‘I’m Dion, I live on a boat.’ That’s a pretty cool introduction for anyone, and not what I expected from a man who has spent the past decade and a half working in human services and, more recently, perfecting the “art” of solution-focused supervision. …Read more
At any given moment in a supervision session, we may find ourselves wondering, ‘What is the most useful question I could ask right now?’ This, however, begs another question: ‘What do we mean by a useful question?’ Questions are fundamental in constructing—and changing—social realities. …Read more
Davys and Beddoe, authors of Best Practice in Professional Supervision: A Guide for the Helping Professions (2010: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London), suggest that strengths-based approaches to supervision are different to an hierarchical and managerial model of supervision where the supervisor is perceived as the ‘expert’, who imparts …Read more
Anyone who works with people faces a barrage of ethical decisions every day. All decisions by human services practitioners are taken within the context of values and ethics. Professional bodies and human service organisations generally have codes of conduct that may include ethical principles …Read more
In the hurley-burley of daily work with the ever-present ‘To Do’ list, it can be easy to lose track of the principles and values that guide good practice. Right in the midst of a supervision session, or when we are about to meet with …Read more
Peer supervision—why do it? Human service workers get together in peer supervision sessions to discuss practice, to reflect, and to wonder about ethical considerations. Lucky souls, aren’t we? And, it feels entirely congruent to approach peer supervision sessions from a strengths-based perspective. The idea …Read more
‘Strengths-based supervision … is primarily a way of being with practitioners, where attention is given to power with rather than power over, and the environment is such that both supervisor and practitioner contribute their expertise to the relationship.’ Supervision … is a forum …Read more
At any given moment in a supervision session, we may find ourselves wondering, ‘What is the most useful question I could ask right now?’ From a strengths-based, social constructionist perspective, what we perceive as real and important is not compelled by objective conditions but …Read more
