The supervisory relationship is essential for effective learning in supervision and it needs to be built on trust. The supervisor and the supervisee need to find each other dependable, because without trust, the supervisory alliance will not be successful (Bernard & Goodyear, 2019). It is quite reasonable to expect a supervisor to be trustworthy, but not many supervisees consider how they come across. Just like supervisees expect to find a competent supervisor who is trustworthy and knowledgeable, supervisors also have expectations of their supervisees.

While they understand that supervisees need a bit of hand holding and are likely to have many questions about situations they’ve never encountered before, supervisors expect their supervisees to be problem solvers. By the time they start internship or their pre licensure candidacy, all supervisees have had a level of instruction that deemed them at least minimally qualified to handle many of their client needs. However, all supervisees have a certain level of anxiety in handling new situations. Managing this anxiety is an important part of the process of building trust with the supervisor. Supervisees will want to use self-reflection and even counseling support to manage their anxiety outside the supervisory relationship.

Supervisors appreciate supervisees who are flexible and open to feedback. The supervisory relationship is by definition a relationship in which the supervisor provides a lot of corrective feedback. Openness to corrective feedback is an important attitude that all supervisees will want to embrace. If the supervisory relationship is based on trust, supervisees can push back on anxious thoughts and cognitive distortions, and assume good intentions on the part of the supervisor. Accepting that a certain level of discomfort when receiving feedback is natural can be a great precursor to growth. After all, we expect our clients to do just that – deal with emotional discomfort in their process of growth.

When receiving corrective feedback, a good supervisee will maintain a stance of openness and initiative. While positive feedback is more desirable, research shows that corrective feedback correlates positively with self-efficacy (Holstun, et al., 2021). Thus, corrective feedback should be expected and anticipated in supervision. Although it may be difficult at times to accept the feedback of the supervisor, supervisees have a responsibility to at least consider it and reflect on it before making the decision to reject it (Holstun & Bohecker, 2024).

Finally, good supervisees are self-driven and proactive, and seek opportunities to improve without always counting on the supervisor to point out the direction. Cultivating an attitude of lifelong learning can go a long way in seeking opportunities for growth and improvement. Following up on the feedback received and taking the initiative to seek new challenges, opportunities, and learning experiences will support the development of new and advanced counseling skills.

In conclusion, a strong supervisory alliance is built on trust. That is why it is important for supervisees to self-reflect on their own attitudes and behaviors. Being intentional about becoming a problem solver who takes initiative and is proactive can go a long way in building a trusting relationship with the supervisor. Openness to corrective feedback and cultivating a lifelong learning attitude will also strengthen the supervisory alliance and in the end, benefit not only the supervisee, but their clients as well.

References

Bernard, J. M. & Goodyear, R. K. (2019). Fundamentals of clinical supervision (6th ed.).

Pearson.

Holstun, V. P. & Bohecker, L. (2024). Humanistic principles for providing culturally sensitive

corrective feedback in supervision. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1002/johc.12215

Holstun, V., Rigsbee, N., & Bohecker, L. (2021). Encouragement is not enough: Perceptions and

attitudes towards corrective feedback and their relationship to self-efficacy. Teaching and Supervision in Counseling Journal, 3 (3) https://doi.org/10.7290/tsc030302