This book brings a fresh approach and conversation to the practice of professional supervision for human services by specifically articulating its often performed, but unnamed and under-explored therapeutic function. The discussion of the therapeutic function is timely given the rising complexities in our world, and the increasing awareness of emotional impacts of human service work. These impacts include stress, distress, emotional labour, indirect trauma, and direct trauma. Posing a challenge and invitation to supervisors to comfortably inhabit the therapeutic function of supervision to increase emotional support to workers, it places safe practice and worker wellbeing at the heart of supervision to enable high quality service delivery for often the most vulnerable in society. While underpinned by theory, it is written to be practically applied and is developed from a 'lived experience' perspective, offering a unique glimpse into actual practice. By modelling one of the main aims of professional supervision, which is to facilitate and enable the integration of experience into learning and knowledge, it will be of interest to all practitioners across a broad range of human services, particularly both new and experienced supervisors.

This book brings a fresh approach and conversation to the practice of professional supervision for human services by specifically articulating its often performed, but unnamed and under-explored therapeutic function. The discussion of the therapeutic function is timely given the rising complexities in our world, and the increasing awareness of emotional impacts of human service work. These impacts include stress, distress, emotional labour, indirect trauma, and direct trauma. Posing a challenge and invitation to supervisors to comfortably inhabit the therapeutic function of supervision to increase emotional support to workers, it places safe practice and worker wellbeing at the heart of supervision to enable high quality service delivery for often the most vulnerable in society. While underpinned by theory, it is written to be practically applied and is developed from a 'lived experience' perspective, offering a unique glimpse into actual practice. By modelling one of the main aims of professional supervision, which is to facilitate and enable the integration of experience into learning and knowledge, it will be of interest to all practitioners across a broad range of human services, particularly both new and experienced supervisors.

Supervision is a valuable protected space for personal and professional development that has the potential to contribute greatly to positive transformative change. This book explores what is meant by transformative supervision and how it can be undertaken. It examines the key factors that contribute to the transformative function, such as the role of observation and questioning, the importance of working with emotions, and exploring intuition. The book takes an in-depth look at the supervisory relationship and offers real examples from practice to illustrate the ideas in action. Offering a range of practical strategies, techniques, and approaches to enhance current supervision practice, this book brings a new voice to the topic of supervision by emphasising how it can contribute to continuous learning and self-development. Suitable for all those in the helping professions including social workers, counsellors, psychotherapists, occupational therapists, nurses and probation officers, this practical book is an invaluable guide to enhancing supervision and promoting both individual and social change.