Consultative Supervision
Purple Leaf private support services. Our team will provide you with a consistent, agreed, safe and confidential space to talk about what you’ve experienced.
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF
• Are you the same person you were when you started doing this work?
• Have your experiences changed your world view? How you react and interact with others?
• Does your organisation have high levels of stress, depression and sickness that are related to individuals or their role?
• Do you feel supported in your role?
After so many years of hearing stories of abuse, death, tragic accidents and unhappiness; of seeing photos of crime scenes, missing children and deported loved ones; and of visiting the homes of those I was trying to help – in other words, of bearing witness to others’ suffering – I finally came to understand that my exposure to other people’s trauma had changed me on a fundamental level.
Within many professions, including Police, Social Work and Teaching, there is a growing awareness of the impacts of Vicarious Trauma (Saatvikne & Pearlman 1996), Burnout (Maslach 2000) and Compassion Fatigue (Figley 2001). There is a growing body of evidence that there is a ‘Cost to Caring’.
Witnessing trauma, suffering and the vulnerability of others is not unique to those specifically working in the caring profession. Human Resource teams, Equality and Diversity champions, managers, colleagues; we are all equally likely to be in a position of hearing or reading about a colleague’s or client’s trauma.
Consultative supervision can help you and your teams mitigate the risks associated with exposure to traumatic testimony.
The expectation that we could be immersed in pain and suffering and not be touched by it, is as unrealistic as expecting to walk through water without getting wet.
OUR APPROACH
Our team of qualified consultative and clinical supervisors will provide you with a consistent, agreed, safe and confidential space to talk about what you have witnessed, listened to or read. This can be provided individually or in a group setting, dependent on what you need.
By providing you with a space to talk, consultative supervision will work with you to ensure you are effective, safe and well.
Professional Level, Consultative Supervision:
- Is a rich source of support, learning and understanding
- Helps you work safely and effectively
- Supports the development of a reflective practitioner
- Involves accountability
- Can help manage risks
- Is recognised as good professional practice by a range of different professional bodies
- Can contribute towards meeting requirements of professional bodies and regulatory requirements for continuing professional development (where applicable)
- Provides a ‘safe space’ where you can share, discuss and reflect upon your work
Personal Level, Consultative Supervision:
- Lower stress, enabling clearer thinking by the practitioner
- Allow the recognition and defusing of strong or negative feeling and indirect traumatisation
- Sometimes be the first place that non-work-related problems that may impact on work are acknowledged
- Help to develop resilience
- Increase job satisfaction
Within supervision, you can discuss anything that relates to your work, address organisational/relational issues and ensure that you are able to reflect and maintain emotional and psychological health within a safe and confidential space.
A preventative approach [to burnout] represents a wise and prudent investment in the future of the organisation. It means investing in people so that they become well-trained, loyal and dedicated employees who can be counted upon to do high-quality work
Purple Leaf is Trading name of West Mercia Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (WMRSASC)
WMRSASC is a charitable company limited by guarantee in England & Wales - Charity Registration 1136677, Company Registration 07083844.
Registered office: Kendall Wadley Chartered Accountants, 71 Graham Road, Malvern, WR14 2JS (not part of WMRSASC premises)