Reflective supervision a ‘crucial component of social work practice’, research finds

In a seminar at the Social Work Innovations conference in London, researchers from Bath Spa University and John McGowan, General Secretary of the Social Workers Union (pictured), will look at key findings from the university research project into how reflective supervision can be effective in social work practice.

‘Reflective supervision is crucial to social work practice, but little is known about how it works and what the outcomes are for social workers and their service users,’ Professor Ravalier told Social Work Today, adding, ‘This project co-produced the best approach to reflective supervision. It began with a rapid review of the literature around reflective supervision, with a particular focus on what works, why, and the implications of both good and poor reflective supervision.’ This was followed by individual interviews with 18 social workers.

Reflective supervision ‘is not a tick box exercise, nor is it a way to simply manage cases,’ John McGowan said. ‘Good supervision is that which is supportive of practice, supportive of social workers, and ultimately supportive of those who receive social worker support. It should therefore focus on social workers and their wellbeing; it should be social worker-led, conducted regularly, and have dedicated time,’

The team found that ‘Generally…reflective supervision means different things to different people, and a lot of this is because it is not based on evidence and research,’ Mr McGowan said.

‘A lot of the theory around supervision in social work is based on Kolb's work -- which is great, but this doesn't provide a clear and stepwise approach to supervision. Our work changes this - we provide a social worker-led approach to understanding what reflective supervision is, why it is useful, and what it should look like.’

He said that social workers told them that while they value the supervision they receive,
It is often ad hoc and irregular. ‘More significantly, feedback has highlighted that often does not include a discussion linked to reflection, learning and development – it is often reduced to a process of case management. It is important to note that previous working-conditions research has demonstrated that effective supervision is associated with higher job satisfaction, commitment to the organisation and retention.’

Conclusions from this innovative project show how good supervision should focus on outcomes, support social workers, their practice, and those receiving support.

Specifically in relation to service users, it can mean the social worker ‘is feeling more confident as a practitioner to challenge areas of discrimination or injustice,’ Mr McGowan said.

‘It supports social workers to understand the impact that their work has on service users, and thus can improve things for them.’ Without quoting directly from the interviews, he said, examples of this impact could include: ‘reflective supervision work leading to a service user staying abstinent of alcohol, and another service user reaching out for resources... These things happened because the social worker reflects on their practice, learning from others and thinking through as to how things could be done better and differently.’