Thirty years ago, professional guidelines in supervision were almost non-existent in the field of counseling and counselor education (Bernard, 2005). Although authors, such as, Eckstein and Wallerstein (1958), discussed supervision as early as the 1950’s, there was little research articulating the supervision process separate from traditional psychotherapy. By the late 1970’s, supervision models were being developed, such as, Stoltenburg’s Developmental Model (1981) that specifically addressed supervision and training in counseling. These models sparked considerable interest in researching new approaches to the various tasks of supervision. Since then there have been significant advances in organizing supervision and in the understanding …show more content…
Integrative approaches to supervision utilize more than one theory and technique to address supervision. The goal in using an integrative approach is to build a conceptual framework that synthesizes multiple theoretical approaches to produce an outcome greater than that of a single theory. The specific integrative approach in my disclosure statement is the Discrimination Model introduced in the late 1970’s by Janine Bernard. The Discrimination Model is one of the most commonly used and researched integrative approaches to supervision. Bernard indicates that a distinct advantage of this type of model is the simplicity that it offers for providing feedback and evaluation. It is a model that both supervisor and supervisee are able to understand which ultimately promotes greater communication in the supervisory relationship (Koltz, …show more content…
The teacher’s primary role is to provide the supervisee with instruction in learning techniques and with direction in developing clinical skills. For example, while reviewing the supervisee’s recorded session, I may give suggestions for reflecting content for clarity. The counselor’s role is to assist the supervisee in identifying personal needs, developing self-awareness, and overcoming performance anxiety. If the supervisee reveal personal issues requiring counseling, I would recommend that the supervisee see a therapist. As previously mentioned, supervision is a separate process from counseling and the two should not be provided by the same person. Counseling a supervisee could interfere with accurate evaluation of supervision and potentially lead to an ethical issue. The consultant role engages the supervisee in a collegial manner in identification and consideration of different approaches in treatment planning. For example, I may help the supervisee evaluate the need for inpatient treatment verses outpatient services. The multiple roles of the Discrimination Model allows me to appropriately adjust my approach based on the specific needs and level of development of the supervisee. Continual evaluation of the supervisee ensures that the focus and role meet the most salient needs during each