Supervision of fear in social work. A re-evaluation of reassurance

Abstract

This paper acknowledges the crucial importance of supervision to social work practice. Reference is made to a research study in which 61 employees of Social Services departments were interviewed with regard to times when they had experienced fear in their work. One of the questions they were asked was 'What responses would you like from an ideal supervisor to whom you took an experience of fear?' Answers to this question revealed that participants wanted a supervisor to 'be there' for them, have time for them and to listen to what they had to say without criticism. Understanding, acknowledgement, recognition, validation, af rmation and con rmation of the supervisee were also thought to be important. Detailed descriptions taken from the responses of two social workers interviewed for the study convey a sense of the fears they experienced and the impact of these fears. What they subsequently found helpful in their processing of the fears is also described. In the light of what participants appeared to want from supervision the paper concludes with some thoughts relating to the function of reassurance within the supervisory relationship. Relevant writings by Klein and Winnicott are highlighted in this discussion.

Supervising the supervisors: What support do first-line supervisors need to be more effective in their supervisory role?

“…For managers, the gap between policy rhetoric and their own supervision experience can be wide and such dissonance undermines an organisation's capacity to effectively contain the work undertaken. The concept of containment (Bion, 1962;Ruch, 2008;Smith, 2000) has relevance for social work supervision even in contexts where psychodynamic theory has little, if any, direct influence. Insights gained from Menzies-Lyth's (1970) seminal research on social defences against anxiety have been applied to diverse social care settings (Jones & Wright, 2008;Lees, Myers, & Rafferty, 2013;Whittaker, 2011) highlighting how failure to attend to the emotional impact of practice can lead to dysfunctional organisational processes; decline in staff motivation and have a detrimental impact on the quality of care provided.…”

The readiness is all. Planning and training for post-disaster support work

“…These forms of support may be provided by interested and concerned friends, or friendliness, and run less risk of re-traumatising those affected. There is some support for this view from social workers who have experienced traumatic events when they have been talking of the kind of supervision they would ideally like to receive (Smith, 2000).…”

Exploring Kinship Care through Practitioner Collaborative Enquiry

“…However, the narrative of this collaborative enquiry group resonates with a growing debate in the literature about the makings of disproportionate anxiety for children and family practitioners (Menzies, 1970(Menzies, , 1989. Audit, blame, proceduralism, reductionism, anti-professional stances and all the rest are well documented (Balloch et al, 1988;Smith, 2000Smith, , 2005Heap 2005;Oxman et al, 2005;WarrenAdamson, 2005). There are, moreover, new and emerging responses; for example, the challenge of bureaucracy and the need to return to values (The Guardian, 2006), the search to re-instate relationship into practice (Ferguson, 2005;Ruch, 2007).…”