Using Art-Based Strategies in Group-Based Counselor Supervision

In addition to course work and experiential learning experiences, a vital aspect to counselor training is clinical supervision. Supervision acts as a mediator bridging the gap between theory and practice. Using creative interventions has been increasing in clinical work and may be beneficial to be used more in training counseling students. One way to incorporate creative and expressive techniques into a counseling program is to use art-based strategies in clinical group supervision. Research and clinical experiences are discussed.     

Creating Creative Clinicians: Incorporating Creativity Into Counselor Education

Creativity plays a critical role in today’s society by aiding an individual’s response to the mounting complications of modern life and assisting in the maintenance of mental health. Though counselors seek to promote similar developments in their clients, they often do so without the benefit of any particular training in theories of creativity or creativity-enhancing techniques. This article examines literature in the fields of creativity, counseling, and education to highlight the essential nature of creative processes in counseling and psychotherapy, ultimately presenting a rationale for the incorporation of creativity in counselor education.     

Photo-synthesis: Facilitating Goal Setting in Supervision Using Images and Creativity

ABSTRACT

One of the most important aspects of clinical supervision is goal-setting. In the early stages of supervision, supervisees may find it difficult to connect authentically with their supervisors due to the inherent power differential in supervision. Difficulty connecting may be exacerbated when students are attempting to set goals regarding their areas for growth. Based on literature reviewed on the counselor-client relationship, the authors posit that using images may increase vulnerability between supervisors and supervisees. Additionally, the authors introduce relational-cultural theory as a framework for connecting authentically through creative images. The authors present examples of using images in individual and group supervision, specifically employing The Coaching Game made by Points of You.     

Learner-Centered Counseling Theory: An Innovative Perspective

One of the most useful tools counselors possess is a consistent, effective theoretical orientation. Yet, counselors often experience theory as an academic-only enterprise, rather than a skill-set informed by reason and empiricism. This article presents an alternative approach to learning and harnessing the power of theory to impact clients’ lives.     

Integrating Relational-Cultural Theory Concepts and Mask-Making in Group Supervision

ABSTRACT

Supervisees in the clinical phase of their counselor training may experience anxiety related to evaluation and competence. Recent literature has suggested that the integration of relational-cultural theory (RCT) concepts in supervision can be used to reframe supervisee anxiety and promote professional growth. Creative arts approaches have been employed in group supervision to increase supervisee self-awareness, improve case conceptualization skills, and foster group cohesion. To date, no research exists on the use of mask-making in RCT-based group supervision. In this article, the author proposes integrating RCT concepts with a mask-making intervention in group supervision to address supervisee anxiety. Limitations and implications for counselor educators and supervisors are discussed.     

Creative Supervision for Counselors Working in a Hospice Setting

The number of individuals receiving hospice care in the United States is on the rise. Many individuals who suffer from debilitating health issues use the care of helping professionals in a hospice environment. Supervision approaches for counselors who encounter grief, loss, death, and bereavement issues in hospice settings are needed. The authors introduce three creative interventions for use with supervisees in one of the four stages of the integrative developmental model of supervision. One intervention, the “Rock Talk,” is more thoroughly explained and then demonstrated in a case illustration of a supervisee using the intervention to say goodbye to a hospice client.     

Actors in the Classroom: The Dramatic Pedagogy Model of Counselor Education

Role playing is a fundamental component in the training of counselors to use counseling skills. However, role play activities commonly involve counseling students as clients or actors and hence have notable limitations. One training method widely practiced in the medical profession is the use of professional actors as patients. Although there are some examples in the literature of studies that have used actors for counselor training, most address only a specific topic or skill set. In this article, the authors propose the dramatic pedagogy model (DPM) as a comprehensive model for implementing client actors into the education of counselors. The DPM includes a set of pedagogical techniques and a structure for preparing actors and curriculum.     

Adventures in Supervision: Implications for Supervision of Adventure Based Counseling

Supervision is a key component of counselor education. Although a variety of models guide the supervision process, few address the needs of counselors engaging in Adventure Based Counseling (ABC), a mode of treatment that uses experiential activities in a group setting. To address the experiential nature of ABC, the authors propose an integrative supervision approach comprised of the discrimination model of counseling supervision and the ENHANCES model for ABC. The authors also address training needs of ABC supervisors as well as supervision best practices. Finally, the article includes a case-study demonstrating the implementation of an integrative model of ABC supervision, addressing both the technical and clinical skills.     

The Sexual Identity Timeline: A Reflection Tool for Developing Competence in Counseling

Greater attention to sexual identity development from an inclusive and affirmative perspective must be incorporated into counselor education training. Counselors are well positioned to address issues related to human sexuality; however, without reflection across the spectrum of sexuality-related issues, counselors may rely on personal bias, or they may choose to avoid the topic altogether. In order to adequately train counselors, it is important to identify learning activities that counselor educators can utilize. Given the significance of sexuality across the lifespan, we propose that counselor educators actively guide their students through reflection about their own sexual identity development. This article presents the Sexual Identity Timeline (SIT) as a reflective learning activity to incorporate into the counseling curriculum.     

Counselor Supervision: A Comparison Across States and Jurisdictions

Counselor licensure portability models have focused primarily on academic training with only little discussion concerning postgraduate supervision. Using a qualitative content analysis, the authors analyzed the supervision rules and laws in all 53 licensing jurisdictions. The results of this study reflect the lack of a consistent set of supervision guidelines across all 53 jurisdictions. Further study and reflection on these results could lead to the development of a supervision model for postgraduate supervision.     

Supporting Counselors After a Client Suicide: Creative Supervision Techniques

Many professional counselors will experience the loss of a client to suicide. The effects of this loss are explored in this article. The supervisor’s role in supporting a supervisee after a client’s suicide is presented. Additionally, creative interventions that can be used by supervisors to support supervisees after the loss of a client are provided. These creative techniques are theoretically grounded within the cognitive behavioral, solution-focused, and narrative paradigms.     

The Wisdom Jar

Abstract

Supervisors can use a wide range of skills and exercises when terminating counseling supervision with supervisees at the end of a practicum class. This article presents an experiential creative activity, the Wisdom Jar, as a metaphor for discussing specific lessons with supervisees. The use of creativity and the integration of symbols and metaphors provided supervisees with images to reflect upon after completing a counseling practicum clinical experience.     

The Science and Art of Integrating Psychodrama and Bernard’s Discrimination Model

This article presents the useful technique of Jacob L. Moreno’s psychodrama in counselor education supervision training. This article addresses how psychodrama can be used with student supervisors who are not sure which of Bernard’s discrimination model roles they are using in supervision. Bernard’s model uses three roles that help supervisors function successfully in their relationships with supervisees. Psychodrama may help student supervisors decide what action would be the most appropriate in a given supervision session. Student supervisors may also benefit from psychodrama in processing internal conflict they may experience in their supervisory role. Faculty members training new supervisors may use these techniques to help their student supervisors gain more awareness on how they view their relationships with supervisees.     

A Story Does Exist: A Qualitative Exploration of the Use of Reflective Stories in Pre-Practicum

The authors explored the lived experiences of two cohorts of counselors-in-training who experienced a metaphoric story creation activity in pre-practicum II, a clinical training course. Using Merriam’s interpretive qualitative approach, the data suggested that students perceived the activity to have facilitated their ability to make meaning of their experiences in the class, as well as to better understand their development as counselors-in-training.     

A Pilot Study of Transformational Leadership and College Counseling Outcomes

This pilot study explores the relationship between perceived transformational leadership skills of college counselors and outcomes in counseling. College students receiving counseling (n = 46) were given a revised version of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), the Working Alliance Inventory, Short Form (WAI-S), and the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms (CCAPS-34). Results yielded significant relationships between improvement in areas of client functioning and subscales measuring aspects of transformational leadership in counselors as perceived by clients. In addition to significant correlations between alliance and subscales of the MLQ, there were strong negative relationships between social anxiety and management by exception (active); academic distress and idealized influence (behavior); and alcohol use and management by exception (passive).     

Play in Supervision

Abstract

Clinical supervision is a fundamental component of counselor education training. Counselor Educators play an active and dynamic role in helping beginning practicum students conceptualize their work with clients. The use of expressive arts in counseling has been shown to be effective in creating a deeper level and meaning to counselor and client interactions. This article describes the use of a particular expressive art technique, a sandtray, based on Sandplay Therapy, with students enrolled in beginning practicum. Additionally, results from a pilot study comparing ratings of traditional supervision and ratings of sandtray supervision with students enrolled in a beginning practicum experience are provided. Results of the pilot study indicated some preliminary support for the viability of the application comparing ratings of traditional supervision sessions with ratings of supervision using sandtray.     

Eco-Education: Integrating Nature into Counselor Education

ABSTRACT

This consensual qualitative research study investigated the experiences of 10 counselors-in-training after exposure to nature-based interventions during a semester-long human development class. Interview data revealed four central domains: interpersonal impact, intrapersonal impact, whole-group impact, and feedback on nature-based activities. These findings highlight the benefits of eco-education for counselor development.     

Teaching Helping Skills Courses: Creative Activities to Reduce Anxiety

Helping skills courses play a vital role in counseling curriculum, but also tend to bring excessive anxiety for students, to the point of impeding their ability to successfully implement skills. This article describes specific creative and experiential activities, aimed at reducing anxiety in a helping skills course for counselors-in-training.     

Intermodal Expressive Arts in Group Supervision

Group supervision is an integral part of developing counseling skills and case conceptualization. Group supervision can also be used as a supervision intervention to facilitate the development of supervisory skills when group members are supervising counselors and the focus of the group is on supervision of supervision. As with any group, group supervision members can often become stagnated when group trust and cohesiveness have not been well developed, thus hindering the group supervision process. The authors describe how an intermodal expressive arts technique was employed to develop trust and cohesiveness in a supervision group that was experiencing ineffective group dynamics.