Reflective Practice: Beyond the Basics

Strategies for Supervisors of Staff Serving Infants and Young Children

This seminar will provide opportunities to explore critical issues in reflective practice, including addressing the balance between administrative and clinical matters, cultural issues and dilemmas, transference issues and impasses in supervision. It will include a lecture, video material for analysis, a demonstration and discussion.  Supervisors practicing in environments that serve infants, young children and their families face challenges requiring them to have a set of skills to help their supervisees address dyadic and family issues as well as knowledge of specific ethical and legal dilemmas that occur when services are provided to this population in a community-based setting. Supervisors need to help their staff work to become aware of and address differences in class, race, and belief systems and develop a framework that helps them consider these factors in all aspects of their work.

This course will provide specifics about knowledge and skills needed by supervisors to address the areas outlined above. Practice materials, video samples of supervisory interventions and other teaching methods will be used to expand supervisory awareness and skills. The session will focus on the supervisor’s use of self, observation skills, and the multiple roles that supervisors often hold, including teacher, mentor, clinical guide, support system, and resource on legal and ethical issues.