SOCIAL WORK SUPERVISION MUST BE MORE THAN JUST A CASE UPDATE
I
have often written about how social workers can be severely damaged by secondary trauma and the subject is commonly discussed on my Facebook page and its linked group. We deal with so much pain and suffering that it is unrealistic to expect us not to become drained by what we must endure. Over time, this constant negativity can lead to even the most compassionate and caring of people becoming cynical and jaded. When I’ve raised this issue in the past, many people have gotten in touch to say how they’ve been affected by compassion fatigue in their own practice. Many have also shared how it
was a significant driving factor behind their burnout and low mood. WITH COMPASSION FATIGUE HAVING SUCH A DEVASTATING IMPACT ON BOTH OUR PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL LIVES, SOMETHING MUST BE DONE TO OFFER SOCIAL WORKERS BETTER SUPPORT TO COME TO TERMS WITH OUR EXPERIENCES. This is where I believe that real therapeutic supervision can come into its own, helping us resolve secondary trauma, let go of pain, and move on in our work with renewed purpose. I’ve found a common theme with all my managers that supervision was more of a clerical than a clinical activity. Even my own time as a team manager found
me working with supervision forms and processes that did not lend themselves to therapeutic support of my social workers - the focus of data being firmly rooted in when children were last seen, how plans were progressing, and what their current views and wishes were. Generally speaking, the focus of supervision within contemporary social work practice tends to be on case progression, report deadlines, recording of data, and planning. There’s very little opportunity for exploring emotions. When I speak to colleagues all over the world, their experiences are the same. More worrying than that, a significant number of people tell me that they rarely get supervision at all. This is especially concerning when considered in the context that many failings
