by Jeannette Baca, DSW, LCSW, LISW, and Mary Kirk, DSW, LICSW
Social employees moved rapidly and creatively to handle distant service supply as a response to the COVID pandemic to make sure purchasers had entry to important helps, companies, and assets. Moreover, and by way of skilled improvement, social employees tailored to digital supervision throughout this time, in lieu of face-to-face contacts. Whereas recognizing the challenges of this mode of supervision, we heartedly embrace and maintain up the wonderful alternatives that digital supervision brings. Good supervision is gold, and advantages abound for each newer and seasoned social employees and impression our consumer techniques (Alexander et al., 2022).
Now that digital supervision is embraced, supervisors and new practitioners need steering to interrupt limitations in distant supervision. This text highlights key ideas to determine high quality and accessibility on this mode of supervision and proposes a mannequin of “pay it ahead” supervision and session.
High quality Digital Supervision—Attending to Expertise
On the outset, high quality digital supervision consists of attending to expertise. Martin, Kumar, and Lizarondo (2017) wrote about efficient makes use of of expertise in medical supervision, utilizing the time period “telesupervision.” The pandemic introduced ahead a chance to hone supervision practices through video or telephonic conferencing platforms. The NASW Code of Ethics was up to date in 2017 to incorporate the usage of expertise in social work observe and once more at first of the pandemic to remind us of moral practices (see NASW 2020 replace, https://www.socialworkers.org/Practice/Infectious-Diseases/Coronavirus/Telehealth). We are able to extrapolate that the NASW moral requirements apply in all social work supervision companies, whether or not offered nose to nose or nearly, together with the usage of HIPAA-compliant software program and expertise (see NASW and ASWB supervision tips, https://www.socialworkers.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=GBrLbl4BuwI=&portalid=0).
With out query, privateness and confidentiality considerations inside digital social work supervision have to be addressed and secured to create a trusting atmosphere for open communication. Moral digital supervision means the supervisor and supervisee explicitly make it possible for different listeners are usually not current in “digital areas” and bodily areas (house or workplace). Moreover, as with face-to-face supervision, any moral and authorized considerations that may come up in emergent conditions throughout the context of the supervisory relationship have to be addressed. Logistically talking, any points with the assistive expertise used within the supervisory association, corresponding to incompatibility with sure platforms, requires a technological nimbleness and “know-how” to drawback resolve for profitable digital supervision conferences.
Digital communication wants particular consideration. Keep in mind to be clear with communication and often test in to see that the messages you might be sending and receiving are correct. Be clear, and focus on what’s working and what may very well be performed to make enhancements on the finish of every supervision session. Frequently assessment the platform you might be utilizing, and keep open to adjusting (e.g., switching from video to telephone or vice versa). Be ready for expertise failures and plan for “unplanned” interruptions.
High quality Digital Supervision—Accessibility
Digital social work supervision invitations accessibility for newer social employees serving in communities with restricted or minimal supervision choices. Traditionally, social employees in rural communities had restricted entry to specialised supervision. Digital supervision opens new alternatives. It reduces monetary strains associated to transportation, together with entry to public transportation, car upkeep, parking, and fuel, as a result of commuting is decreased or eradicated. Digital supervision additionally presents accessibility via comfort and adaptability round numerous scheduling points. Furthermore, digital supervision will increase accessibility for these with listening to impairments, as quantity might be adjusted and closed captioning might be enabled on some platforms.
High quality digital supervision features a stage of cultural responsiveness. Supervisors ought to tune in to potential assumptions relating to expertise and web entry that will or might not be out there to social employees. When providing digital supervision, keep in mind to ask about common entry to personal house, expertise, connectivity, and different vital assets to make sure an attractive expertise. Acknowledge the multilayered variations of social employees’ personal lives and challenges, together with revenue disparities, single guardian households, multigenerational obligations, and trauma reminders.
High quality Digital Supervision—Pay It Ahead
Social work is a relational occupation by which most established practitioners profit from beneficiant mentors, colleagues, {and professional} networks. Skilled social employees can use the brand new digital panorama to extra simply “pay it ahead” by providing free or low-cost supervision. Offering free digital supervision offers the chance to be taught extra abilities and keep present, whereas concurrently serving to new social employees set up themselves professionally, meet their supervision necessities, and keep away from taking up additional debt. We have now benefitted from supportive colleagues and golden supervision. In flip, we provide professional bono supervision to new social employees. The one caveat is that supervisees conform to pay it ahead as soon as they’re licensed and have some expertise. This is only one means we are able to contribute to constructing our workforce.
High quality Digital Supervision—Digital Greatest Practices
Digital supervision isn’t going away, and there are practices we are able to comply with to construct connection and advantageous tune digital supervision (Martin, Kumar, and Lizarondo, 2017). Contemplate the next recommendations.
- Start with supervisees’ desire for phone or video contact, and use that platform.
- Outline and preserve boundaries and mutual respect.
- Contemplate your environment, and take into consideration the lighting, in addition to what’s behind you and visual throughout your conferences.
- Attempt to decrease distracting noises, and use earbuds and noise canceling machines.
- Be artistic about planning for confidential house previous to supervision periods, and be detailed about your adherence to confidentiality.
- When utilizing a video conferencing platform, set the expectation that cameras stay on.
- Share particular data relating to your house and the way this may impression privateness. For instance, clarify how your workplace door is closed throughout periods with an indication to please not interrupt.
- Be sure that to debate how supervision can be documented, and let supervisees know the way they will entry the data you might be sustaining.
- Start supervision by checking in with each other.
- Spend time deliberately addressing mutual agenda gadgets associated to the executive, supportive, and academic features of supervision.
- Lastly, be current!
High quality Digital Supervision—Being “Current”
The usage of expertise for supervision doesn’t negate the necessity to talk our presence. Simply as in face-to-face supervision periods, supervisors ought to keep centered and keep away from distractions corresponding to textual content messages from cell telephones or e mail notifications that may pop up on the pc display. If wanted, be deliberate about monitoring your regulation throughout periods via your individual particular aware practices. You might even provide to co-regulate and take just a few deep breaths collectively.
Participating in reflection and supervision through expertise and “on a display” requires intention to keep away from lacking or misinterpreting the various non-verbal and physique language cues that happen past the face in communication. Certainly, it might be difficult for some social employees to belief and really feel linked to the supervisor when utilizing expertise. Quite the opposite, others might really feel extra snug accessing supervision and discussing their work challenges via different expertise codecs.
High quality Digital Supervision—Advantages of Session
Supervision presents each newer and seasoned social employees alternatives to replicate on their work with purchasers. Providing digital supervision consists of lots of the similar methods of constructing rapport and establishing a productive skilled relationship as face-to-face supervision.
Whereas supervision is required for brand spanking new medical social employees coming into the sector, there’s additionally super worth in looking for out session past licensing. Every state social work licensing board has particular person steering and necessities for licensure on the BSW, MSW, and superior observe ranges. Social employees who’ve met their licensure necessities for supervision nonetheless profit from “peer supervision” or reciprocal session when wrestling with moral dilemmas and processing difficult conditions.
It will be important that supervisors keep present and related. Hunt down and attend up to date workshops on supervision fashions and techniques to construct connections and improve help. Supervisees profit from reflecting on supervision and asking for the helps wanted to greatest serve purchasers. Supervisors and supervisees working remotely are inspired to search for conferences on distant service supply to repeatedly assess greatest practices.
This text goals to interrupt limitations with digital supervision by outlining expertise issues, describing accessibility advantages, and offering greatest practices for high quality supervision. Digital social work supervision, session, and repair supply are right here to remain. We ask supervisors to “take inventory” of present practices and lean into digital supervision to take away limitations and create alternatives for everybody to succeed.
Digital practices proceed to evolve. Supervisors and new practitioners are inspired to stay vigilant by attending trainings to remain present. Lastly, contemplate a “pay it ahead” supervision mannequin to share and ahead our skilled social work values.
References
Alexander, Okay., Humphreys, C., Smart, S., & Zhou, A. (2022). The attitudes and beliefs of the kid safety workforce and why they matter to youngsters who dwell with violence. Baby & Household Social Work, 28(1), 210-221. doi: 10.1111/cfs.12954.
Martin P., Kumar S., & Lizarondo L. (2017). Efficient use of expertise in medical supervision. Web Intervention, 22(8), 35-39. doi: 10.1016/j.invent.2017.03.001.
Jeannette Baca is Assistant Professor on the Facundo Valdez College of Social Work at New Mexico Highlands College and a licensed medical impartial social employee in New Mexico. Dr. Baca has greater than 30 years of social work observe and management experiences inside organizations serving households impacted by home violence and continues to supply “pay it ahead” supervision to new social employees coming into the occupation.
Mary Kirk is Assistant Professor instructing within the Bachelor of Social Work program at Winona State College and is a licensed medical impartial social employee in Minnesota. Dr. Kirk’s observe expertise consists of serving youngsters and their households at school, medical, and medical settings. Dr. Kirk additionally enjoys supporting new social employees via a “pay it ahead” supervision mannequin.
