Person-Centered Supervision: A Realistic Approach to Practice Within Counselor Education

Abstract

In a counselor’s development, supervision is a necessary, important, integral part of the process of forming a professional counseling identity. Just as multiple counseling theories exist to provide a conceptual framework for the process, multiple supervision theories exist to help a supervisor understand how and why to structure the experience. Based on the work of Carl Rogers, a person-centered approach to supervision centers on two main themes: the process and the relationship (Rice, 1980). Throughout this manuscript, the themes of process and relationship as well as the fit of person-centered supervision within the confines of a counselor education program are explored. Although more literature is needed to further discuss operating from a person-centered perspective within counselor education, this theoretical approach provides enough support and flexibility to work as a guiding theory for supervisors within counselor education programs