‘You kind of pull back the layers’: The experience of inter-professional supervision with educational psychologists

Abstract

Aim:The aim of this study was to add depth and enhance our insight of the lived experience of the less-explored area of inter-professional supervision with Educational Psychologists (EPs). It was the intention to enrich our understanding of these ‘human-to-human’ experiences and consider the process of supervision in more depth, thereby exploring the value of EPs offering supervision services.Method:Seven Family Support Key Workers (FSKWs) who had engaged in supervision with EPs over a period of 10–15 years took part in the study. A semi-structured interview schedule was used to ask about their experiences, and the transcriptions were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA).Findings:Five overarching themes were identified. Supervisees experienced a safe relationship with the EPs and took the opportunity for the deeper exploration of the self. They also experienced supervision as a learning space and had the choice of whether to engage in supervision. The findings also describe movements and changes in these experiences over time.Limitations:The potential of positive bias, the selection process used to recruit participants and the medium of language as the main tool for accessing the supervisees’ experience, all limit the transferability of the findings of this study.Conclusions:Each of the themes is considered in light of existing literature. The importance of establishing a foundational relationship to create space for the deeper exploration of the self to support learning and development is emphasised. The value of EPs offering supervision is elucidated.