PEER SUPERVISION
Prepared for UNH Center for Professional Excellence in Child Welfare
by Sarah Ake
LEARNING OUTCOMES
You will learn…
 The definitions & characteristics of peer supervision
 The benefits of peer supervision
 How to start a peer supervision group, including recruiting
members, structuring, contracting and first beginnings
 How peer supervision applies to work in child welfare
 Why peer supervision is effective, ethical, and needed especially in a tough economy
WHAT IS PEER SUPERVISION?
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A group of organized professionals with same knowledge, skill
levels, and status
No defined leader
An organized group of professionals who meet regularly to
discuss:
 Professional challenges
 Self-exploration
 Diversity and culture
 New interventions & solutions
 Ethical dilemmas or situations
 Difficult caseloads
MODELS OF PEER SUPERVISION
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Psychodynamic
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Developmental model
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Parallel process
Stages of the group
Role centered model
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Group supervisor, the counselor, the client, present or non present
significant others, multicultural role, theoretical perspectives, etc.
THE BENEFITS OF PEER SUPERVISION
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Networking
Develop a Professional Identity
Practice of Supervision & Skills
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Cohesion & Support in the profession
Peer interaction
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Including Role playing, challenging assumptions, learning multiple
interventions and solutions
Counteracts against social isolation in the profession
Lack of a power struggle
Gain Self-efficacy, Trust, & Self-Esteem
Counteracts Burnout
THE CHALLENGES OF PEER SUPERVISION
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Staying on Task
Group Member Interactions
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Inappropriate contracting
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Group members not getting along, problems with communication, etc.
Lateness, attendance, time to speak, etc.
Inappropriate evaluation
Shame or guilt
HOW TO IMPLEMENT A PEER SUPERVISION GROUP
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Members
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Rotating Presenters
Contracting
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Interview Process
Four to Six
Ten to Fifteen
Lateness, Time to speak, Attendance, monopolizing, silence, etc.
Evaluation
HOW WILL THIS BE USED IN CHILD WELFARE?
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Effective Supervision is needed in high
stress professions
Child welfare workers need support of
their co-workers and administrations
VALUES, ETHICS & PEER SUPERVISION
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Values of the profession
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Social work
Psychotherapy
Counseling
Confidentiality
Rights & Responsibilities
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Informed Consent
Example: the right to leave the peer
supervision group.
ACTIVITY
Reflection Activity:
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You want to include another individual in your peer supervision group. You
and another member, with the permission of the group, decide to meet with
a few individuals in the office who may want to join. What kinds of things
might you ask a possible new group member?
You just started a peer supervision group and it has been going well. You are
exploring your caseloads, finding out more about yourself, and connecting
with others. In the tenth supervision group, one of the members who always
has good input, always validates others, promotes self-exploration, and
upholds the contract suddenly leaves. You and the other members in the
group decide to continue on with the group but you feel that it isn’t the same
and the group seems to be falling off track. What would you do?
THANK YOU
Thank you for participating in this training!
REFERENCES AND RECOMMENDED READINGS
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Akhurst, J., Kelly, K. (2006). Peer group supervision as an adjunct to individual supervision:
Optimising learning processes during psychologist’s training. Psychology Teaching Review,
12,1,3-15.
Corey, G., Corey, M. & Callanan, P. (2011). Issues and ethics in the helping professions.
Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning: Belmont CA, 479-506.
Counselman, E., Weber, R. (2004). Organizing and maintaining peer supervision groups. Int J
Psychotherapy, 54(2): 125-43. Retrieved from,
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15103999.
Lassiter, P., Napolitano, L., Culbreth, J., & Kok-Mun, N. (2008) Counselor preparation:
Developing multicultural competence using the structured peer group supervision model.
Counselor Education & Supervision, 47, 164-177.
Thomasgard, M., Collins, V. (2003). A comprehensive review of cross-disciplinary, case-based
peer supervision model. Families, Systems, and Health, 21, 3, 305-318.
Zorga, S., Dekleva, B. & Kobolt, A. (2001). The process of internal evaluation as a tool for
improving peer supervision. International Journal for the Advancement of Counseling, 23, 151162.