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BEST PRACTICE IN PROFESSIONAL SUPERVISION: A GUIDE FOR THE HELPING PROFESSIONS Davys, A. and Beddoe, L. (2010) London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers 256pp pb £19.99 ISBN 978-1*84310995*2
This book, which explores the theoretical concepts of supervision and their practical application to the helping professions, is well-structured and easy to follow. Drawing on their wealth of experience as academics in the field and also from their considerable knowledge in social work practice, Davys and Beddoe have written an authoritative and accessible text book for new supervisors and those studying for qualifications in supervision and management for the helping professions. As such, it fills a gap in the literature between purely theoretical works and those which are more general self-help guides and addresses the unique elements of supervision that present themselves to those working with complex human problems. It is its unique approach to developing a reflective learning model to supervision which readers will find a beneficial in improving their practice.
The book commences with a contextualisation of supervision, its origins, history and its significance for practice. In particular, it highlights the importance in professional supervision of balancing the management, support and mediation functions to ensure a learning environment is created. They emphasise, in particular, the dangers of focusing purely on managerial functions of supervision and propose that it should be viewed as a reflective learning process in which the discussion of complex situations is facilitated through critical reasoning. The initial chapter reads...