Possibilities and limits of cross-disciplinary supervision: An exploratory study

Abstract or Summary

Two apparently contradictory directions are current in supervision. In one direction, supervision has come to be understood as a discipline in its own right. This direction produces the possibility of cross-disciplinary supervision. In the second direction, professional regulation and membership require within-discipline supervision. This presentation will outline a small exploratory study that sought to investigate what is enabled and what is constrained in cross-disciplinary supervision. This qualitative study was based on semi-structured interviews with six supervisors from counselling, social work, and psychology, who supervised a wide range of other professionals in private practice and in health settings. Identified benefits of cross-disciplinary supervision include the value, to both supervisor and practitioner, when knowledge is shared between disciplines. Access to these benefits, however, appears to depend upon careful and skilled negotiation of agreements, including thorough exploration of professional and organisational mandates and accountabilities. Limitations include the absence of disciplinary knowledge, particularly relevant in supervision with those new to their profession. Most notably, cross-disciplinary supervision appears to include a diverse range of practices, with both within-profession and between-profession differences evident.