Supervisor Reflection Paper

Before the start of class… Before the start of this course, I had a vague understanding of what it meant to be a supervisor. My understanding of this role centered on the idea that as a supervisee, I would go to my supervisor and discuss a case. Sometimes, I would see my supervisors jot down notes, other times they would merely listen to the case being presented. There was never a constant in the way that any two supervisors would approach the supervisory role. This instilled in me the idea that supervision was just the taking of information from your supervisee, and giving them recommendations based on the supervisors own preferences. Moreover, in the instances in which I took on the supervisory role of other students, I was at a marked disadvantage. My understanding of supervision was limited to what I had …show more content…
In this course I have learned a great many things; however, the one that stands the most is the supervisors mind. Since the very beginning of the course we were taught what the role and mind of a supervisor is all about. Being a supervisor is much more than just sitting in a room with your supervisee, and taking notes or saying a few words. The mind of a supervisor is one that is constantly thinking, constantly evolving. In the very first week of the course I learned that there was an order to how information is presented to a supervisor. This structured entailed providing the supervisor with the following: the patient’s demographics, presenting problem, referral information, history of presenting illness, past psychiatric history, medical history, substance abuse history, legal history, social and developmental history, mental status exam, formulation/ conceptualization, diagnosis, and recommendations. As this information is being presented the supervisor begins to formulate theories of what may be going on with the client. Some of these theories he or she would then decide whether to keep to themselves or share with their