Providing Constructive Feedback to Clinical Supervisees ICA Presentation November 2016 Dr. Kimberly Duris

The Importance of Feedback One of the most important components of clinical supervision Competency-based training of counselors Part of ACA Code of Ethics Increases supervisee’s skill set Raises awareness of supervisees performance Detailed, prompt feedback on performance provides opportunities for improvement Guides future behavior First, let’s define feedback: “Information given to indicate the level of performance that has been achieved in performance of a task” Can be positive or negative Refers to: Skills, attitudes, behavior, and appearance that may influence their performance with clients or affect the supervisory relationship. Can be formal or informal. Few studies on feedback in the supervision literature. CACREP stresses importance of the feedback process within counselor preparation. Essential element of the educational process that can help trainees reach their maximum potential. Reinforces good performance and provides basis for remediation Teaches supervisees self-awareness and self-reflection skills

Reasons for Lack of Constructive Feedback Anxiety on part of supervisor and supervisee Supervisors believe that they are giving frequent and adequate feedback Barriers: Supervisee defensiveness supervisor’s lack of instruction in giving feedback Learning curve for supervisors Many supervisors report dreading giving supervisees feedback about their performance. Many supervisees say that they do not receive sufficient feedback during field placement. Even when supervisors believe they provided adequate feedback. Why: anticipating a negative reaction from the supervisee; feeling that the feedback was too personal. When looking at research on feedback in counseling setting, Yalom stated: “feedback is not a commonplace transaction. As a matter of fact, there are very few situations in life when one feels free to comment directly on the immediate behavior of another person. Generally such direct feedback is taboo; virtually the only place it is permissible is the parent-child relationship and, occasionally in an exceedingly intimate relationship.”

Four Types of Feedback Descriptive Evaluative Emotional Interpretive An account of description of the behavior Evaluative Critiques the supervisee’s behavior Emotional Supervisor’s feelings about the behavior demonstrated by the supervisee Interpretive Help the supervisee to develop awareness and insight by providing an interpretation of the behavior. Make sure to include positive and negative feedback together. Positive feedback on: Strengths in order to reinforce behavior Better to frame negative feedback as “constructive” or “corrective”

Summative vs. Formative Feedback Ongoing and aims to improve the learning experience Formative Occurs at end of training Includes constructive feedback and grading of clinical performance.

Preplanning for Feedback Reflect on your own feedback skills Get to know your supervisee Instead of viewing it as “how can I avoid criticism?” view it as “how can I make the most of this supervision time?” Plan for a structured time in supervision when the topic of giving/receiving feedback will be discussed to set the stage. Preplanning for the feedback helps to normalize the experience. Supervisees will expect, not be surprised or defensive when constructive feedback is given regularly. This will Help moderate negative reactions to feedback Minimize dispositional issues in clinical supervision Maximize the possibility that supervisees will more likely engage with feedback rather than avoid or disregard the feedback Increase self-awareness and gain knowledge and understanding about the other person

Discussing Feedback with Supervisees- Part of Preplanning Stage Corrective Feedback Entrustment-Revised (CFI-R) Developed by Robison and Hardt (1992) 55-item questionnaire Assists with giving, receiving, and exchanging corrective feedback Six Factors: Feelings factor- 5 items regarding emotions associated with corrective feedback. Evaluative factor- 5 items regarding corrective feedback Leader factor- 7-items that refer to the leader’s encouragement of norms that support the exchange of corrective feedback. Clarifying factor- emphasizes the need for clarification so that all parties understand the message being sent. Written feedback factor- 4 items that provide information on preferences for written versus spoken feedback. See handout

Managing the Supervisory Relationship Create an environment of trust less likely that feedback will be viewed as criticism Communicate goals and objectives for feedback Make as much feedback based off of direct observation as possible Use specific, neutral language Keep weekly notes on supervision meetings Include strengths, challenges, tasks for next meeting and give to supervisee When feedback is viewed as a personal attack, feedback becomes useless Hierarchy in the supervision structure can be positive or negative- for either participant. Hierarchy can result in abuse of power on part of the supervisor and an unwillingness for supervisee to bring up important concerns about the supervisory process. Personality issues may also be a part of the dynamic.

How to Help Supervisee’s Prepare for Feedback Avoid a one-way flow of communication Encourage open communication by setting the tone in beginning of supervision Implement self-assessment as part of the supervision environment Reasons for lack of effective self-assessment: Information deficits Memory bias (self-report) Unrealistic optimism about skill set Inadequate feedback from others Allow the time and place for feedback to occur Generational differences Generational differences- Pattern of being treated as “special” “absence of balanced focus on weaknesses and strengths” Lack of self-reflection Plan on how to state the feedback: Sandwich approach: Open with a positive statement Can ask supervisee for their own reflection on how things are going Follow with a corrective statement Can probe supervisee for what they think could have been improved upon End with a reinforcing positive statement Consider what type of mutually agreeable plan can be put in place

Tips for Giving Feedback Effectively Develop goals and objectives for feedback Based Feedback on direct observation Make feedback timely and a regular occurrence Begin supervision meetings with a self-assessment Reinforce and correct observed behaviors Use specific, neutral language to focus on performance Consider quantity- best in small portions Comments should be objective, descriptive, and nonjudgmental in language. Whenever possible, include examples from practice Don’t attack the supervisee’s character Too much negative feedback at once can result in supervisee being overwhelmed and it to turn into a demoralizing experience. Deal with decisions supervisee made in clinical work and actions taken, rather than assumed intentions and thoughts. Keep the feedback private- don’t say it in a public venue

Supervisee’s Preferences Regarding Feedback Open and positive relationship with supervisor Agreed-upon goals Balanced, accurate, frequent and immediate feedback Clear and specific feedback Peer feedback is just as important as supervisor feedback Supervisee’s may struggle with the feedback process due to lack of experience in giving/receiving feedback. This struggle does not always mean that they do not want to engage in the feedback process.

Tip for Receiving Feedback Effectively Implement self-assessment tools into your own session reflections Emphasize interest in receiving feedback by demonstrating openness to learning process, interest in improving Build a relationship with your supervisor Ask for feedback from multiple sources Be confident- feedback is about improving not about what is always wrong Manage your emotional reactions Take an action plan Acknowledge generational differences between you and your supervisor Oftentimes supervisee’s fear is related to Lack of confidence Lack of experience Fear of not appearing knowledgeable