Professional supervision for community mental health practitioners

Overview

This overview provides a high-level summary and the key messages introduced in this practice guide. Please refer to the full practice guide for more detail.

This practice guide summarises research and practice evidence to inform and support community mental health practitioners to engage in professional supervision. It covers:

• the benefits to services that engage in professional supervision
• what professional supervision looks like
• strategies and considerations for doing professional supervision.

This practice guide has been developed for, and in consultation with, practitioners working in Family Mental Health Support Services (FMHSS). FMHSS provide early intervention and non-clinical community mental health support for children and young people, aged up to 18 years, who are showing signs of, or are at risk of, developing mental illness.

The content has been developed specifically for practitioners who have less than 5 years of experience in FMHSS programs and the team leaders who support them (i.e. supervisees and supervisors).

This practice guide will also be useful for other practitioners and team leaders working in the child and family services sector.

Key messages

What is professional supervision?

Professional supervision is a structured process in which supervisees are supported and guided through different domains of professional needs. It offers an opportunity to build professional skills, enhance decision-making abilities and support staff wellbeing. It provides a dedicated space for reflection, exploration and problem solving.

Professional supervision differs from broader workplace supervision in that it is a dynamic and collaborative relationship between supervisor and supervisee, with power shared between both. Professional supervision is an ongoing process rather than a one-off event.

What are the benefits of professional supervision?

Professional supervision can bring significant benefits to practitioners, service providers and, ultimately, their clients.

Some of the key benefits include:

• improved critical thinking and evaluation skills
• supported reflection and professional development
• reduced staff burnout
• increased adherence to workplace policies and standards.

Practitioners who feel supported and validated:

• provide better services to clients
• are less likely to leave their job.

What does professional supervision look like?

Effective professional supervision focuses on 3 domains of supervisee professional needs. Each domain is equally important and may overlap.

• The education domain supports skill development, professional knowledge and professional competence.
• The administration domain supports professional ethics and legislative requirements, and organisational guidelines and regulations.
• The support domain supports professional wellbeing and the emotional impact of practice demands.

Professional supervision can happen one-on-one or in small groups.

What strategies and considerations are useful when doing professional supervision?

It is imperative that organisations understand and appreciate the value that professional supervision brings to the organisation, including to client outcomes, and the importance of embedding a professional supervision practice within the culture.

Individual and group supervision share the need for:

• protected time and space for sessions
• the creation of a supervision agreement
• an agenda to maintain shared focus and structure.

The supervisor in both individual and group professional supervision:

• acts as a 'critical friend'
• engages in discussions that are both supportive and provoke deeper reflection
• encourages analysis of practice issues from different perspectives
• helps the supervisee to reflect and gain an understanding of the part they play in practice outcomes.

Supervisees come to supervision with unique intersecting identities, cultural backgrounds and generational world views, and these inform their supervision needs.

The professional supervision needs of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander practitioners are unique and differ from those from other cultural backgrounds. It may be appropriate to engage in cultural supervision. Cultural supervision:

• applies a decolonising lens to professional supervision
• should be carried out by a supervisor with an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background
• should be embedded in a location that is supportive and culturally safe for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander supervisees.

Introduction

Professional supervision is a structured process in which supervisees are supported and guided through different domains of professional needs.

Professional supervision differs from broader workplace supervision (i.e. the daily supervision that a manager provides). It is a dynamic and collaborative relationship between supervisor and supervisee (Cutcliffe & Proctor, 1998b; Litherland et al., 2023) that provides an opportunity to build on professional skills, enhance decision-making abilities (MacDonald et al., 2024), and support staff wellbeing (Fagernäs et al., 2024; Proctor, 1987).

Professional supervision is a joint responsibility, with power shared between the supervisor and supervisee (Cutcliffe & Proctor, 1998b). The supervisor does not necessarily need to be more senior or to have more workplace experience than the supervisee (Cutcliffe & Proctor, 1998b).

Professional supervision can help staff, especially those early in their career with any uncertainties about the scope of their role, about making decisions about complex cases, and about when to refer, how to refer and who to refer on to. Working in mental health with children and families also has the potential to take a toll on staff's personal wellbeing. Professional supervision can help address these workplace stressors and safeguard against workplace stress and burnout (Cadei et al., 2021). This will be discussed further in this practice guide.

Aims and intended audience of this resource

This practice guide summarises research and practice evidence to inform and support community mental health practitioners to engage in professional supervision. It covers:

• the benefits to services that engage in professional supervision
• what professional supervision looks like
• strategies and considerations for doing professional supervision.

This practice guide has been developed for, and in consultation with, practitioners working in Family Mental Health Support Services (FMHSS). FMHSS provide early intervention and non-clinical community mental health support for children and young people, aged up to 18 years, who are showing signs of, or are at risk of, developing mental illness.

The content has been developed specifically for practitioners who have less than 5 years of experience in FMHSS programs and the team leaders who support them (i.e. supervisees and supervisors).

This practice guide will also be useful to other practitioners and team leaders working in the child and family services sector.

What are the benefits of professional supervision?

Professional supervision can bring significant benefits to individual practitioners, the service they work for and the clients they work with. Some of the key benefits include improved critical thinking and evaluation skills, supported reflection and professional development, reduced staff burnout and increased adherence to workplace policies and standards. When practitioners feel supported, they provide better services to the families they support (Litherland et al., 2023).

Professional supervision can be a means for all practitioners, including team leaders and early career staff, to discuss, collaborate and problem solve.

It provides a dedicated space for reflection, exploration and problem solving for a wide variety of practice issues, including (MacDonald et al., 2024):

• clarifying and maintaining an appropriate scope and purpose for daily work
• identifying risks and safely managing complex cases
• safeguarding professional standards
• understanding and improving client experiences and supports
• discussing challenges, identifying areas for professional development and receiving coaching (e.g. managing ethical dilemmas)
• identifying parts of the work that are challenging and practising self-care strategies
• clarifying and facilitating procedural and decision-making processes (e.g. how to manage incoming/outgoing referrals)
• consolidating theory and refining the application of evidence-based practices
• delving deeper into strengths, successes and professional identity
• improving professional expertise, job satisfaction, confidence and self-esteem
• enhancing workplace communication.

What good practice in professional supervision looks like

To describe what good practice in professional supervision looks like, we have drawn on Proctor's framework for professional supervision (Proctor, 1987). We acknowledge that there are many professional supervision frameworks that may be relevant - however, in this resource, we have drawn on Proctor's framework because it is widely accepted and has been used globally for a long time, is grounded in research evidence and is the basis of several professional supervision evaluation tools (Fagernäs et al., 2024; Litherland et al., 2023).

This framework has been widely and successfully applied in mental health, counselling and casework contexts, as well as in medical and education contexts (Anggeria & Damanik, 2022; Litherland et al., 2023; Proctor, 1987; Ryu et al., 2024). It is suitable for both group and individual professional supervision (Proctor, 1987).

In this framework, effective professional supervision focuses on 3 domains for the supervisee: education, administration and support (Figure 1) (Cutcliffe & Proctor, 1998a, 1998b; Fagernäs et al., 2024; Litherland et al., 2023; Proctor, 1987).

Figure 1: A framework for good practice in professional supervision

Source: Adapted from NHS England (2025)

The 3 domains represent categories of the supervisees' professional needs. The domains overlap and each is equally important. There is no expected order in which the domains will need to be addressed in supervision sessions (Litherland et al., 2023; Proctor, 1987). Each individual supervision session should be guided by the in-the-moment needs of the supervisee - however, supervisors and supervisees should aim to cover all 3 domains throughout the course of the supervision relationship (Cutcliffe & Proctor, 1998b; Litherland et al., 2023; Proctor, 1987). We discuss these domains in more detail in the sections that follow.

A key thing to remember is that professional supervision is an ongoing process - that is, it needs ongoing meetings and discussion rather than a one-off event (Ellis & Abbott, 2021). The relationship between supervisor and supervisee should also be based on a shared understanding of what competent and effective practice looks like (Proctor, 1987). This includes adhering to professional values and workplace policies and procedures.

There should also be a shared commitment to strive for competent and effective practice (Proctor, 1987). There is a need to find the right balance between collaboration, individual accountability to professional standards and the supervisee's wellbeing (Litherland et al., 2023; Proctor, 1987).

The education domain of professional supervision

Good professional supervision should have an education component, in which professional development is prioritised (Proctor, 1987). A focus on education means reflecting on skill development, practical application of theoretical knowledge and dedication to overall professional competence and growth (Cutcliffe & Proctor, 1998b; Fagernäs et al., 2024; Proctor, 1987; Ryu et al., 2024).

One challenge to overcome in professional supervision is the anxiety that some early career practitioners may feel about their practice being observed (and potentially negatively evaluated). This can lead them to try to guide supervision discussions to focus exclusively on conceptual learning because it is less personally challenging. However, a sole focus on the concepts can come at the expense of experiential learning of concrete skills (Fagernäs et al., 2024). To overcome this challenge, supervision might include discussing specific practice scenarios and working through decisions with complex, long-term cases.

Early career practitioners, for example, may not have developed the practice skills required to know when it is most beneficial for the client to be referred to another service. Discussion could thus focus on this scenario and the decision-making process. The role of the supervisor in this situation is to lead robust supervision conversations with empathy and facilitate professional reflection learning that is grounded in concrete observations and/or from the supervisee's day-to-day work (Cutcliffe & Proctor, 1998b). This may include the supervisor providing constructive feedback about the way the supervisee has been working with the service users and offering alternative approaches and perspectives.

Here are some examples of discussion areas to enable education through professional supervision (Litherland et al., 2023; Proctor, 1987):

• What opportunities have you had to apply mental health theory or frameworks in practice?
• Which practice skills are you confidently performing and which would you like to develop further?
  • This should be tailored to the individual and the organisation but it could include skills and problem solving related to case management, assessment, intervention, referrals, professional writing and note taking.
• What are your professional development and career progression goals?

The administration domain of professional supervision

One of the aims of professional supervision is to improve the supervisee's capacity to perform their role in line with the ethical and legal requirements of their service (Cutcliffe & Proctor, 1998a; Fagernäs et al., 2024; Litherland et al., 2023; Proctor, 1987; Ryu et al., 2024). This is described as the 'administrative domain' of professional supervision.

The focus should be on developing understanding through transparent conversations rather than testing knowledge or forcing compliance. Practice challenges in this domain should be considered in the context of:¹

• organisational policies
• operational guidelines
• relevant legislation
• professional standards and regulations
• codes of ethics.

While practitioners commonly feel that this is the most straightforward domain, it is also often the least preferred and may receive less attention than other domains (Fagernäs et al., 2024). A way to overcome the challenge of engaging practitioners, and to make administration discussions more appealing, is to frame them as important for developing professional identity and accountability and for improving client safety and wellbeing (Litherland et al., 2023).

The support domain of professional supervision

Working with children, young people and their families can be challenging and emotionally demanding. Because of this, professional supervision should also address practitioner wellbeing (Litherland et al., 2023). This is known as the support domain of professional supervision.

Supervisors and supervisees should aim to create a safe and open place for discussions related to:²

• self-care and stress management
• acknowledging the emotional load of the work
• validating the practitioner's emotional reactions to their work.

It can be tricky to maintain a productive balance of professional support in supervision that meets the expectations of both supervisee and supervisor. In particular, it can be challenging to meet supervisee expectations relating to:

• what is discussed in sessions (e.g. the balance between personal and professional concerns) and time spent on each domain.

It is important for supervisees to maintain professional boundaries and to acknowledge the difference between their personal concerns and life experiences and their role as an effective practitioner who requires support in relation to workplace stressors (Proctor, 1987).

It can be useful for supervisors to transparently discuss and clarify the kinds of conversations that are helpful to have in professional supervision and situations where the discussions are leaning more into the territory of counselling and so fall outside the scope of professional supervision.

Practitioners may sometimes prefer to spend more time in the support domain because it is less challenging to share unstructured thoughts and feelings about their work than to discuss their practice and because it provides emotional support and validation (Fagernäs et al., 2024). However, discussing more intense or challenging professional experiences may also cause discomfort and resistance to engage (Fagernäs et al., 2024).

When an appropriate balance of expectations and time is attained, the support domain of professional supervision has the capacity to reduce the likelihood and severity of burnout (Litherland et al., 2023). Practitioners who feel supported and validated can provide better services to clients (Litherland et al., 2023) and are less likely to leave their job. In this way, providing support through professional supervision has benefits for the practitioner, their organisation and the families accessing services.

Strategies and considerations for doing professional supervision

Some early career staff in community mental health settings will come from previous education or professional contexts where engaging in professional supervision was the norm (Videmšek & Fox, 2023). For others, professional supervision may be a new concept. It is possible your organisation already has a professional supervision practice. With this in mind, the information presented in this resource is not intended to be prescriptive. Practitioners and organisations can use the concepts and ideas to develop a professional supervision practice that works for each practice setting.

It is best to avoid assumptions about previous experience with professional supervision and to collaborate and plan early on about:

• individual compared to group supervision
• developing a supervision agreement
• creating structure through meeting agendas
• clarifying roles and responsibilities
• culture and professional supervision.

Before we discuss each of these points in the following subsections, we want to highlight the importance of organisational buy-in if professional supervision is to be effective.

Having experienced supervisors and engaged supervisees is central to the success and longevity of any form of professional supervision - however, commitment and support at the management and organisational level are essential (Doody, Markey et al., 2024; Doody, O'Donnell et al., 2024).

Without an understanding of the benefits of professional supervision to practitioners, teams, clients and the organisation, supervision could be considered a luxury and, as a result, be blocked from becoming embedded in organisational culture (Doody, Markey et al., 2024; Doody, O'Donnell et al., 2024). Primary barriers to effective and ongoing supervision are lack of time and heavy workloads for staff (Doody, Markey et al., 2024). Therefore, it is essential that organisations understand and appreciate the value that professional supervision brings to workers and to client outcomes.

Individual compared to group supervision

When you imagine engaging in professional supervision, it may be natural to visualise 2 people in a room sitting opposite each other: one is the supervisor and the other a supervisee. This is individual supervision.

However, there are 2 types of professional supervision (Proctor, 1987):

• Individual supervision takes place between a single supervisee and a single supervisor in a private, dedicated space. Individual supervision provides the opportunity to focus more closely on the issues specific to your practice at the time and to receive tailored feedback in a one-to-one relationship. Depending on the needs of the supervisee, individual supervision can take place in less formal settings, such as sitting in a park or going for a walk.
• Group supervision (sometimes referred to as peer supervision) takes place in a group of practitioners with a dedicated supervisor. The focus tends to be on issues that are common across the work of the group members or emerging within the shared client community. Group supervision fosters the ability to give and receive constructive feedback with colleagues.

Although the aims of individual and group supervision differ, many features are similar, such as the need for dedicated and protected time and space for sessions (Ellis & Abbott, 2021; Proctor, 1987), the creation of a supervision agreement and using an agenda to maintain shared focus and structure (Ellis & Abbott, 2021, 2022a, 2022b; Fagernäs et al., 2024; Proctor, 1987).

Both individual and group supervision can be delivered face-to-face or online. Online supervision can increase accessibility, especially for staff working in remote locations. However, it can be difficult to sustain online engagement when conversations become challenging. Online supervision is more effective when cameras are kept on - this is especially true in a group supervision context (Howard & Peirson, 2024).

In either mode of supervision, members should be mindful of the possible stress and vulnerability that comes from openly discussing practice experiences. Sharing in a one-on-one setting can feel vulnerable and exposing for some practitioners because of the purposeful reflection on individual performance and behaviours (Ellis & Abbott, 2022b). Sharing in a group setting can feel exposing and cause stress due to the potential for (or fear of) criticism and judgement from a wider group of peers (Ellis & Abbott, 2022b).

How group supervision differs from individual supervision

Group supervision is a formal gathering of a dedicated group of more than 2 supervisees who meet regularly (Doody, Markey et al., 2024; Ellis & Abbott, 2022b). The ideal group size is usually 4-8 people; this provides sufficient diversity of perspectives while still allowing opportunities for individual participation (Gardner et al., 2021). From a practical standpoint, the suitable group size in your organisation may be determined by the number of staff who can be released from day-to-day tasks at a given time and on having a comfortable and private space to host a group (Ellis & Abbott, 2022a).

The aims of group supervision are different to those of individual supervision - therefore, group supervision is best used to complement individual supervision rather than replace it (Ellis & Abbott, 2022b; Gardner et al., 2021). While individual supervision provides the opportunity for focused individual discussion and to receive tailored feedback in a one-to-one relationship, group supervision focuses on common issues shared by group members and/or on emerging issues within the shared service user community. Group supervision also offers the opportunity to collaborate and enhance skills of giving and receiving constructive feedback with colleagues.

Although group supervision does not replace one-to-one supervision, it can be employed as a way of reducing the frequency of individual supervision sessions (Ellis & Abbott, 2022b). Group supervision can also make supervision more efficient and accessible, especially when there is limited time and a lack of professional supervisors available, such as in remote, rural and regional areas (Gardner et al., 2021). For group supervision to be effective, regularity is key (Doody, Markey et al., 2024). A goal to aim for is a minimum of one hour monthly (Doody, O'Donnell et al., 2024).

There is no universal model of group supervision relevant to the diverse needs of staff working in community mental health settings (Gardner et al., 2021). You will need to find the style that works best for your practice setting. Some examples of ways to run group supervision sessions include (Ellis & Abbott, 2022a):

• one member presenting an issue or case per session
• members specifying how much time they would like to present for in each session
• all members presenting in a given time period (e.g. each quarter).

Additionally, there are different types of group supervision to consider when planning your sessions (Doody, Markey et al., 2024; Gardner et al., 2021; Ülker Tümlü & Ceyhan, 2023). The differences relate to whether there is a defined hierarchy between the supervisor and participants.

On one end of the continuum is authoritative group supervision where there is a single dedicated supervisor while the other members observe. At the other end of the continuum is peer-group supervision with a flattened structure where the group is self-directed and facilitated by all group members collaboratively and fluidly, without a designated supervisor. In peer-group supervision, group members have a shared responsibility for actively supervising and being supervised. In the middle is where co-supervision skills are developed as the supervisor begins to involve group members as active co-supervisors.

Compared to individual supervision, group supervision is more socially complex and requires thoughtful consideration of group dynamics. For this reason, it can be useful for supervisors to be familiar with the stages of group formation that arise organically in group work (Ülker Tümlü & Ceyhan, 2023) and manage these dynamics to ensure that sessions remain focused and productive (Proctor, 2008).

Common challenges that can arise in group supervision, and that you need to plan a response to, include (Mc Carthy et al., 2021):

• losing the practice focus and venting about, or fixating on, colleagues or policies that are perceived as problematic
• changes to group membership temporarily destabilising group dynamics and creating a need to re-establish trust
• members experiencing concerns related to confidentiality or feeling judged by others in the group
• members finding it difficult to attend group supervision due to distance and availability of supervisors, especially in regional, rural and remote locations. Online or multidisciplinary supervision can help increase participation.

The benefits of group supervision

Research has identified a range of benefits to group supervision, some that are unique to the group context and others that are also shared with individual supervision.³ Group supervision can:

• aid in the development of co-supervision and leadership skills (e.g. giving and receiving feedback)
• enhance critical thinking and evaluation skills
• facilitate reflection, professional development and self-awareness
• enhance professional relationships through the practice of empathy, understanding, compassion and open team communication
• reduce self-doubt and individual burden by sharing challenges and solutions to common challenges
• increase adherence to workplace policies and standards
• improve team morale through fostering a:
  • sense of emotional safety
  • supportive atmosphere
  • shared sense of belonging
  • climate of communication and collaboration.

Developing a supervision agreement

To make professional supervision processes transparent, it helps to create a supervision agreement or contract. The agreement should outline how supervision sessions will work, including agreed rules and boundaries (Ellis & Abbott, 2021; Gardner et al., 2021; Proctor, 1987). This agreement provides the foundation on which the supervisor and supervisee(s) align themselves in supervision aims (Proctor, 2008). For professional supervision to be sustainable and useful in the longer term, the sessions need to be specific to the developmental needs of supervisees (Doody, O'Donnell et al., 2024).

Specific agreements should be created for both individual and group supervision arrangements; group agreements are likely to contain extra features only relevant to the group. A supervision agreement helps to create and maintain a safe space, especially in group supervision. Creating a safe space in group supervision requires additional consideration because there are more people involved. In either format, individual or group, supervision agreements should be developed collaboratively, ideally in the first session (Doody, O'Donnell et al., 2024; Ellis & Abbott, 2022a).

When developing a supervision agreement, consider:⁴

• session practicalities such as the time allocated for the session and the location of meetings
• the roles and responsibilities of supervisor and supervisee(s) (considered further below)
• the medium- and longer-term learning objectives and goals
• how the sessions will be structured and the way time will be managed (agendas are considered further below)
• who will keep records, how these will be kept and how they will be shared with members
  • Consider how to document any actions that may arise and who is responsible for the action.
• whether there are any boundaries and ground rules that need to be confirmed
  • While supervision should be as confidential as possible, dangerous or unethical practice may need to be reported (Ellis & Abbott, 2021). How will this be managed?

Supervision agreements are best thought of as working documents that evolve over time with the changing needs and membership of the individual or group, but all changes should be made collaboratively (Proctor, 1987). You can refer back to the group agreement as a reference point in times of disagreement or lack of clarity within session (Proctor, 1987). It is likely that the agreement will become less prominent in sessions as time goes by and the participants become familiar with the processes and establish trust.

Creating structure through meeting agendas

Having an agenda for each supervision session helps keep the members focused on the highest priority issues and on the functions that professional supervision should provide (Ellis & Abbott, 2022a). Some agenda items will be 'rolling' items that are included in all sessions, while others can be flexibly added to reflect the topics arising from practice experience. For example, if a supervisee has recently experienced an issue while working with a family, they may benefit from exploring it more deeply in a session (Ellis & Abbott, 2021, 2022a).

A typical agenda, or areas of focus within sessions, might include (Ellis & Abbott, 2021, 2022a):

• review of the previous session and any remaining actions
• reflection on issues and themes raised by the supervisee
• feedback to the supervisee on their professional progress
• review of learning objectives (possibly focusing on those in progress)
• identifying and planning for actions to be undertaken between sessions
• dedicated time at the end of the session to review progress and usefulness of the discussion
• plans for the next session.

Clarifying roles and responsibilities

To ensure that all parties get the most out of the professional supervision arrangement, you need to clarify the roles and responsibilities of supervisors and supervisees. The shared understanding of roles and responsibilities should be documented in the supervision agreement.

The role of the supervisor in both individual and group professional supervision is that of a 'critical friend' (Ellis & Abbott, 2021). A critical friend engages in discussion in a way that is supportive and provokes deeper reflection and analysis of practice issues from different perspectives (Ellis & Abbott, 2021). This helps the supervisee to reflect and gain an understanding of the part they play in practice outcomes (Ellis & Abbott, 2021).

Accordingly, supervision may feel uncomfortable at times because the supervisor may ask difficult and challenging questions with the aim of facilitating understanding and of helping supervisees develop and grow professionally (Ellis & Abbott, 2021; Proctor, 1987).

Responsibilities of the supervisor include:⁵

• focusing on each supervisee's learning and development needs
• managing time effectively during sessions
• ensuring a safe, supportive environment for supervisees
• demonstrating and modelling leadership
• establishing and maintaining boundaries
• increasing understanding of organisational practice standards
• collaborating with supervisees to create and follow an agenda
• coming prepared by reviewing previous notes and discussions
• orienting new group members
• encouraging supervisees in their agreed roles
• asking questions to encourage discussion, increase awareness of assumptions and facilitate reflection.

The supervisee has responsibilities to themselves - in both individual and group supervision - as well as to other people in group supervision contexts (Proctor, 1987). These include:

• identifying issues they would like help with and sharing them openly
• asking for time to deal with issues during group supervision
• being open to feedback from all members of the supervision group
• describing the kind of responses they would like in group supervision
• increasing understanding of organisational practice standards
• monitoring the tendency to justify, explain or defend
• monitoring tendencies to advise or compete
• sharing the responsibilities of a supervisor with other group members in a safe way.

Culture and professional supervision

Each supervisee comes to supervision with a unique identity, cultural background and generational world view that will inform their supervision needs (Bennett et al., 2013; Watkins et al., 2022). Group supervision, in particular, is often inherently multicultural because our workforce commonly reflects the communities we live in (Watkins et al., 2022). For this reason, adopting a multicultural frame by introducing and modelling cultural humility, cultural comfort and cultural opportunities can make supervision more positive and valuable for supervisees and service users (Watkins et al., 2022; Wilcox et al., 2022; Zhang et al., 2022).

Cultural humility is humility relating to aspects of culture including race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, as well as individual differences in physical abilities (Zhang et al., 2022). In professional supervision, cultural humility is demonstrated through:⁶

• willingness, openness and a curiosity in reflecting on oneself as a cultural being no matter your cultural background
• not defaulting to assumptions that majority cultural norms are 'normal' and making other cultural perspectives 'other'. When practitioners don't identify as culturally or linguistically diverse, they can sometimes act and think in a way that suggests they themselves are removed from a unique cultural background. It can be useful to keep in mind that all people are part of the larger 'melting pot' of culture within the broader community.
• commitment to understanding the cultural backgrounds and identities of colleagues
• awareness of your own automatic assumptions and biases.

Cultural comfort relates to the ability to have open and easy discussions about culture without avoidance or discomfort (Stewart et al., 2024). Cultural opportunities relate to cultural content being presented and explored in sessions (Stewart et al., 2024).

Because the professional supervision needs of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander practitioners are unique and differ from those of other cultural backgrounds, it may be useful to engage in cultural supervision (Bennett et al., 2013). Cultural supervision applies a culturally safe decolonising lens to professional supervision. It should be carried out by a supervisor with an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background and embedded in an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander physical location that is supportive and culturally safe for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander supervisees (Bennett et al., 2013). You can read more about cultural supervision in the further reading and resources section.

Nature of the evidence

In this resource we provide a framework and suggestions for conducting professional supervision relevant to FMHSS settings.

In developing this practice guide, we sampled literature from 2018 to 2025 (n = 23). Most of the literature sampled was based on the qualitative studies of experiential learnings of the authors while conducting their own case study or research/evaluation projects. These studies mostly included people working in mental health settings. Several (n = 7) sources were written by experts in the field (Bennett et al., 2013; Cutcliffe & Proctor, 1998a, 1998b; Ellis & Abbott, 2021, 2022a, 2022b; Proctor, 1987).

This practice guide also draws on older, primary works (n = 5). These primary works relate to the longstanding frameworks for ways of doing professional supervision. Although the age of some sources may give the impression that the work is dated, we ensured that the frameworks presented continue to inform contemporary research and practice.

Further reading and resources

• The Proctor model of clinical supervision: An introduction for professional counsellors
  This article provides a comprehensive overview of Proctor's framework for professional supervision, including case examples.
• Managing uncertainty in professional practice
  Practitioners who work with children and families often experience uncertainty in their role, including when attempting to understand a client's challenges, progress or responses to support. This CFCA practice guide provides an overview of what uncertainty and uncertainty tolerances are, their significance to professional practice and evidence-based strategies for managing practice uncertainties.
• Effective professional supervision for children's wellbeing
  This AIFS webinar held in collaboration with Emerging Minds explores how supervision can improve practitioners' ability to support children and implement child-aware practices.
• Supporting staff to work with children and families with complex needs: A checklist for organisations
  This paper provides practical guidance for managers, practice leaders and other decision makers supporting staff to work with children and families with complex needs.
• Clinical Supervision Services
  The Clinical Supervision Services website provides free professional supervision resources with permission to reproduce.
• Supervision for children's wellbeing
  This free online course, facilitated by Emerging Minds, is suitable for anyone supervising practitioners who engage children, adults or families in case management, casework or therapy.
• Clinical supervision
  The Health Education and Training Institute (HETI) provide free professional supervision resources including templates for supervision contracts and agreements, supervision logs and professional supervision training videos.

Cultural supervision

• Listening More
  These resources from the Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project are designed to support supervisors to be culturally safe and responsive in their supervision of Australia's psychologists, specifically when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
• Working with culture and diversity in supervision
  This information sheet from Queensland Centre for Mental Health Learning provides information about how to do culturally safe supervision including cultural humility.
• Cultural and Clinical Supervision for Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Allies
  This educational video from the Australian Centre for Child Protection University of South Australia explores the complex challenges of cultural and professional supervision in the child and family support sector. It covers creating workplace environments that are conducive to culturally safe supervision and decolonising mindsets, systems and environments to enable critical reflection and deep listening.

References

Anggeria, E., & Damanik, D. W. (2022). Effective clinical supervision in nursing: Systematic review. Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, 10(F), 525-530. doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2022.9672

Bennett, B., Green, S., Gilbert, S., & Bessarab, D. (Eds.). (2013). Our voices: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social work. Palgrave Macmillan. acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/8v259/our-voices-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-social-work.

Cadei, L., Serrelli, E., & Simeone, D. (2021). Sustainability practices in working contexts: Supervision, collective narrative, generative humour, and professional respect. Sustainability (2071-1050), 13(20), 11483-11483. doi.org/10.3390/su132011483

Cutcliffe, J. R., & Proctor, B. (1998a). An alternative training approach to clinical supervision: 1. British Journal of Nursing, 7, 280-285. doi.org/10.12968/bjon.1998.7.5.280

Cutcliffe, J. R., & Proctor, B. (1998b). An alternative training approach to clinical supervision: 2. British Journal of Nursing, 7, 344-350. doi.org/10.12968/bjon.1998.7.6.5734

Doody, O., Markey, K., Turner, J., O'Donnell, C., & Murphy, L. (2024). Clinical supervisor's experiences of peer group clinical supervision during COVID-19: A mixed methods study. BMC Nursing, 23(1), 1-15. doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-02283-3

Doody, O., O'Donnell, C., Murphy, L., Turner, J., & Markey, K. (2024). The establishment and value of peer group clinical supervision: A qualitative study of stakeholders' perspectives. Journal of Clinical Nursing 33, 4061-4076.

Ellis, P., & Abbott, J. (2021). Supervision, part three: The role of the kidney care leader. Journal of Kidney Care, 6(6), 308-310. research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=e28f0efc-c9ea-37de-ab10-03ac3577a62f

Ellis, P., & Abbott, J. (2022a). Supervision, part five: Practicalities. Journal of Kidney Care, 7(2), 96-98. 
doi.org/10.12968/jokc.2022.7.2.96

Ellis, P., & Abbott, J. (2022b). Supervision, part four: Group supervision. Journal of Kidney Care, 7(1), 42-44. 
doi.org/10.12968/jokc.2022.7.1.42

Fagernäs, S., Spännargård, Å., & Alfonsson, S. (2024). The development of the Psychotherapists' Supervision Preferences Questionnaire: Derived from the Proctor model. Counselling & Psychotherapy Research, 24(4), 1191-1205. 
doi.org/10.1002/capr.12726

Gardner, M., McKinstry, C., & Perrin, B. (2021). Group clinical supervision for allied health professionals. The Australian Journal of Rural Health, 29, 538-548.

Howard, V., & Peirson, J. (2024). Online group supervision as pedagogy: A qualitative inquiry of student mental health nurses' discourses and participation. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 45(3), 283-293. doi.org/10.1080/01612840.2023.2283507

Litherland, G., Schulthes, G., Cowles, C., & Ewe, E. (2023). The Proctor model of clinical supervision: An introduction for professional counselors. Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision, 17(5), Article 4. 
research.library.kutztown.edu/jcps/vol17/iss5/4

MacDonald, J., Quinlan, E., Truong, M., & Lazarus, M. (2024). Managing uncertainty in professional practice. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Mc Carthy, V., Goodwin, J., Saab, M. M., Kilty, C., Meehan, E., Connaire, S. et al. (2021). Nurses and midwives' experiences with peer-group clinical supervision intervention: A pilot study. Journal of Nursing Management, 29, 2523-2533.

NHS England. (2025). Popular supervision, skills acquisition and professional learning models. NHS England. advanced-practice.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/supervision/supervision-and-assessment-resources/skills-acquisition-models

Proctor, B. (1987). Supervision: A cooperative exercise in accountability. In M. Marken & M. Payn (Eds.), Enabling and ensuring: Supervision in practice (pp. 21-23). National Youth Bureau and Council for Education and Training in Youth and Community Work.

Proctor, B. (2008). Setting the scene. In B. Proctor (Ed.), Group Supervision (Vol. 2, pp. 3-14). Sage Publications. 
uk.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-assets/23513_book_item_23513.pdf

Ryu, H., Buus, N., Naccarella, L., Gonge, H., Prematunga, R., & Hamilton, B. (2024). Characteristics of clinical supervision for mental health nurses: A survey study using the MCSS-26. Journal of Clinical Nursing. doi.org/10.1111/jocn.17480

Stewart, S. H., Drinane, J. M., Owen, J., & Dumas, D. (2024). Psychotherapy training via a task-based assessment of the multicultural orientation framework: A pilot study. Counselling & Psychotherapy Research, 24(1), 190-198. 
doi.org/10.1002/capr.12629

Ülker Tümlü, G., & Ceyhan, E. (2023). Clarifying the stages of group supervision through action research. Anadolu University Journal of Education Faculty (AUJEF), 7(3), 479-499. doi.org/10.34056/aujef.1178007

Videmšek, P., & Fox, J. (2023). Learning from success in the supervision process. Ljetopis Socijalnog Rada/Annual of Social Work, 30(2), 129-150. doi.org/10.3935/ljsr.v30i2.397

Watkins, C. E., Jr., Hook, J. N., DeBlaere, C., Davis, D. E., Wilcox, M. M., & Owen, J. (2022). Extending multicultural orientation to the group supervision of psychotherapy: Practical applications. Practice Innovations, 7(3), 255-267. 
doi.org/10.1037/pri0000185

Wilcox, M. M., Drinane, J. M., Black, S. W., Cabrera, L., DeBlaere, C., Tao, K. W. (2022). Layered cultural processes: The relationship between multicultural orientation and satisfaction with supervision. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 16(3), 235-243. doi.org/10.1037/tep0000366

Zhang, H., Watkins, C. E., Hook, J. N., Hodge, A. S., Davis, C. W., Norton, J. et al. (2022). Cultural humility in psychotherapy and clinical supervision: A research review. Counselling & Psychotherapy Research, 22(3), 548-557. doi.org/10.1002/capr.12481

1 Cutcliffe & Proctor, 1998b; Fagernäs et al., 2024; Litherland et al., 2023; Proctor, 1987; Ryu et al., 2024

2 Cutcliffe & Proctor, 1998a, 1998b; Fagernäs et al., 2024; Litherland et al., 2023; Proctor, 1987; Ryu et al., 2024

3 Doody, Markey et al., 2024; Doody, O'Donnell et al., 2024; Ellis & Abbott, 2022a, 2022b; Mc Carthy et al., 2021; Proctor, 1987; Proctor, 2008; Ülker Tümlü & Ceyhan, 2023

4 Doody, O'Donnell et al., 2024; Ellis & Abbott, 2021; Proctor, 1987

5 Ellis & Abbott, 2021; Gardner et al., 2021; Proctor, 1987; Proctor, 2008; Videmšek & Fox, 2023

6 Stewart et al., 2024; Zhang et al., 2022