There has been continuous debate about the viability, efficacy and appropriateness of providing services to perpetrators and couples where domestic violence is the presenting problem in therapy. This paper argues that within a comprehensive and integrated model of service provision that encompasses all family members, it can be appropriate and effective to incorporate these service options if screening, monitoring and service models are carefully selected and provided in a context of agency safety and support.

This article discusses an approach to relational ethics in contemporary systemic practice. It explores the possibilities offered by traditions of moral philosophy in attending to problems from a relational ethics perspective. This includes a focus on relationships as a crucial element in the development and maintenance of a moral self and how couples and families construct an ethical platform together, both consciously and unconsciously; and also how relational ethics may inform ideas about the values‐driven problems people present in therapy. Finally, it suggests how ethical responsibility and accountability can be constructed as relational responsiveness. Despite our associations with morality as judgmental and rule driven, moral conduct and decision‐making can involve imaginative, creative and aesthetic possibilities.

It is well recognized that there is a relationship between child abuse, mental illness, and alcohol and drug abuse. This article reports on the findings of a qualitative research project exploring the experiences of adult survivors of child abuse in alcohol and other drugs (AOD) services, as well as the experiences of AOD workers with this client group. The project complements existing research on the relationship between child abuse, AOD use and adult mental health; however, it uniquely explores these issues from the perspectives of clients and workers. This article will present three key research findings from this research project: making the links between abuse in childhood and AOD use as adults; compartmentalized service provision and rigid treatment paradigms; and lastly, constructing effective and comprehensive AOD services. The article concludes with an analysis of the skills and strategies required to better facilitate building a platform of care and treatment for adult survivors of child abuse within and across AOD and mental health sectors.

Contemporary supervision practice has increasingly involved tasks previously associated with line management; this has been uncomfortable and unresolved for both supervisors and supervisees. Context, individual preference and circumstance can drive the relationship more into surveillance or more into support, and each will have important implications for practice. This article argues for a balance between monitoring and mentoring, both are crucial for effective supervision to occur. Supervisors need to know the boundaries of their delegated task, given that supervision can be the intervention of choice for any number of organizational difficulties. However they also need to integrate the leadership and critical appraisal tasks required, commencing supervision relationships with these components being transparent and clear, such that all participants can meet their obligations to practice competently, ethically and in the clients' interests. The systemic model provides an effective framework to conceptualise and intervene in relation to the various stakeholders, relationships, service systems and political context in which arrangements for supervision are negotiated. Keywords: mentoring, systemic supervision, clinical governance, professional ethics Key Points1 Effective clinical governance requires a balance of mentoring and monitoring function where supervisors are resolved and well-integrated in tasks associated with gate-keeping and assessment. 2 The systemic model provides a useful way to conceptualise the intersections and imperatives of having multiple stakeholders, relationships and tasks in the supervision space. 3 Effective supervision requires a supervision alliance that is robust, transparent and clear, such that all participants meet their obligations to practice competently, ethically and in the clients' interests. 4 A balance of monitoring and mentoring provides containment in relation to the core tasks of supervision, is congruent with systemic traditions and fosters relational ethics. 5 Supervisees need supervisors who can be excellent mentors and excellent monitors.

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