Empowering Supervision in Academia: Fostering a Feminist-Informed Way of Being To Encourage Supervisee Self-Disclosure

Abstract

The Supervisory Working Alliance (SWA) is recognized as a key component of effective supervision. Studies reveal that lack of a strong SWA can result in less supervisee disclosure, thus impacting the supervisee’s ability to grow clinically and professionally. Previous literature proposing feminist applications to clinical supervision has outlined the importance of supervisors acknowledging their power and taking a collaborative stance. However, we offer a perspective that advances feminist models by asserting that application of feminist principles must be made to the supervisor’s way of being rather than only the interventions used. Using a case vignette, this article utilizes concepts from feminist theory and feminist family therapy to explore the complications with supervisee disclosure, particularly in an academic context. We offer a model of supervisor way of being that is founded in feminist principles to enhance the safety necessary for supervisee disclosure.