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

2. 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

3. 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.”

4. 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”

5. 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.

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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.

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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.

12. 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