Publications from ODSW Social Work Supervsion | Page 58

Workshop 3: PPIS Coordinated Multi-Pronged Supervision Programme: Towards An Evidence Based Approach’

individual or group supervision. She opined that it was beneficial to have the professional
counselling managed by the same department.
Processes
Paradigm
In terms of the paradigm that PPIS has adopted to guide their supervision, Ms Mosli
stated that the first was ‘social work knowledge’. This refers to being mindful that social
workers are professionals trained in the discipline of social work and to treat them as such.
The second was to be mindful of adult learning styles and to work with the supervisees
according to these learning styles. The third was to acknowledge the agency specialized
knowledge that social workers have and the fourth was to utilize positioning theory in
supervision. The fifth was to be aware of the systems in place and the sixth was to make
use of Asian values during supervision. Ms Mosli expressed that while they have been very
careful to keep the Malay culture and Islamic values in mind, they could have been more
mindful of the culture and values of other races. The last paradigm would be included as
part of ones reflexive in practice.
Reflexive practice
Ms Mosli expressed that reflexive practice is what guards the processes in social work. She
expressed that the essence of reflexive practice is about observing one’s own practice and
recalibrating one’s own actions in relation to others (John Burnham, 1993). Reflexivity in
practice is not about the details or the basics of the case but about the person of the
worker and about questioning oneself and others. It relates to how one sees the world and
there is a need to inculcate the process in the delivery. In so doing, the worker will become
more aware of what has to happen for them and what has to happen for the client. Issues
shared by the client can often trigger the worker’s own issues and struggles. It could affect
their idea of what a social worker is, and if not managed well, could lead to burn out.
Reflexive practice can help the worker to process this, and help them to understand why
they are feeling what they are feeling and the corresponding reaction they have towards
their client.
Ms Mosli then proceeded to differentiate reflectiveness from reflexiveness. Reflectiveness
is about applying pre-established theories and models without question and coming to a
common understanding of a pre-established view. Reflexiveness is concerned with
questioning theories, practice and policies that have been taken for granted and accepting
that there are different perspectives to approaching an issue. Ms Mosli expressed that
while reflectiveness is paramount and the first step, we ought to seek to move workers
from reflectiveness to reflexiveness.
3 groups of supervision
Supervisees can be broadly categorized into 3 categories. The first is the novice group. The
aim of the supervisor in this group is to help them to develop their third eye, to enable
them to evaluate how they are doing what they are doing. The focus of this group is to
reflect on their actions.
The second group is the intermediate group. The aim of the supervisor in this group is to
help them develop relational reflexivity and to use what they have observed about
themselves and their practice in relation to their client. This helps them to identify how
what they do affects the client and vice versa. The focus of this group is on processes.

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