Supervision and Consultation – COUC 714

Course Description

Theory, practice, and experience of supervision for counselors in training are reviewed. Students apply principles and theory while supervising other students, as well as being supervised themselves.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Rationale

The purpose of this course is to help counselors become aware of and trained in the process of counseling supervision and consultation with the purpose of protecting counselors-in-training from making or practicing unethical decisions or techniques. Supervision and collaboration are first and foremost helping relationships which have as their foundation the dignity and respect of the parties involved.  The importance and role of supervision and consultation in counselor education is evident.  First, clinical organizations promote ethical principles and competencies within the profession of counseling and often provide supervision to junior professionals.  Second, accreditation and licensing requirements mandate that trainees be given adequate supervision to assist and ensure their professional development. Hence, supervision and consultation training are core elements in counselor education and supervision. Graduates are expected to have the capability to (a) provide theoretical and empirically based supervision to counselor trainees and consultation to various organizations, (b) provide supervision training, (c) conduct supervision-related and consultation-related research inquiry, (d) evaluate ethical and competent practice, and (e) see technology as a tool to assist professionals and organizations

A Christian worldview rests on loving God and loving others.  Our counselor education program views individuals as image-bearers of God who are responsible, creative, and capable.  Our graduates are to create conditions in which people and counselors-in-training feel valued and encouraged to develop to their fullest.  That they consider themselves members of a community guided by knowledge, virtue, values, and experiences.

Course Assignment

Professionalism and Participation Assignment

Students are expected to attend the entire intensive (all day, each day) and be prepared to actively participate. On Canvas and during intensive week. (Learning Outcome B, E, F, G, & H)

Literature-Based Model Presentation Assignment

The student will be paired with another student to present a particular counseling supervision model or consultation that will be assigned to each pair of students.  Students should be creative with their presentation.  As part of the presentation, students will submit their PowerPoint slides and formal notes via Blackboard prior to the presentation with clarity over which content each student developed.  The presentation will occur during the course intensive.  Time limit for each presentation dependent upon the number of students in the class (may range from 45 minutes to one hour and 30 minutes.  A rubric is available on Blackboard to aid students in understanding expectations (Learning Outcome A, D, & F.)

Research Proposal Paper Assignment

The student will create a research proposal for a specific topic in counseling supervision or consultation. The paper will be approximately 4 pages (not including title, abstract, & references) and formatted according to the APA 6^th edition publication manual. The proposal must include the following sections (pages are suggestions):

1. Brief Introduction
2. Purpose of the Study/Research Questions
3. Brief describe nature and type of study design (1/2 page for 1-3)
4. Literature Review (1 to 2 pages)
   1. Research studies (quantitative and qualitative) that explore or describe the topic. Emphasis should be upon quantitative studies.
   2. Synthesize the review by themes with empirical studies presented in historical order per theme.
5. Methods (1 page)
   1. Independent/Dependent Variable(s)
   2. Procedures
   3. Ethical Considerations
6. References

Personal Supervision Model Assignment

Students will prepare an 8-page paper that describes their personal philosophy and model of counseling supervision. The paper needs to reflect definition of supervision, role of the supervisor, philosophy and process of evaluation, theory of counselor development, and relationship to counseling theory. It is permissible to incorporate other models of supervision into the paper but the model should reflect the student’s own thoughts. The paper should be approached as a research paper in the sense that the student’s model should interact with the literature, but still convey his or her own thoughts regarding supervision. Students are encouraged to develop their own title for their model.   See the rubric on Blackboard to aid students in understanding expectations related to this assignment (Learning Outcome A, B, D, & F.)

Videoed Supervision Sessions

Immediately seek and secure a master’s level or post-master’s level counselor with whom you can provide counseling supervision (should students find it very difficult to find a supervisee who meets the prior requirements, other arrangements must be discussed with the Professor for approval). It is highly recommended that you arrange for this as soon as possible.

The total duration of your supervision with your supervisee should be at least seven (7) face-to-face sessions. Students will videotape all supervision sessions; only two (2) of the sessions should be submitted. One of the two must be the first session.  Record the sessions on a program and device that can be played on a Microsoft computer.  Each of the two sessions will be turned in separately throughout the semester (see Calendar).

Students should demonstrate a clear model of supervision and key supervision skills. Students are graded based upon the quality of skills demonstrated and their consistency with a particular theoretical model. Write and maintain supervision notes on each session, which will be submitted (see “F”).

In addition to the video submissions, students need to submit a special reflection paper (not necessary to use APA format, but have a title page) of the submitted video session (this is separate from the assignment described in “F”).   In this paper, identify where you believe you demonstrated skills well, places where you would like to do something different, where a supervision model can be seen in the session, and something the student (supervisor) learned from the supervision session.  Clearly, identify where these issues are on the video tape (note the time in the paper.  The paper does not need to be more than one or two pages.  This will be submitted under the link that will be marked “Video 1” and “Video 2” because the grade is associated with the actual video session.  Each self-reflection paper is to be no more than 2 pages, 1 page is adequate.  (Learning Outcome E, F, & G).

Final Self-Reflection Paper Assignment

Each student will submit a written evaluation of the entire supervisory experience. The evaluation is intended to be a personal examination of supervisory notions, expectations, strengths, areas of growth, questions, suspicions, and similar baseline items affecting anticipated activities

1. Personal Evaluation of Supervision Performance: Evaluate the total work of your supervision. This section of the assignment should be no more than three (3) pages.  The following items should be useful in writing your evaluation paper.

• How did you evaluate your work, based on what criteria, and evaluated by whom?
• What would your supervisees say about your supervision style and practice?
• What was your role as a supervisor?
• Overall, how well did you do?
• What ethical and legal issues were involved, if any?
• What cultural issues were involved and arose in the supervision?
• How was a biblical worldview overtly and/or covertly integrated throughout the sessions?
• What countertransference issues emerged through the supervision?

2. Appendices: You will include three (3) Appendices in this paper—Appendix 1: Supervision Notes, Appendix 2: Evaluation of the Supervisee (use the evaluation form provided on Blackboard or create your own), and Appendix 3: Journal.
3. Supervision Notes: You may use your own format to take notes of each session
4. Evaluation of Supervisee: At the last session, provide an evaluation of your supervisee. You may use your own form or use one from the class to evaluate the supervisee’s performance.  You might write a summative evaluation if you prefer.  Share the feedback with the supervisee.
5. Personal Journal: Throughout the intensive keep a journal to reflect on your weekly work. Focus on both personal and professional experiences (Learning Outcomes E, F, & G)

Ethics Informed Consent and Agreement

As part of your supervision session develop an “Informed Consent” that you will have the supervisee sign. Ensure that it addresses all the necessary information.  (Learning Outcome C)