Supporting Relational, Trauma-Informed Social Care Work with Autistic Adults: Evaluation of a Reflective Supervision Group Pilot

Working in social care often involves meeting complex emotional and relational needs, which can lead to stress, burnout and negative consequences for clients if staff are not adequately supported. Members of a social care team supporting autistic adults in the community engaged in a four-month pilot of once-monthly, externally facilitated reflective group supervision sessions. Following the four sessions, the staff reported enhanced empathy and insight regarding their clients, improved support relationships through increased awareness of their own and their clients' emotional and relational experiences, and stronger feelings of competence, motivation and resilience (both personally and as a team). The stirring up of difficult emotions in supervision was noted by some to be uncomfortable at times but necessary for the growth of awareness. This pilot study found that reflective supervision, with an emphasis on deepening awareness of emotional and relational patterns, can enhance insight, resilience and improve client relationships in social care work. Further research is needed to develop our understanding of the need for, and impact of, reflective supervision in social care work. There is a growing body of literature highlighting the need for reflective supervision to support the often complex and challenging practice of social care workers. The current study aimed to explore an Irish social care team's experience of a pilot reflective supervision group. The study participants were six male social care workers supporting autistic adults in the community. The team met for four one-monthly group supervision sessions, facilitated by an external supervisor. A reflective, relational approach was taken to the supervisory work, using role-play, free association and the Seven-Eyed model of supervision. At the end of the four-month pilot, participants completed a brief questionnaire to evaluate the supervision group experience. Thematic analysis of the participants' open responses revealed the following themes: (i) increased insight/empathy; (ii) experiential learning; (iii) enhanced awareness/skills in relational practice; (iv) personal resilience; (v) team resilience; and (vi) emotional challenges. The study results suggest the potential importance of reflective supervision in boosting resilience, motivation and emotional insight when supporting people with unique relational needs.