Mastery and supervision in health and wellbeing coaching

The EMCC UK Health & Wellbeing special interest group met recently to discuss mastery and supervision. We’re very grateful to them for sharing the thoughts and reflections which came out of their discussion, which focus on the restorative power of supervision, and a holistic take on mastery.

‘Mastery’ and ‘supervision’ are common terms, and have different meanings for practitioners, depending on their knowledge, experience and the context where they work. The Health & Wellbeing special interest group debated these issues in June with a focus on two questions. The first was concerned with the nature of supervision and its benefits, and the second with the concept of mastery and whether it is a dynamic state of being or a level of attainment.

Here are some themes that stood out for us.

What is supervision? How does it help?

Many members of the special interest group are supervisors, and so the discussion highlighted the importance of supervision in a health and wellbeing context.

Brigid Proctor describes supervision as a cooperative endeavour where the supervisor and supervisee explore and maintain standards and ethical boundaries (normative), develop knowledge and professional competence (formative), and provide emotional support, manage stress and promote wellbeing (restorative).

Supervision is usually thought of as an experienced practitioner supporting a less experienced individual.  However, our discussion highlighted the importance of developing a co-learning and co-operative space, where there is no role for an expert.

In the context of coaches working in the health and wellbeing sector, the discussion highlighted the importance of the restorative function of supervision across each of these areas. Three key benefits, essential to good practice, were established:

• Supporting the wellbeing of the coach work with clients who may be in distress
• Enabling the coach to define and manage their scope of practice
• Developing knowledge, skills and perspective

What is mastery? Is it a static state or dynamic?

There was general agreement that mastery is a dynamic state of continual learning and development. It encompasses what we know and experience. However, in the context of coaching and supervision, it strongly relates to the ability to create a co-learning, reflective and reflexive space for growth and development.

Reflecting on our discussion, it seems fitting to define mastery by combining the western perspective of adult development and the eastern perspective of enlightenment.

From a western, adult development viewpoint, mastery is a journey of growth that includes acquiring knowledge, self-awareness, emotional regulation, and understanding. It involves developing skills and competencies while also fostering a spiritual or embodied connection, requiring dedication, practice, and a commitment to continuous improvement and self-discovery.

Through the eastern lens of enlightenment, mastery also brings a profound sense of fulfilment, purpose and connection with oneself and the world. This holistic approach to mastery can serve as a co-learning map in supervision, enabling both the supervisor and supervisee to reach their fullest potential.

A question that came up during our discussion was whether it is beneficial for a supervisor to have specialist skills or mastery in specific areas such as neurodiversity or wellbeing, as well as be adept at creating safe and brave learning environments? The short answer seemed to be that it depends.

Finding the best supervisor for your practice is key, and we concluded by talking about the benefits of having more than one supervisor.

References

Proctor, B. (1986). Supervision: A cooperative exercise in accountability. In M. Marken & M. Payne (Eds.), Enabling and Ensuring Supervision in Practice. National Youth Bureau and Council for Education and Training in Youth and Community Work.

About this discussion

The group facilitators were Marian Rosefield MSc (MAPPCP), and Andrew A Parsons PhD.

Thanks to Sue Jackson for providing her notes from the discussion.

To contact the group about this article, please email them here: healthandwellbeing.sig@emccuk.org.

Photo by wocintechchat