Delini M. Fernando

Best Practices in Clinical Supervision: Evolution of a Counseling Specialty

A number of developments have marked the evolution of clinical supervision as a separate specialty since publication of the Standards for Counseling Supervisors in 1990, including accreditation and counselor licensure standards, supervisor credentials, and research on supervision practice and supervisor training, nationally and internationally. Such developments culminated in the development of a statement of Supervision Best Practices Guidelines. The Guidelines are described, followed by suggestions for their implementation and further evolution through research.

Group Work With Survivors of the 2004 Asian Tsunami: Reflections of an American-Trained Counselor

This article describes a support group for Sri Lankan women survivors of the 2004 Asian Tsunami. The article discusses unique leader challenges in doing group work in a diverse and foreign setting, and presents leader reflections, recommendations, and implications for group workers who may work with disaster survivors.

Supervision by Doctoral Students: A Study of Supervisee Satisfaction and Self-Efficacy, and Comparison with Faculty Supervision Outcomes

Satisfaction with supervision and perceived self-efficacy scores reported by masters-level supervisees across seven Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)-accredited counseling programs were analyzed. Supervisees of doctoral students reported a mean satisfaction score of 26.94 (“good to excellent”) on a range of possible scores from 8 (low) to 32 (high) and a mean self-efficacy score of 173.00 (“slightly to moderately agree that they have confidence in performing various counseling activities”) on a scale of 37 (low) to 222 (high). Supervisees of doctoral students reported significantly higher satisfaction with supervision and perceived self-efficacy than supervisees of faculty. Supervisee age did not significantly influence supervision outcomes.

An Exploration of Group and Member Development in Experiential Groups

In this phenomenological study, we explored 52 group members’ development in experiential groups. Specifically, participants completed 10 weekly journal reflections about their experiences as members and also reflected on the group’s overall development. Four overall themes—exploration, transition, working, closure—as well as multiple subthemes emerged. We discuss findings, implications for group counselors and educators, and directions for future research.

Supervision of Group Work: Infusing the Spirit of Social Justice

The authors explore how supervisors may support the development of social justice consciousness for group leader supervisees, the role of the supervisor in generating social justice awareness and discussing social justice topics, and supervision that supports group leaders in addressing the challenges and opportunities related to social justice issues in group work. The authors present examples from a 10-week supervision group of 6 doctoral students who were leading personal growth groups for masters students in the group counseling course.

Adapting the Interpersonal Process Model of Intimacy to Enhance the Co-leader Relationship During Training

Group work literature acknowledges that the group co-leader relationship influences the development of group members and the group as a whole. However, little direction has been offered for supervisors of group co-leaders to facilitate the development of the co-leader relationship. Reis and Shavers (1988) interpersonal process model of intimacy identifies a sequence of interchanges that contributes to the development of intimacy in significant relationships. This article discusses how the model can be adapted to conceptualize the development of the co-leader relationship and identify potential supervisory interventions.

Intimate Partner Violence Typology and Treatment A Brief Literature Review

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant problem in society today. Many approaches have been taken to address the issue and treat the individual or couple. Gottman et al. published groundbreaking research aimed at classifying batterers based on heart rate reactivity. Their finding, that batterers may differ in type, is part of a wealth of recent research leading toward more effective treatment of IPV. Researchers have recently brought about many considerations to the way IPV can be classified and effectively treated by mental health professionals. The purpose of this article is to follow the developments of Gottman and others, as IPV research and treatment has grown over the past 17 years.