Reflecting on Reflective Supervision Training

Community Foster Care recently had the pleasure of welcoming Mike Staines from The Mulberry Bush Charity to deliver a two-day session on Reflective Supervision. The course, which is accredited by APPCIOS, was an opportunity for staff to reflect on their own reflective practice and explore the impact that a reflective approach has not only on themselves, but on the colleagues, foster carers, and children they support. Below, Ellie, who attended the session shares her experiences and take-aways from this deeply insightful training.

Reflective supervision can sometimes sound like a formal process, but at its heart it is deeply human. It is about creating space for people to pause, think, feel heard and see their work from a different perspective. After attending reflective supervision training, I was reminded that good supervision is not simply a meeting in the diary; it is an influential relationship that can shape confidence, practice, wellbeing and the quality of support offered to others.

Helping People See Things Differently

‍ One of the strongest messages from the training was that reflective supervision helps people see things differently. In busy roles, it is easy to move quickly from one task, decision or concern to the next. Reflection creates a deliberate pause. It gives supervisors and supervisees the opportunity to step back, explore what is happening beneath the surface and consider other ways of understanding a situation.

This is particularly important in work that involves people, relationships, complexity and emotion. Reflective supervision is not about providing all the answers. It is about asking thoughtful questions, making room for curiosity and supporting people to develop their own insight and confidence.

Holding People in Mind

A phrase that stayed with me was "holding people in mind". This links closely with a psychodynamic approach, where we pay attention not only to what is said, but also to what may be felt, carried, avoided or unconsciously communicated. In supervision, this means noticing the emotional impact of the work and recognising that practitioners need to be supported as whole people, not just as professionals completing tasks.

Making someone feel seen and heard is not "nothing". It can be one of the most important parts of supervision. When people feel properly listened to, they are more likely to reflect honestly, learn from experience and remain open to new thinking. This kind of attention can strengthen practice and support resilience, especially when the work is emotionally demanding.

These reflections also resonate strongly with Community Foster Care's therapeutic approach. At CFC, we start with the story, seeking to understand people through their experiences and relationships. We stay relational, recognising that we shape and are shaped by every interaction. We think together, using networks and shared thinking to hold complexity. And we protect thinking by creating space for reflection, supervision and support so new understanding can emerge.

The Power of Authentic Positivity

Another key reflection was that authentic positivity is powerful. The phrase "you get what you talk about" is a useful reminder that supervision should not only focus on problems, risks and what has gone wrong. Those conversations matter, but so does noticing what is working well.

Praise should not be left to chance. If we want people to feel valued and confident, we need to build praise into the system. That means naming good practice, celebrating progress and helping people recognise their own strengths. Positive reflection is not about ignoring challenges; it is about creating the emotional safety needed to face them constructively.

Naming Power in Supervision

The training also highlighted the importance of recognising power. Supervision is never completely neutral. There may be differences in role, authority, experience, confidence, identity or organisational position. If these dynamics are ignored, they can quietly shape what people feel able to say.

Naming power does not make supervision uncomfortable; it can make it safer. It opens up space for honesty and helps build trust. A reflective supervisor can acknowledge these dynamics directly and invite conversation about how they may affect the supervision relationship.

Sharing Practice Builds Learning

There is real power in sharing practice. When people talk openly about their experiences, dilemmas, successes and uncertainties, learning becomes collective rather than individual. Reflective supervision can help create a culture where people are not expected to carry everything alone.

The same principles are important in our work with foster carers. Fostering can be deeply rewarding, but it can also be emotionally demanding. Foster carers need opportunities to reflect on children's experiences, make sense of behaviour, think about their own responses and consider the impact that caring can have on themselves and their families. Reflective supervision and support help create the conditions for that thinking to happen.

This is one of the ways we seek to develop research-informed therapeutic foster parenting. By creating spaces where staff and foster carers can think together, share experiences and remain curious about what may be happening beneath the surface, we strengthen our ability to provide thoughtful, nurturing and therapeutic care for children.

Final Thoughts

Reflective supervision training was a useful reminder that supervision is not simply about oversight. It is about relationship, curiosity, emotional containment and shared learning. It asks us to slow down enough to notice what is happening, to value the people doing the work and to create conditions where honest reflection can take place.

Ultimately, reflective supervision is about creating the conditions where people can think, learn and develop together. When staff and foster carers feel supported to reflect, stay connected in relationships and draw on the thinking of others, they are better able to provide the stable, nurturing and therapeutic care that children need to thrive.

If we want people to feel seen, heard and supported, reflective supervision cannot be an optional extra. It needs to be built into the way we work, the way we talk and the way we learn together.