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Supervision and the "Resistant" Counselor

Columns - Clinical Supervision

Monday, 31 March 2003

A supervisor recently consulted with me over a difficult situation she was having with a counselor who created so many roadblocks to supervision that there seemed to be no possibility of a positive working relationship. She said that a significant amount of tension had developed between the two of them, that any attempt to rectify the situation seemed futile, and that she was thinking of having the counselor switched to a different supervisor. Scheduled supervision sessions were being missed and the counselor was questioning why he even needed supervision at all. My colleague was at a loss over what to do and was beginning to doubt her own abilities as an effective supervisor.

It is impossible to point to any one reason why a counselor is resistant to clinical supervision. However, as we sometimes do with resistant clients, supervisors often misunderstand seemingly recalcitrant counselors by mislabeling them as resistant. I've heard it said that there is no such thing as resistant patients, only inflexible therapists. The parallel between the clinical relationship and the supervisory relationship is obvious. One difference between the two, though, is the fact that there are common contradictions in the dual role of the supervisor. For instance, one may vacillate between being a vigilant gatekeeper and a nurturing teacher. The stance one takes with supervisees can be a factor in creating and/or overcoming resistance to supervision.

A significant factor related to what we often mislabel as resistant is the counselor's level of motivation. When I am delivering training in clinical supervision, I always ask my students what they do to motivate counselors. I usually let the conversation go on before I ask whether or not they really believe they have a magical power to motivate others. Then we get into the more relevant and salient part of the discussion: people are motivated for their own reasons. What the supervisor does have the power to do is create a supervisory environment that fosters self-motivation. According to social cognitive theory, self-motivation is the capacity of people to effect personal change and growth through their own efforts of self-determination.

Social cognitive theory also recognizes that one's degree of self-efficacy, or judgment about his or her ability to execute change, is a determining factor in initiating action to change. A counselor who has little or no faith in his or her ability to change, or sees no reason why he or she should change, is not going to jump at opportunities to receive clinical supervision. All the support and validation in the world will not encourage such a counselor to become motivated to change.

Many in our field have found success in reaching clients by recognizing motivation as a state of readiness for change. As supervisors, we have helped counselors with this concept by pointing out that clients who are labeled "resistant" or "unmotivated" may be reacting to the counselor's approach, one that may be out of synch with the client's stage of change. Change theory also applies to clinical supervision whereby the supervisor must recognize that motivation is not a trait that a counselor has, but is a product of context.

In clinical supervision, context describes a vast array of variables that exist in the supervisory relationship. Some of these variables are relatively fixed, such as agency policy and the clientele served, and some are flexible. One flexible variable in supervision is the strength of the supervisory alliance. By joining with the counselor on his or her unique journey of professional development, the supervisor can gain a better understanding of what motivates the individual being supervised. This can become the first step toward understanding what is important to a counselor regarding his or her work with clients. The supervisor is thus connecting with the counselor's perspective and helps identify goals as well as the path he or she must follow in order to reach them.

The reasons behind "resistance" to supervision are numerous and may include academic elitism ("I have a Master's degree, why do I need supervision?"), acting out or testing limits ("No one's going to look over my shoulder and watch me work!"), or being rigidly set in one's ways ("What worked for me will work for my patients!"). The best approach to resistance is a function of both the individual and the situation. However, the supervisor may have a significant amount of control over the situation that, in turn, will impact the individual. There is a better chance of this occurring when a supervisory alliance has been developed.

My colleague, whom I referred to in the opening paragraph, worked in an environment where so much emphasis was placed on supervision of entry-level counselors, that the supervisee (a certified counselor with a Master's degree) saw supervision as demeaning, beneath him, and a statement on his competence as a counselor. The supervisor was successful in reframing the relationship by taking on a more collegial approach with an emphasis on case consultation. She eschewed the gatekeeper stance that typified the counselor's prior experience with supervision and became a supportive consultant to the counselor. An alliance of mutual support and cooperation was created that centered on the counselor's professional growth and development.

In some cases, changing supervisors may be the best answer. However, like the scenario presented here, a shift in the supervisory context can lead to a greater degree of mutual understanding and enhanced self-motivation by the counselor. This is a scenario in which the supervisor's flexibility acknowledges the uniqueness of each counselor and where the label "resistance" is not even in the vocabulary.

Thomas G. Durham, MA, LADC, is the director of corporate support at ETP Inc. (www.etpinc.com) in East Hartford, Conn., where he coordinates a worldwide program of clinical supervision to alcohol and drug counselors throughout the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. A certified clinical supervisor with more than 25 years of experience, he frequently conducts training workshops and is a part-time faculty member at Tunxis Community College in Conn., where he teaches courses in counseling. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it