I have been providing group and individual clinical supervision for over ten years. It is quite common for people to ask me about the benefits of engaging in supervision themselves or of arranging it for their staff. Often, supervision is seen as a bit of an indulgence or something that you only need when something is wrong, rather than an integral part of our practice in any client-centred role. While counsellors and case managers commonly receive supervision, I have found that other workers who provide direct service to clients, for instance, allied health staff, receptionists or teachers) also benefit from regular clinical supervision. Here is a summary of what I have found to be the positives of supervision for individuals, for groups and for the employing organisations.

The positives for individuals:

· Individuals have a dedicated time and space where they can focus on their own self care to maximise their on-going well-being and to decrease the likelihood of issues such as burnout and vicarious trauma.

· Supervision offers the opportunity to develop new skills and a place to identify on-going training needs.

· Supervision offers a safe environment to think through client and other work related issues and to reach some resolution in how to deal with the issues.

· Individuals develop new insights into their work.

· Supervision is a supportive place to help manage work-related stress and anxiety, including the stress generated from day-to-day contact with complex, difficult or distressing clients.

· Supervision allows workers to increase and development their capacity to reflect on clients, client issues. It is a safe place to think about the crossover between the worker’s personal issues and the client relationship.

· Workers can increase, develop and expand on their therapeutic skills and on their client work in the “here and now”.

The positives of group supervision:

- Within an organisational context - group supervision can create an opportunity for staff to share strategies and ideas for interventions and to learn from each other in a supported environment.

· By team members discussing the types of things that bother them or stress them, it can help staff to feel less isolated, to realise that others are experiencing similar issues to them and to allow the whole team to develop ways to combat these issues.

- In an individual context- if newer social or welfare workers band together with like-minded others to purchase small group supervision, this can be a cost effective way for them to get a taste of supervision and to gain support from the supervisor and from each other.

The positives for organisations:

· Good supervision enhances client services and client outcomes.

· Increased retention of staff and increased staff morale and well-being is a result of providing staff with additional support, including external supervision. This improves their day-to-day experience within an organisation, thus minimising stress and burnout among staff.

· External supervision commonly decreases pressure on Management staff, as a number of staff support and debriefing needs are met by their external supervisor.

· Supervision can be an important tool in aiding staff to identify skills they lack, to aid them in developing new skills and in staff coping better in their work place.

· Regular clinical supervision minimises on-going problems for staff, such as staff struggling aversely from vicarious traumatisation in the workplace.