Mindful Supervision

“Mindful Supervision: Trauma-informed Practices for the Long Pandemic” is not currently scheduled but is available to agencies on request. “Mindful Supervision: Advanced Applications,” for seasoned supervisors, begins in September 2022 (6 CEUs in supervision).

USING THE LONG SEASON OF THE PANDEMIC AS AN OPPORTUNITY for learning and growth, this foundational webinar is a forum for clinical supervisors, new and seasoned, to look at their supervisory practices and update them in relation to long-term toxic stresses that are unique to this period. How do clinical supervisors fortify new practitioners to withstand the toxic stress and vicarious traumas associated with the pandemic?

Using research from the field of interpersonal neurobiology, the webinar invites participants to review traditional beliefs about clinical supervision—which emphasize evaluation, monitoring, and fidelity to practice models—and to update them. Participants learn to cultivate mindful attention during supervision, to bring an attuned awareness of the visceral dialogue to their 1:1 and group meetings, and to maximize rewards and minimize threats hard-wired into any relationship with an authority figure.

Most practitioners seeking supervision or consultation have significant exposure to the trauma stories of their clients, magnified during the long season of the pandemic. Integrating routine mindful habits into the supervisory relationship allows supervisees to stay in the “Window of Tolerance” for longer periods, increase vagal tone and perseverance, and find meaning and satisfaction in their work, in spite of hardships and sacrifices. Mindful supervision enhances creativity and critical thinking, unblocks learning, increases intentional use of the supervisory relationship, and enhances whole body wisdom essential to effective care and healing.

The webinar also introduces a structured model for clinical case consultation that integrates mindful practices.

By the end of this two half-day foundational webinar, participants will:

Update their assumptions and beliefs about clinical supervision with key ideas from the field of interpersonal neurobiology;
Understand the ways toxic stress and vicarious trauma, magnified during the long season of the pandemic, can block learning and professional growth;
Practice mindful strategies that reduce stress and vicarious trauma and facilitate learning and growth; and
Witness an innovative model of clinical case consultation that emphasizes mindful presence.

The webinar has been approved for 6 CEUs (clinical supervision) through National Association of Social Workers.