Supervisory Working Alliance: A Model Providing Direction for College Counseling Supervision
✍ Scribed by Chris Wood
- Publisher
- American Counseling Association
- Year
- 2005
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 82 KB
- Volume
- 8
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1099-0399
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
This article presents an overview of the Supervisory Working Alliance Model (E. S. Bordin, 1983) and related research. The author proposes an extension of the model by applying it to evaluation and multicultural competency. The following major advantages of the model for supervision in college counseling centers are discussed: (a) model's transtheoretical nature, (b) model's compatibility with alternate models, (c) model's conduciveness toward multiculturally competent supervision, and (d) model's utility in evaluation.
C
ollege counselors are often called on to conduct counseling supervision. Counseling centers at colleges and universities are popular practicum and internship placements for counselor education programs (Dorn, 1979;Gloria, Castillo, Choi-Pearson, & Rangel, 1997). There may be more opportunities for the practice of supervision during internships at college counseling centers compared with agency internships (Scott, Ingram, Vitanza, & Smith, 2000). Moreover, counselors in college counseling centers (Borders & Usher, 1992) and in community college centers (Coll, 1995) indicate a desire for counseling supervision.
Unfortunately, many master's-level counselor education programs lack courses on counseling supervision (Borders & Leddick, 1988), and states often fail to require a background in supervision for counselor licensure (Borders & Cashwell, 1992). The professional literature has identified the lack of training in supervision as a serious "gap" in the profession (Hoffman, 1994;Russel & Petrie, 1994). Some counselors in college counseling centers, then, may be called on to supervise counseling interns and other counselors despite having had little or no specific training in counseling supervision.
Counselors in college counseling centers are faced with several challenges in regard to supervision. Novice counselors bring different levels of training and/or experience as well as differing theoretical orientations. Counseling supervision should also recognize the needs of diverse populations, be culturally responsive, and foster multiculturally competent practice. Moreover, college counselors need a supervision model that assists with the arduous task of evaluation. As a supervision model that addresses these special considerations, the Supervisory Working Alliance Model (Bordin, 1983) has utility for college counselors and directors of counseling centers.
In this article, I propose the Supervisory Working Alliance Model (Bordin, 1983) as a means for college counseling supervisors to understand and struc-