A summary of ‘The Supervision Space: Young and Experienced. Age Diversity in Supervision’ by Natasha Rae-Dean, in Counselling Matters, April 2021.
Reflexivity is a practice crucial in developing effective practice as a therapist. It’s a practice of self-awareness, of understanding our own life experiences and the influence they have on our responses. Within the therapeutic setting, this empowers us to act and respond in ways that benefit our clients.
Moving towards ever-increasing self-awareness is vital at every stage of practice. It allows us to uncover any unconscious biases we may hold, which could otherwise undermine our ability to collaborate effectively in supervision spaces, research settings, and ultimately in our client work.
The process of self-reflection can feel uncomfortable, especially when we risk opening ourselves up to reasonable criticism, but it’s this vulnerability that makes transformation possible. Diversity within supervision spaces provides the opportunity to co-create such transformation.
Diversity is often thought of in terms of the prejudice counsellors might hold toward certain client groups (quite rightly, policies exist to protect clients against discrimination), but bias can also exist within the counselling world itself, between therapists and supervisors.
Natasha Rae-Dean shares her own experience of age discrimination as a young supervisor within the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, where less than 20% of members are under 45 years old.
She notes prejudice inherent in the assumption that younger practitioners lack the life experience necessary to be effective. Internalizing such messages provoked within her a sense of not being good enough. This, in turn, led to shame-based responses, such as the desire to remain silent and to disconnect from painful emotions.
However, staying invisible can only exacerbate the problem.
Visibility is crucial. Diversity in supervision nurtures growth for both those experiencing discrimination, and for those uncovering prejudice within themselves. Rae-Dean notes that both groups are likely to experience shame.
In the safety of the supervision space, Rae-Dean challenges herself to be seen and heard, despite feeling discomfort. By doing so, she invites others to share her vulnerability and to grow in their own awareness.
This kind of learning is part of our ongoing self-development as therapists. It helps us to progress towards congruence, through which we can genuinely show up for our clients, as integrated, open, and authentic.