Supervision
What we call internships today have their historical roots in apprenticeships. These are teaching and learning relationships in which the student learns an art, trade, or job from a skilled professional. This type of learning environment usually takes many years. It begins with a selection process, such as having a certain ability or grade point average. It involves finding someone to guide you through the learning process (e.g. an experienced craftsman or instructor). The apprenticeship often concludes with some sort of “final examination” that ends in graduation and the apprentice’s recognition as a professional. As with teaching relationships in general, this one can also be mutually beneficial as most people like to share their expertise with others, and teaching often “teaches” the teacher, as well as the student.
Supervision is at the heart of fieldwork. In this sense it is like an apprenticeship although you are likely to continue to have supervisors if you go on for a graduate degree or license. Learning how supervisors interact with coworkers and clients gives you an opportunity to observe and even model similar behaviors as you start to turn theory into practice. Supervisory insight, experience, and involvement with your education will help you develop a sense of what it means to be a professional in your field as well.
Occasionally, a supervisor can also become a mentor, which is a special type of teaching-learning relationship and can have a positive impact on one’s career. Most times, a supervisor will schedule individual time with an intern to go over the student’s duties, clients, and caseloads. However, sometimes supervisors are too busy to give interns as much direct supervision as interns would like. While disappointing, it might be helpful to remember that supervisors usually sacrifice productive work time and space to make room for interns. So even if your supervisor does not seem to meet your expectations, that does not mean they do not care. Similarly, not all supervisors have the same style or approach, so be prepared to be as flexible and realistic with your expectations as possible.
The Supervised Internship
Internships are an efficient and effective way of learning because they provide professional guidance. Often, supervisors can work one-on-one with you in ways that are compatible with your learning style, which is more difficult to achieve in a classroom environment. Although course work gives you an idea of what to expect, it is the guided experience that turns theory into knowledge and knowledge into ability. This fieldwork setting is like a laboratory where you can test ideas and techniques without, hopefully, things “blowing up” in your or your client’s face. Similarly, supervised experience allows you to test theoretical concepts and perspectives in a real-world environment and to find out which techniques work best in various situations. During this learning process, you are also beginning to develop your own style as a helping professional.
Knowing Your Role
Beginning the internship can be stressful if you have not prepared for it. Researching the site and the kind of services it provides can prepare you and give you a sense of what to expect. By understanding your role as an intern, you also show the supervisor that you are a team player who will try to enact the supervisor’s suggestions. Accordingly, it is important to respect the boundaries of being a student in training. Even if you think you know how to handle a situation, the supervisor ultimately makes the call as to whether you are ready to handle a client alone.
Paying attention to the daily activities in the office will help you anticipate tasks and make yourself more useful when the supervisor is busy. Offering to help with duties that are not defined on your list shows that you will be easy to work with. When the supervisor is overloaded with duties you cannot perform, you can still network at the facility. Asking questions is often a good way to interact with others and shows that you are interested in knowing what to do and how to do it.
Developmental Stages in Your Supervisory Relationship
Like most relationships, the one that occurs between an intern and a supervisor is constantly evolving. Ideally, the quality of the relationship will improve as the degree of communication does because that allows both parties to better share information and develop interpersonal connections. Trust builds over time and helps you to talk more freely, examine your strengths and weaknesses, recognize your mistakes and achievements, and do the type of exploration that is necessary for professional development to occur. Unless the relationship is problematic for one person or the other, it usually goes through three stages: the novice stage, the learning stage, and the independent stage. Each one has its own distinct characteristics.
