There Are Other Important Aspects of Play Therapy Supervision KAREN R. BURKE, LPC-S, RPT-S, CCST-T
Choosing the right play therapy supervisor is an important step in a supervisee’s journey toward becoming a strong provider of play therapy. Many considerations should be taken into account to help build a relationship in which the supervisee can grow and flourish.
Theoretical orientation, although one facet to consider, should not overshadow other important aspects.
In play therapy supervision, the importance of the supervisor and supervisee creating an environment of consistency, trust, and purposefully set goals, outranks the need for their theoretical orientation to be the same. Thomas (2015) explained that, “within play therapy, supervision approaches may vary by theoretical orientation, level of directedness, and supervision models, among approach that the supervisor can and does articulate to supervisees” (p. 2).
Experienced practitioners and educators use the supervision process to guide those with less professional experience and to support and challenge supervisees (VanderGast, Culbreth, & Flowers, 2010). When choosing a play therapy supervisor, it is important to choose someone who is skilled in the modality, themselves. Choose someone you can learn from and has insight to share from a path already traveled.
According to Ray (2011), play therapy supervisors should possess the knowledge, skill, and experiences of an advanced practitioner. They also should have congruence, unconditional positive regard, education on supervision, theory and practice, and tiered supervision, in addition to past and current play therapy experience (Ray, 2011). Choosing someone who has demonstrated supervision and play
At this time, though, APT members are not listed by theoretical orientation, which may limit informed selection of a supervisor.
A good supervisory relationship may include a theoretical match, but like all relationships, is much more complex. Supervisors must also model an aligned professional identity (Auxier, Hughes, & Kline, 2003; Bernard & Goodyear, 2018; Burkholder, 2012; Mullen, Luke, & Drewes, 2007; Phillips & Leahy, 2012; Smith-Adcock, Shin, & Pereira, 2015; VanderGast & Hinkle, 2015); and supervisor support contributes favorably to a supervisee’s creativity and intrinsic motivation (Chong & Ma, 2010; Grant & Berry, 2011). Both are important for play therapists’ professional development and may be obtained with a skilled supervisor of any theoretical orientation.
Play therapist supervisees are called to be self-reflective, identifying and communicating their professional development needs, such as theoretical alignment or skill integration, when seeking play therapy supervision
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therapy skills, such as a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor (RPT-S), is a step in the right direction and will be necessary for obtaining RPT/S credentials in the near future (e.g., Association for Play Therapy, APT, 2018a, p. 3; APT, 2018b, p. 23).
Another consideration that weighs in the decision to search for a theoretical match in play therapy may be the limited number area, if face-to-face supervision is desired. Accessibility may be therapy supervision has not yet flourished. Saraceno et al. (2007) argued that a lack of available child mental health practitioners in rural areas leads these specialists to use their available time to provide direct services, instead of training or supervising other professionals. Although they reported on child mental health practices in low- to middle-income countries, their argument may stand for rural or remote areas in the US, as well. Therefore, trying to match theoretical orientations for face-to-face supervision could as they grow into established, strong play therapists themselves.
Play therapy supervision may provide an excellent testing ground for learning and practicing different ways of helping clients through the use of play therapy techniques. Having a play therapist supervisor who has a different theoretical orientation and different approaches may offer a treasure trove of resources for the supervisee. Respect for differences in orientation or other practice variables lays the foundation for unleashing the full potential of the play therapy supervision experience. Under the umbrella of support that supervision can provide, the play therapy supervisee can take steps to enhance and strengthen skills with the important professional guidance of a play therapy supervisor.
(Bernard & Goodyear, 2018; Eryilmaz & Mutlu, 2017), especially now that new APT guidelines require supervision by a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor (RPT-S) for credentialing (APT, 2019b). Play therapist supervisors must be aware of the complexities of factors that may influence supervisees’ theoretical orientation and professional identity, including their background, values, and beliefs (Fitzpatrick et al., 2010; Vasco & Dryden, 1994); personality (Arthur, 2001; Bitar, Bean, & Bermúdez, 2007; Chwast, 1978; Scandell, Wlazelek, & Scandell, 1997); identity processing (Lile, 2017) and thinking style (Arthur, 2001; Demir & Gazioglu, 2012; Werries, 2015; Zhang & Sternberg, 2000); interactions with and emotional reactions to concepts and colleagues, and clinical experiences (Fitzpatrick et al., 2010). Listing theoretical orientation on a theoretical match is desired and increasing the use of digital online classrooms for supervision (Inman et al., 2019) could encourage a stronger sense of play therapy community, and therefore professional identity, across theoretical orientations.
www.a4pt.org | September 2019 | PLAYTHERAPY | 29
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