Social Work Supervision Seminar 2019

by Yogeswari Munisamy, Jade Low, with the Child Protective Service Supervision Squad!

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Trauma informed supervision becomes increasingly important as cases become more complex and the exposure of our social workers to trauma of clients and traumatic incidents also becomes more prevalent. The space and skill in supervision to address this key aspect will be explored in this segment. The workshop will have a twin focus on a) working with clients who are traumatised as well as on b) the practitioners who experience traumatic events or deal with trauma material in the course of their work. Five key handles of trauma informed supervision that anchor on a mindful approach of engaging in the supervision process will be shared through an experiential format. The key thrust of the workshop will be that health is bigger than trauma. Early detection and prevention of secondary traumatic stress or vicarious trauma will also be touched on for the professionals.

by Benny Bong

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Abstract coming soon.

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by Dr Peace Wong, Melissa Lim-Ler, Tan Boon Huat

It is commonly acknowledged that supervisors need to obtain supervision of their supervision (Hawkins & Shohet, 2012). In this workshop, we will be sharing a supervision of supervision training that was developed to enhance the supervisory knowledge and skills of Social Work supervisors. More specifically, we will examine the use of reflecting team in group supervision and consider the impact on the development on supervisors, and supervisees, as well as the work with clients. Theoretically driven and experiential by nature, the workshop is focused on allowing participants to gain a better understanding of the use of reflecting team, as well as supervision of supervision in the local context.

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by Elijah Sim

As social workers function in an increasingly complex and difficult environment, uncertainty becomes a common occurrence. Uncertainty joined with the need for accountable practice can create a sense of anxiety. Unchecked, anxiety can ironically drive one to seek certainty as well as quick clinical judgments and decisions. Unfortunately such swiftness may come from a place of pre-mature knowing and hence does not augur well for the development of reflexive practice,

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This workshop invites participants to explore the meaning and value of reflexivity in social work practice and how this can be nurtured during supervisory conversation. Video illustration of supervisory conversation will demonstrate how reflexive practice holds the potential for more generative supervisory experience and outcomes.

by Kek Seow Ling, Deborah Wan

As an attempt to advance practice fidelity in restorative practices, Lutheran Community Care Services established a set of principles to guide our practice. As an organisation that seeks to build a restorative culture, this set of principles are also translated to clinical supervision.

In this workshop, the facilitators will share on the Restorative Justice principles-based supervision framework, including its development and utility. The facilitators shall also make attempts to bridge its supervision framework and supervision principles to the functions of supervision and social work and psychological theories respectively.

by Mohamed Fareez Mohamed Fahmy

Narrative ideas, developed by Michael White and David Epston (1990), are therapeutic approaches that privilege the stories of the people who consult us, in a a respectful, non-blaming approach to social work practice. People are centred as experts in their own lives, and problems are viewed as separate from them. A narrative paradigm acknowledges that people have many skills, competencies and knowledges (some overt, whilst some are hidden) that can be tapped on to deal with the problems they are experiencing. In narrative supervision, supervisors can play collaborative roles to link supervisee’s social work actions to their preferred self-identities.

In this presentation, Fareez will be sharing 2 maps of inquiries that can support the uncovering of alternative stories that may be helpful for supervisees, akin to Michael White’s “maps of narrative practices” (2007). One map focuses on slowing down and unpacking key turning points in supervisee’s experiences in their cases, whilst another map, utilises a journey metaphor (Shantasaravanan, 2019) to link Supervisee’s values and goals to their preferred directions and hopes in social work practice. Examples in professional practice will illustrated to show that prior “in-depth” knowledge in Narrative theories is not necessary for both supervisor and supervisee to engage in an effective collaborative relationship.

by Dr Agnes Ng

Becoming a new supervisor is both exciting and daunting in equal measures. These feelings of excitement are often accompanied by feelings of apprehension and trepidation as the new supervisory role has the potential to be hard and challenging. At the same time, aware of these challenges in advance, you can be prepared as it is a good opportunity for you to learn new skills, and take on more responsibilities.

The current workshop aims to help you:

1. embrace these emotions and use them positively rather than reject them;

2. equip with core supervisory  knowledge and skills in mastering the new role;

3. develop the attributes all supervisors need to be good and effective; and

4. provide evaluative and developmental feedback to supervisees in relation to their work practice.

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This workshop is suitable for those who newly promoted supervisors, supervisors who have been in the role but never received formal training and supervisors who want to develop better management skills and be more effective in their role.

by Associate Professor Liz Beddoe

All social workers have experienced ‘live’ assessments of their skills, during their initial education, through the observation of their emergent practice. Following qualification, some professional bodies and employers may require observations but this is not universal. Attestation to the quality and currency of practitioners’ work is important and one way to achieve this is to require practitioners to demonstrate their practice in ‘real time’. Live observation of practice may be carried out for varied purposes including professional development, formative and summative feedback and assessment.

Such assessments reawaken, in many practitioners, memories of trauma and doubt associated with earlier student assessment. Those undertaking observations may also lack the knowledge, skills and confidence to perform them. This interactive workshop will identify a range of observation opportunities, outlining the advantages of each and the differences between them. I will present a model for observation which can fit each form of observation and which offers practitioners purposeful engagement and ownership within the process.

Social work leaders can provide strong support for supervision practices driving excellent practice by supporting time for live observation and encouraging skill development in this element. Good practice in live observation can strengthen professional identity and commitment to social work values.