The Children’s Behavioral Health Knowledge Center at DMH is excited to announce the opportunity for youth serving behavioral health providers to participate in a learning community for supervisors focusing on Reflective Supervision and Addressing Secondary Traumatic Stress in Supervision. The overarching goal of this initiative is to broaden and enhance reflective practice and to lessen the impact of secondary stress within youth serving behavioral health providers.

Reflective supervision (RS) is a relationship-based supervision practice that is, “characterized by three key elements: reflection, collaboration, and regularity.[1]” We know that work with youth
and families who are experiencing (or have in the past) adversity, poverty, trauma, and/or mental illness is complex. There are not always “right” answers. One benefit and perhaps a goal of RS is
to increase tolerance for ambiguity and “not knowing”. RS supports staff members by helping them to step back from the immediate, intense experience of the hands-on work and offers them
an enlarged perspective or another pair of eyes. RS strengthens the practice of trauma-informed care through its model of collaboration with and support of staff members.

RS helps to build practitioner competence in a variety of ways. First, it encourages supervisors to decrease the number of “directives” (e.g., you should do XYZ with this family) and increase the amount of reflective questioning they engage in with staff (e.g., Based on what you know about this family what do you think is the right path?). Doing this helps to reduce the sense that only the supervisor holds the right answers for how to proceed. It allows staff to create their own “aha” moments and fosters their sense of agency.

Secondary traumatic stress (STS) refers to the presence of PTSD symptoms caused by at least one indirect exposure to traumatic material. [2] Recognizing and addressing secondary stress in
their supervisees and in themselves is an essential function of reflective supervision. Supervisors should be aware of services and supports available to staff within and outside the organization,
and advocate for the adoption of organizational practices to address the impact of STS, with special attention to the differential impact based on staff’s multiple identities.[3]