‘Every ending requires us to begin anew’: Endings and beginnings in supervisory relationships

Abstract

Aim(s)Supervision has been characterised as a ‘signature pedagogy’ in the helping professions and an integral component of pre-service training for applied psychologists. Regulatory and professional standards for trainee and qualified Educational Psychologists (EPs) emphasise engagement in supervision as part of our discipline’s orientation towards learning and growth, as well as in enhancing safety and effectiveness for service users. This paper aims to provide a reflective account of evaluation and endings in supervisory relationships.Method/RationaleThere is an increasing interest in the place of supervision as a core component of lifelong professional learning and development. In contrast to beginnings, the evaluation and ending of supervisory relationships (SR) have received less attention in the literature and can be left unattended to in practice. This may reflect some uncomfortable feelings associated with giving and receiving feedback within professional relationships, as well as the multiple meanings endings may have for supervisee and supervisor. The Relational Model of Supervision for Applied Psychology Practice (RMSAPP) and associated supervisory process in evaluation and endings may support practice in this area. This paper outlines the model’s framework for evaluation and ending, and a reflective account of the ending and beginning of supervisory relationships is provided. The supervisee provided feedback on the SR to the original supervisor and this informed the ending made in that supervisory dyad. The supervisee then established a new SR with a different supervisor and the paper’s reflective accounts are from three perspectives: the supervisee, the former and new supervisors.FindingsA critically reflective account of evaluating, ending and new beginnings between a supervisee and two different supervisors is offered, with attention paid to the power differentials between supervisee and supervisors. The account illustrates some of the meanings made of evaluation, endings and beginnings. The benefits of the approach are highlighted, and some tentative ideas about how further developments could be made included.LimitationsThe meanings derived from the authors’ experiential learning arose within particular SRs and are unique to these relationships.ConclusionsThere are opportunities for development of reflective EP practice in this area, and for further research. The reflective accounts provided may be a stimulus for further reflection on personal and professional development of supervisory practice.