate student supervisor? Who can help?
What if things don’t work out?

16. 2. Goals What goals would you set as an On-site supervisor?
What would you like to see the graduate practicum or intern student experience or accomplish during his or her time with you? What do you think the graduate student ought to know, do, and feel during and after this entire experience? Think about your goals and then take time to share your goals with your student.

17. Six (6) goals for On-site Supervisors
1. Provide the student with regular supervision grounded in best practices. Challenge your student’s assumptions. 2. Assist the student in clarifying counseling theories helping to align the student’s practice with his/her chosen theory Provide specific activities and experiences for your student to engage in during his/her placement.
The placement experience can provide an opportunity for students to LEARN from mistakes. The student needs to be challenged in an atmosphere of support and safety. It is also a time where a seasoned practioneer can help a novice become more aware of their own biases and how their actions impact clients. It is a time where YOU can truly impact the personal and professional development of a graduate student in training.
Supervisors need to encourage the student to go beyond required trainings and seek out opportunities to build on existing skills and knowledge.
Supervisors should establish a safe private environment for supervision. This will allow the supervisor and student to explore and clarify critical thinking skills, foster the student’s intuitive skills, discuss conflicts when they arise, and confront personal and professional blocks to growth and self awareness especially with behaviors and conditions that may cause impairment.
Early detection of any ethical or legal issue that may be involved is essential. Make sure you are knowledgeable about the ethics and legal codes found within your profession and in your state.

18. Six (6) goals continued
4. Assess and evaluate your student’s knowledge, skills, and disposition on a regular basis and complete the student’s evaluations at each point during and at the end of the “clinical” placement. (Gatekeeping responsibilities) 5. Adhere to agency, licensing, and accrediting requirements of your profession. 6. Support and monitor the legal, ethical, and cultural competency issues that are a part of the counseling field.

19. Five (5) Activities that can support these goals
Meeting one to one
Modeling
Suggestions to improve professional practice
Observations
Providing the opportunity for the student to meet with other agency or institutional staff
Supervisors are carefully selected with consideration given to their willingness to mentor and
coach graduate students in compliance with the Wisconsin Legislature and the Wisconsin Education
Professional Standards Board.
Model best practices for delivery of client services;
Mastery of the issues presented in the various clinical, school, or higher education settings;
Demonstrate the aptitude and ability to mentor/coach and contribute to the development of graduate students in training;
Model the use of multiple assessments used in your profession; and
Create a learning community that values and builds upon the student’s diverse cultures.

20. 3. Coach Lakeland’s MAC program seeks out supervisors who can:
Think about the list on this slide. While most students are very anxious to find a placement and you might feel a responsibility to your profession to provide this experience, taking on a practicum or internship student is a big responsibility….are you ready?
Lakeland’s MAC program seeks out supervisors who can:
Create a constructive workplace climate.
Provide substantial experiences and activities that will enhance a graduate student’s knowledge, skills, and disposition.
Provide recognition, feedback, and eventually evaluate the student’s work.
Deal with performance issues.
Stay in touch with the practicum or internship student.
Guide and support the student.

21. 4. Support
Before agreeing to supervise a graduate student, please consider these environmental issues:
Is your agency/institution agreeable to being a placement site?
Is your supervisor supportive of your aspiration to be an On-Site supervisor?
Do you feel you have the support of the Lakeland Course Instructor?
If you feel uncomfortable addressing some issues, there is a University instructor for both the practicum and internship courses that can help. Please feel free to call or the specific course instructor to discuss any difficulties you are encountering. All difficulties can easily be brought up in a three-way conference call, discussion etc.
Communication between yourself the University course instructor and student is the KEY to everyone’s success!!!!!!
Supervisors should use the following prioritized list in resolving potential conflicts;
Client welfare
Student welfare
Supervisor welfare
Agency welfare

22. Have you thought about how you would like to supervise
Have you thought about how you would like to supervise? (what’s your style?)
"I'll just let them get on with it, I'm sure they'll do fine, they don't really want me interfering anyway"
"It stands to reason, if they seem like they know what they are doing and are happy the work will take care of itself."
Think about your own supervision. How is supervision working for your continued professional development?

23. Part 2
Styles of Supervision

24. Three Most Common Styles of Supervision
Autocrat
Lassie-Faire
Democratic
What’s your style ?
While there are probably many styles of supervision, these three seem to be the most common. Quickly, without moving on to the next slides and off the top of your head, which style do you think fits best?

25. The Autocrat Supervisor
The autocratic supervisor dominates the practicum or internship student and doesn’t seem to trust the student’s skills or knowledge.
This approach to supervision generally results in passive resistance from the student and requires continual pressure and direction from the supervisor in order to get things done.
This type of supervision requires a lot of time and work and generally an authoritarian approach is not a good way to see the best performance from a practicing graduate student in counseling.

26. Instances where an autocratic style of supervision may be appropriate.
Some situations may call for urgent action and in these cases an autocratic style of supervision may be best.
In addition, most people are familiar with autocratic supervision and therefore have less trouble adopting that style. Furthermore, in some situations a student may actually prefer an autocratic style.

27. The Laissez-Faire Supervisor
The Laissez-Faire supervisor exercises little control over the practicum or internship student, leaving the student to sort out his/her roles and tackle their work without participating in the process.
In general, this approach leaves the graduate student floundering with little direction or motivation. This style can sometimes create confusion for a student. The student is left to try and figure out the supervisor’s expectations.

28. There are also situations where the Laissez-Faire approach can be effective.
When supervising highly motivated and skilled individuals who have produced excellent work in the past.
By handing over ownership, a supervisor can empower their student to achieve their practicum or internship goals.
Once a supervisor has established that the student is confident, capable and motivated it is often best to step back and let the student show his/her best efforts since interfering can sometimes generate resentment and detract from the student’s effectiveness.

29. The Democratic Supervisor
The democratic supervisor makes decisions by consulting with the practicum or internship student while still maintaining some control over the placement experience. The democratic supervisor allows the student to be a part of deciding how and when the task will be tackled and provides input when needed.
This is probably the most collaborative style of supervision. This style is based on a professional and collegial relationship between supervisor and the practicum or internship student. The democratic style is one where both individuals feel they have a voice.

30. A good democratic supervisor:
Encourages participation and delegates wisely and never loses sight of the fact that he/she bears the crucial responsibility of the placement experience.
Values discussion and input from the student and can be seen as drawing from a pool of the student’s strong skills in order to obtain the student’s best performance.
This type of supervisor motivates the student by empowering the student to be self-directed while providing guidance with a loose rein.

31. What style is the best to use for supervising counseling graduate students?
So how do you decide which style to use? Which one works best in the counseling field working with graduate students?

32. You are right, the Democratic Style of Supervision

33. Part 3
The Democratic Style of Supervision

34. Adjustments to the Democratic Style of Supervision
Many times supervisors have to adjust the Democratic style according to
the situation that they are presented with. Below are four quadrants of
situational supervision that depend on the amount of support and
guidance needed :
Telling: Works best when a graduate student is neither willing nor able to do the job (high need of support and high need of guidance).
Delegating: Works best when the graduate student is willing to do the job and knows how to go about it (low need of support and low need of guidance).
Participating: Works best when the graduate student has the ability to do the job, but needs additional support (low need of guidance but high need of support).
Selling: Works best when the graduate student is willing to do the job, but
doesn’t know how to do it (low need of support but high need of guidance).
Now that we’ve established that the Democratic style works best with graduate students doing counseling placements, digging deeper we find within this style there are four (4) different quadrants which are guided by the situation and the relationship behavior, amount of support required, task behavior, and amount of guidance required by a student.

35. Is one quadrant of the democratic style of supervision better than the other?
Practice Slides
Listed on the next couple of slides are some supervisory situations. If you have time and would like to, you are invited to read the situations and decide for yourself which of the four quadrants would work best in each situation.
Then pick the quadrant that best fits that situation.
Keep in mind that using each quadrant depends upon the situation, the amount of support required, and the amount of guidance needed.

36. Situation 1
You are considering a major change in your counseling program. The graduate student has a fine record of accomplishment and a strong commitment to excellence. The student is supportive of the need for change and has been involved in the planning.
What quadrant of the democratic style would be best to use in this situation?

37. Situation 2
During the past few months the quality of work done by your graduate student has been outstanding. The student has met all of your performance expectations. You are very pleased with his/her knowledge, skills, and disposition as a counselor.
What quadrant of the democratic style would be best to use in this situation?

38. Situation 3
The graduate student appears to be having serious problems understanding his/her role and engaging in your counseling program. The student’s performance seems been going downhill rapidly and he/she has not responded to your efforts to be friendly or your expressions of concern for his/her welfare.
What quadrant of the democratic style would be best to use in this situation?

39. Situation 4
Performance and interpersonal relations among the graduate student, you, your faculty or staff, students, and parents or community members has been great. As a result, you have normally left the student alone. However, a new situation has developed and it appears that the student seems unable to address or solve the situation on their own.
What quadrant of the democratic style would be best to use in this situation?

40. Answers Situation 1- Selling Situation 2- Delegating
Situation 3- Telling
Situation 4- Participating
How would you carry out this particular quadrant?
#1-Selling
Involve the student in the planning letting the student direct the change. Co-announce the changes letting the student implement changes with close supervision. Allow the student to be involved in developing the change and manage the change process.
#2 Delegating
Stay uninvolved. Be supportive and provide clear feedback. Make every effort to continue to let the student feel important and involved in the decision making process.
#3-Telling
Reestablish the need for following program procedures and meeting the expectations for task accomplishment. Be sure that the student knows you are available for discussion. Talk with your student and then set performance goals. Wait and see what happens.
#4-Participating
The student has demonstrated they have the ability to do the job but still may demonstrate a higher need of support.

41. Tips for Giving Feedback
Part 4
Tips for Giving Feedback
“there is no question that feedback may be one of the most difficult arenas to negotiate in our lives. We should remember though, that victory is not getting good feedback, avoiding giving difficult feedback, or avoiding the need for feedback. Instead it’s taking off the armor, showing up, and engaging.” -Brene Brown

42. 10 Tips for Giving Feedback
Focus on the action or behavior not the person.
Feedback should describe the action or behavior rather than evaluate it.
Useful feedback is specific rather than general.
Feedback should be well timed, appropriate, and as immediate as possible.
Feedback should focus on the positive for the most part.
Feedback should be limited to what the person can use not all you can give.
Feedback should focus on alternatives rather than reaching one solution.
Check for understanding.
Focus on information not feelings.
Verbal feedback needs to be in alignment with non-verbal behavior.
This slide provides you with some tips for giving constructive feedback. Feedback that the practicum or internship student can see as helpful and not harmful, feedback that encourages the student to want to learn more knowing that being competent in the field of counseling takes more than what a master’s program can provide. Competence is a life long process….

43. Finally and Almost to the End
Hopefully you have found this PowerPoint presentation to be helpful as you begin your On-Site Supervisor role in our MAC program. Just a few more pieces of information that will help to ensure your success as a supervisor and the success of your practicum or internship student:
Make sure your graduate student has given you a copy of the MAC Supervisor Handbook- Review the Handbook during your first meeting and discuss any concerns that you or your student might have.
Ask the your student to provide you with a copy of his/her placement goals.
Ask your student to describe his/her strengths and challenges.
Review Contact information: yours, the student’s, and the instructor’s.
The Handbook has specific information about the Practicum and the Internship experience.
Are there specific activities and experiences your student would like to engage in during their placement? Have you talked about this with your graduate student?
Does everyone know how to keep in contact with each other outside of the placement?

44. Websites Describing Various Supervision Models

45. THANK YOU!
Once again, thank you for your willingness to supervise a MAC practicum or internship student and taking time to review this PowerPoint presentation. Now that you have completed the training, please send an message to; Deborah Bilzing at indicating that you have reviewed and completed the presentation. In addition, please feel free to include any feedback you think would enhance the presentation. Fondly, Deborah Bilzing, Ed.D.,NCC Director of the Master of Arts in Counseling Program
This presentation was designed to provide you with a review of supervision and some basic thoughts and ideas about how supervision can be carried out successfully for both you and any MAC graduate student you will be supervising. The presentation was also intended to describe factors that facilitate supervision along with listing some factors that can hinder effective supervision.
The essential task for on-site supervisors is to arrange the conditions whereby graduate students doing their “clinical” placements can achieve their own goals, direct their own efforts, and become ethical competent professional counselors.