Strength-Based Supervision: Frameworks, Current Practice, and Future Directions

Abstract

In response to an article that described a “Zen-like” method of counselor supervision where the student is “beaten” into understanding, the authors present a different method, likening it to the wu-wei practice in Zen and Taoism. This model is strength-based, punctuating what the counselor does well rather than looking for problems. Wu-wei is different from some traditional models where supervisors tend to assume that their view of the client/counselor relationship is more informed and correct than the counselors they supervise. This article reviews counseling supervision, and suggests that a strength-based wu-wei model and an understanding of isomorphy in supervisory relationships are the preferred practice for the supervision of family counselors. Various contexts are presented in addition to family counseling training. It is posited that this model of supervision potentiates the person-of-the-counselor.