mindful clinical supervision

Dr Julia BowmanLeadership Unit, Health Education & Training Institute

*Mindful Clinical Supervision

*ObjectivesBy the end of the presentation participants will:*Understand how mindfulness is

related to clinical supervision?

*Understand how they can apply mindfulness strategies to clinical supervision?

*Be aware of the benefits of using mindfulness as a tool for clinical supervision?

*Have had the opportunity to practice a mindfulness strategy.

*Clinical supervision*The provision of guidance & feedback on matters of personal, professional & educational development to facilitate appropriate & safe patient care

(HETI, The Superguide, 2013)

*Purpose of clinical supervisionEducation Support Administration Develop self-awareness

Facilitate harmonious working relationships

Clarification of roles & responsibilities

Reflection on practice

Promote morale & job satisfaction

Workload management

Provide knowledge & skills

Management of job-related stress

Review & assessment of work

Integrate theory into practice

Increase sense of professional self-worth

Address organisation & practice issues

Facilitate professional reasoning

(Carroll, 2006, HETI, The Superguide, 2013, p.16)

Supervision is conversational-based learning…

*Aim of clinical supervisionSupervisors assist their staff/students:

*In the transition from dependent novice to autonomous practitioner

*To use their experience as a springboard for further learning

*To become reflective practitioners

*Mindfulness & clinical supervision?

*Clinical supervision is more than a cognitive process

*Requires awareness of ones:* Emotions* Intuitions* Sensations* Bodily experiences

*Reflections need to resonate with the heart as well as the head

*Enhances the supervision experience for both the supervisor & supervisee

(Carroll, 2009)

*Connecting head & heart

*What is mindfulness?

*A technique that people use to become purposefully aware of their thoughts, feelings and decisions in the present moment in a non-judgmental way

(Carroll, 2009, Eggers, 2007, Kabat-Zinn, 1994)

*Being mindful

• Selectively concentrating on one thing

• Open minded• Avoiding bias

• Paying attention to the here & now

• Attitudes• Beliefs• Thoughts• Feelings• Behaviours Self

Awareness

Being Present

Focusing Attention

Non-judgment

al

What strategies can you apply to

facilitate a mindful clinical

supervision session?

*Use of mindfulness: The supervisor *Before supervision*Self-awareness*Preparing the environment

*During supervision*Being present*Focusing attention*Non-judgment

*After supervision*Reflection

*Before supervisionAs a supervisor it is important to:*Prepare yourself*Stop what you are doing*Clear your mind*Reflect on your

thoughts, feelings & motivations

*Prepare the environment*Quiet & private space*Free from distraction &

interruption

Meditate

*Seven mindfulness working principles

Before commencing supervision recall:

1. Begin all work in stillness

2. Separate components of work with pauses

3. Work until work is finished

4. Meet our working need

5. Allow our instrument to do the work

6. Focus on where work is taking place

7. Let work flow (McKenzie, 2013)

*Mindfulness activityThe STOP exercise:

*S – stop & pause

*T – take a breath (take a moment)

*O – observe

*P – proceed with your agenda

*During supervision* Being present

* Slow down* Stay in the moment* Accept things the way they are

* Focusing attention * Give yourself time & space* Consciously direct your awareness* Attend to the present experience* Notice what is going on right now

* Non-judgmental awareness* Observe what is happening* Have an open mind * Avoid assumptions about behaviour* Have empathy

*Mindfulness activity*Mindfulness of sounds * Sounds are mostly out of our control*Good subject to learn to just “be” with*Unlikely to be able to influence or alter* Things we can just experience

* In this exercise you are invited to:*Be aware of sounds as sounds*Not labeling, not naming, not judging *Noticing when sounds are arising*Noticing the presence of the sound*Noticing when sounds are receding*Noticing the constant change in the sounds you are hearing (Tobler & Herrmann, 2013)

*Mindful communication

These principles can be used to enhance a supervision session:1. Understand what you believe & why. We are motivated by

our beliefs!2. Practice non-attachment to our own views3. Accept that your perceptions are limited4. Bring empathy to every communication5. Be kind – everyone is carrying a burden6. Be respectful7. Genuinely connect with people8. Be fully engaged9. Recognise the role your judgment plays in how you

communicate(Arpa, 2013, McKenzie, 2013, Nhat Hahn, n.d., Tobler & Herrmann, 2013, Schoeberlein, 2009)

*Mindful listening*Listening to what is both

said & un-said*Listen without judging *Listen without reacting*Listen without

interrupting*Listen without distraction

(email, texts, etc.) *Let the person know they

are truly being heard

*After supervisionReflect on the supervision experience:*Turn your focus & attention to the experience of

supervision*Immerse yourself in the remembered events*Be sensitive to what happened*What new knowledge has come through to you?*What are you taking away in terms of insights,

feelings, thoughts?*How can you integrate what you have learned?*What have you learned from that experience about

yourself? About others? About work & practice?(Carroll, 2006, Carroll, 2009, Dray & Wineski,

2011)

*Benefits of mindfulness*Improve focus & concentration

*Increase self-awareness*Reduce the impact & influence of stressful thoughts

& feelings*Facilitate better relationships*Catching self-defeating behaviours & substitute with

more effective ones*Become aware of self-defeating thought processes & let them go

(Tobler & Herrmann, 2013)

*In a…1.Improved

performance

2.Reduced stress

3.Greater satisfaction in work & life

*Mindfulness can be woven into every facet of your life…

*References* Altman, D. (2011). One minute mindfulness. Novato, California, New World Library.* Arpa, M. (2013). Mindfulness at work: Flourishing in the workplace. East

Sussex, Leaping Hare Press.* Carroll, M. (2006). Key issues in coaching psychology. The Coaching Psychologist,

2(1), 4-8.* Carroll, M. (2009). From mindless to mindful practice: On learning reflection in

supervision. Psychotherapy In Australia, 15(4), 40-51.* Dary, B., & Wisneski, D. (2011). Mindful reflection as a process for developing

culturally responsive practices. Teaching Exceptional Children, Sept/Oct, 28-36.* HETI (2013). The superguide: A guide for supervising oral health professionals.

Sydney, HETI.* McKenzie, S. (2013). Mindfulness at work. Wollombi, NSW, Exisle Publishing.* Nhat Hahn, T. (n.d.). Work: How to find joy and meaning in each hour of the day.

Berkeley, Parallax Press.* Schoeberlein, D. (2009). Mindful teaching and teaching mindfulness. Boston,

Wisdom Publications.* Tobler, A., & Herrmann, S. (2013). The rough guide to mindfulness: The essential

companion to personal growth. London, Rough Guides.