A Different Wisdom: Reflections on Supervision in Practice, Guide to Supervision

Britain has a fine tradition of writing about supervision practice. This book connects to this by organizing reflection around the practice taken from the author’s sixteen years experience as a practitioner.

Taking three broad sets of tasks of supervision as an organizing frame, the book weaves examples of professional experience with current research and other reflective writing. From a broadly humanistic perspective, she examines the developmental journey of a supervisor interested in the overlap of the personal and the professional. Penny’s background in adult and higher education leads her to emphasize the learning that comes through development of practice wisdom in collegial supervisory conversations. Research has emphasized the importance of the relationship for effective supervision. This book combines an interest in creating and sustaining the relationship, with extending the development of the supervisee. It is unique in exploration of the pragmatics of practice, while describing the normative roles and tasks inherent in the part of supervisory work that focuses on the protection of the client.