Collegial,Competent,and Consultative Supervision: A Peer Supervision Approach for School Counselors

Cheston’s Ways Paradigm

The structure of CCC supervision draws inspiration from Cheston’s (2000) Ways Paradigm, a framework that organizes concepts of counseling theory and practice around three principles for counselors to work with clients. Cheston’s three principles, or ways, include (a) a way of being, or the counselor’s presence with clients; (b) a way of understanding, or knowledge of theories and clients’ contexts; and (c) a way of intervening, or implementation of treatment and goals (Cheston, 2000). Cheston (2000) proposed that training counselors with these three principles in mind can help the counselors to navigate, organize, and utilize the array of counseling theories and concepts. Counselors can shift between theories and relevant counseling concepts and justify reasons for selecting and employing certain concepts when counseling clients.

Likewise, these principles help supervisors to structure supervision, organize their feedback, discern important elements of the experience, and employ appropriate interventions that support the supervisees’ development. Cheston (2000) encouraged using the Ways Paradigm as a framework to support, offer feedback about, and remedy counseling issues during supervision. Thus, inspired by this framework, CCC supervision can be a nonhierarchical approach to engage in peer supervision that promotes collegiality, competency, and consultation. In CCC supervision, collegial refers to a way of being, competency refers to a way of understanding, and consultative refers to a way of intervening for practicing school counselors. These three Cs frame how school counselors can approach peer supervision in ways that are supportive yet challenging, informative, and growth inducing. Together, these three principles are necessary to facilitate meaningful and productive relationships so that school counselors feel empowered while also empowering their colleagues.

The Ronnestad and Skovholt Developmental Model

The Ronnestad and Skovholt (2013) model is a useful developmental model when considering the developmental needs of school counseling practitioners of varying experience levels. The implementation of the CCC supervision approach (from pairing or grouping colleagues to engaging in peer supervision) can be informed by school counselors’ personal and professional developmental needs. After more than two decades of reanalysis and reformulation of their study of counselors (ranging from recent graduates to those 40 years beyond graduate school), Ronnestad and Skovholt (2003) described five phases of counselor development and found that counselors experience stagnation in their development without a stimulating environment, the ability to adapt, and opportunities for reflection.

In the first phase, the novice student, who is early in their graduate training, experiences developmental tasks like learning conceptual knowledge and skills in courses, managing emotional reactions from practice with peers and clients, and being open to theoretical orientations while selecting appropriate techniques (Ronnestad & Skovholt, 2013). In the second phase, the advanced student continues to gain knowledge and skills and may still feel vulnerable; however, they develop self-confidence and understand the complexities of the counseling role (Ronnestad & Skovholt, 2013). The third phase marks the beginning of the postgraduate experience as an early career professional. As novice professionals enter the field, they tolerate the complexities of their work and learn to cope with and grow from challenges (Ronnestad & Skovholt, 2013). Novice school counselors are also integrating their personal and professional beliefs and identities through reflection, presenting a fruitful opportunity for clinical supervision and mentorship from experienced professionals. Thus, the CCC peer supervision approach may be an ideal opportunity for novice school counselors to seek and receive support from colleagues as they navigate the novel and various challenges, tasks, and responsibilities.

In the fourth phase, experienced professionals undergo developmental tasks like maintaining professional growth and resiliency and integrating their personal and professional selves (Ronnestad & Skovholt, 2013). School counselors feel increased competence and flexibility and understand nuances of the therapeutic relationship and complexities of students. Burnout also peaks during this phase (Ronnestad & Skovholt, 2013), and supervision can serve to promote school counselor wellness and stress management (Mullen et al., 2020). Although experienced professionals may be better adjusted to their careers than novices, their training and learning to address new and relevant issues in schools continue. CCC supervision is an opportunity for experienced school counselors to guide novice school counselors as well as receive collegial support for themselves from colleagues to potentially reduce burnout and continue in the profession.

In the fifth phase, senior professionals with at least 25 years of postgraduate experience reflect upon their lifetime of learning and are less concerned with evaluation of their work (Ronnestad & Skovholt, 2013). Although they have acquired significant experiences to share with others, senior professionals still require continued professional development to learn best practices, maintain their professional identity, and engage in reflection (Tang, 2020). CCC supervision thus benefits senior counselors as learners who continue to develop their competence and as mentors who impart valuable information to novice and experienced counselors. Hence, this developmental model aligns with the CCC peer supervision approach by helping school counselors to empathize with colleagues’ needs and inform how to support and challenge one another.

Peer Consultation-Based Supervision

Peers have been shown to be influential for practitioners across all stages of development (Ronnestad & Skovholt, 2013); thus, peer support is central to CCC supervision. Empirical research about peer consultation and supervision has shown that colleagues can monitor and enhance each other’s counseling skills and promote growth, skill development, and an evaluative experience in nonthreatening, egalitarian, and collaborative manners (Borders, 1991; Crutchfield & Borders, 1997; Wilkerson, 2006). Other benefits of peer supervision include collegial encouragement, support and challenge, and time- and cost-effectiveness (Crutchfield & Borders, 1997; Thomas, 2005). With peer supervision, counselors reported increased self-confidence, an appreciation for using peers as models, and access to collaborative opportunities in the field (Benshoff & Paisley, 1996; Thomas, 2005). Although some peer group supervision models required a supervisor facilitator (e.g., Linton & Deuschle, 2006), models such as Benshoff and Paisley’s (1996) structured peer consultation model for school counselors (SPCM-SC) required neither a facilitator nor formal evaluation. Like the SPCM-SC, the CCC approach encourages interdependence and accountability for professional development of self and peers.

Various empirical studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of peer supervision. Ronnestad and Skovholt (2013) found that peer group activity increased opportunities for colleagues to process intervention skills, competence, client conceptualization, and ethical decisions. Despite finding nonsignificant outcomes, Crutchfield and Borders (1997) asserted that there was still a small positive effect of peer supervision on school counselors’ job satisfaction, self-efficacy, and effectiveness. They also found that counselors indicated positive and productive experiences with peer interactions, participation in role plays, collegial support, and concrete feedback (Crutchfield & Borders, 1997). In another study of a district-wide peer supervision program, school counselors reported gains in overall professional development, including counseling, consultation, and referral skills (Agnew et al., 2000). In that study, Agnew et al. (2000) found peer feedback to be useful, and it increased participants’ self-confidence, job comfort, and feelings of validation. In the SPCM-SC, Benshoff and Paisley (1996) found that school counselors reported developing consultation skills, desiring to participate again and recommend the program to others, feeling supported and encouraged by valuable peer feedback, and appreciating the structure of supervision. With CCC supervision, school counselors can partner with colleagues and provide a meaningful, productive avenue for collaboration, consultation, growth, and learning.

Ways of Being Collegial

Ways of being collegial reflects two of Ronnestad and Skovholt’s (2013) supervisory principles: (a) clarifying the expectations of supervision to provide a helpful experience and (b) establishing a supervisory relationship of safety, clarity, and direction. Collegial school counselors demonstrate mutual respect, define boundaries in the supervisory relationship, demonstrate empathy, and acknowledge differences in theoretical orientations and techniques (Ronnestad & Skovholt, 2013; Stoltenberg, 1981). They share honest and constructive feedback and appropriately confront to support one another (Stoltenberg, 1981). Peer supervision reduces the power differential between a supervisor and supervisee and provides a nonjudgmental environment for learning and self-disclosure among colleagues. With clear expectations and boundaries of the relationship and feelings of support, colleagues can leverage the reflective process to propel their counseling competence for optimal development (Ronnestad & Skovholt, 2013; Skovholt & Ronnestad, 2003). That way, school counselors can utilize reflection with colleagues to support their continued practice and learning.

One way to set expectations for a collegial supervisory relationship and environment is for paired or grouped school counselors to develop a supervision contract that reflects their goals and expectations for supervision (Borders & Brown, 2005). Components of the supervision contract can include the purpose, goals, and objectives of supervision; the rights and responsibilities of peers during supervision (e.g., specific individual and group-level commitments to the supervision process, agreed-upon norms for giving and receiving feedback); and procedural and logistical aspects of supervision (e.g., length and frequency of supervision meetings, setting an agenda in advance of supervision meetings). Colleagues are encouraged to dialogue about and agree upon shared norms for conducting and engaging in supervision and continue to check in with the collaboratively developed supervision contract throughout the peer supervision experience as a measure of shared accountability.

As an introductory exercise to build collegiality, each colleague can create and share their supervision genogram, responding to reflective questions about prior supervision experiences, cultural impacts, and handling conflict (Walker, 2010). A supervision genogram can prompt discussions about experiences and interactions that have and have not worked well in supervision (e.g., preferred means of seeking and receiving feedback in ways that are supportive and challenging). The dialogue from this activity can help colleagues attend to one another’s diverse identities and needs to ensure that cultural considerations are considered and acknowledged throughout the peer supervision relationship (Bledsoe et al., 2019). Visually depicting a constellation of relationships can be another exercise among school counseling colleagues (Johnson et al., 2014). Each peer can display various levels of personal and professional relationships (from more distal to closer) that have supported their development as a school counselor. Then, they can share helpful aspects of these relationships while also discussing how their new peer relationships can fit into their existing constellations to develop a committed, supportive, influential, collegial, and transformative means of supervision.

Ways of Being Competent

Competent school counselors possess knowledge, awareness, and skills of the profession, including applications of theoretical orientations and culturally responsive counseling techniques, understanding developmental appropriateness of interventions, and knowing how to implement a data-driven, comprehensive school counseling program. Thus, ways of being competent as a school counselor involves having a body of knowledge about the profession (Cheston, 2000). While knowing, following, and practicing ethical and legal standards of professional conduct, school counselors also strive to be multiculturally competent and to learn about and understand the intersections of their students’ and colleagues’ cultural identities. During peer supervision, colleagues draw from their diverse personal and professional backgrounds, experiences, and strengths to offer resources and provide feedback about cases.

The ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards and Competencies (ASCA, 2019b) can be a useful tool to self-assess and receive feedback about competence. Independently and collaboratively, colleagues can walk through the mindsets and behaviors relevant to designing, implementing, and assessing comprehensive school counseling programs, evaluate strengths and opportunities for improvement, and articulate how colleagues can support each other through supervision. Likewise, school counselors can utilize Holcomb-McCoy’s (2004) Multicultural Competence Checklist to self-assess and dialogue about their multicultural competence and areas for continued development. Bledsoe et al. (2019) found that diversity, multicultural supervision, and advocacy were underemphasized in the school counseling supervision literature. Thus, this checklist can assess colleagues’ understanding of racism and oppression in schools, interrogate inequitable policies and practices that harm and create barriers for marginalized youth and families, and enact social justice-focused practices that advocate for all students.

One recommendation to collegially support school counselors’ multicultural competence is practicing broaching in peer supervision. Broaching is a technique and ongoing experience in which counselors explicitly and intentionally discuss how cultural and sociopolitical factors influence a client’s experiences and explore their own racial identity development and its influence on the counseling process (Day-Vines et al., 2007). Jones et al. (2019) suggested that broaching can be utilized in supervision, allowing those engaged in supervision to understand how cultural factors impact the supervisory relationship and enhance self-awareness and empowerment. Broaching can, in turn, strengthen school counselors’ competence when working with students, families, and colleagues. In addition to broaching in the collegial supervisory relationship, colleagues can role play and provide feedback on broaching strategies with students and families. For example, school counselors can practice using both pointed (i.e., a focus on specific cultural identities) and open (i.e., open-ended exploration of culture) language to ask questions about students’ multiple cultural identities while also focusing on shared commonalities and differences between and among school counselors and their students, families, and colleagues (King, 2021).

To enhance competence, school counselors also seek and engage in ongoing professional development. Considering the changing, diverse needs of students, school counselors are ethically mandated to stay abreast of information and training and partner with families and community organizations to support and advocate for students (ASCA, 2022). The ongoing communication involved in peer supervision can include sharing of trainings, resources, curricular materials (e.g., group counseling and core classroom curricula, school-wide interventions and programming materials), and psychoeducational presentations to support school counseling program development (Tang, 2020). Other resources can include information about political and legislative advocacy issues and publications from peer-reviewed journals and other reputable sources connected to school counseling practice. An example of structuring a peer consultation session could include devoting a portion of the meeting to discuss assigned readings and the latter portion on exploring professional development or best practice issues in school counseling (Thomas, 2005). Ways of being competent through peer supervision also involves school counselors’ accountability to continue their own and encourage others’ professional development to better serve students and improve academic, social/emotional, and postsecondary outcomes.

Ways of Being Consultative

Ways of being consultative is the work of the peer supervisory relationship (Cheston, 2000). As consultants, colleagues work collaboratively and collegially to share responsibility for learning (Hess & Kraus, 2010). Although Wilkerson (2006) defined consultation as a short-term problem-solving process, consultation within CCC supervision transforms the experience into an ongoing, collegial one that includes both content and process. The content of consultation can include seeking feedback about interventions, sharing case conceptualizations, and discussing recordings of counseling sessions. Colleagues brainstorm and share ideas, interventions, and resources, and encourage each other’s thoughts, insights, and feelings about their practice (Luke & Bernard, 2006). The process and ways of being consultative reflects Ronnestad and Skovholt’s (2013) supervisory principles of: (a) creating a reflective culture, (b) being mindful of providing an appropriate level of challenge, and (c) providing corrective experiences for optimal development. Through consultation, colleagues provide a safe space to encourage reflection and self-disclosure. They become attuned to each other’s learning needs and set realistic goals to be reviewed throughout supervision (Crutchfield & Borders, 1997). Colleagues regularly communicate formative feedback and respectfully and supportively confront, as needed, which is integral and beneficial in supervision because providing constructive feedback reduces colleagues’ anxieties and offers different perspectives (Borders & Brown, 2005). Consultation is a process that allows school counselors to self-evaluate their competencies and growth.

Consultation within peer supervision can be enacted flexibly and via a variety of activities. One consultation activity includes discussing school counseling job descriptions and activities in each colleague’s school setting, evaluating current programs, and challenging each other to improve (Benshoff & Paisley, 1996). Colleagues can share artifacts (e.g., core curriculum lesson plans; audio or video recordings of individual counseling or consultation sessions with students, families, or colleagues) and offer critiques about their performance and ways to improve. Another consultation technique within peer supervision can include use of interpersonal process recall (IPR) to review recordings (Walker, 2010) to address underlying thoughts and feelings and bring attention to skill and advocacy development. During IPR, peer supervision offers an avenue to consider important cultural contexts of students as an aspect of case conceptualization, particularly if a colleague had not noticed this during the counseling session initially. Moreover, to promote and practice ongoing reflection in consultation, colleagues can use Socratic questioning (Walker, 2010). This activity can foster deeper, meaningful understanding, elicit relevant and purposeful self-disclosure of advice and experiences, strengthen collegiality, and benefit their school counseling practice.

Through consultative peer supervision, colleagues can offer formative and summative feedback about school counseling roles and responsibilities, such as individual counseling techniques, crisis management policy development, inclusive classroom management strategies, and suggestions for enhancing family involvement in the school community. Such feedback and evaluation offer genuine opportunities for self-reflection and guided reflection with colleagues, who can offer informal evaluations. Because gatekeeping is also essential in supervision (Dollarhide & Miller, 2006), colleagues are recommended to openly address ethical and legal concerns to emphasize the safety and well-being of students. If further guidance or remediation is necessary, school counselors can seek support from a district-level supervisor so that, as colleagues, school counselors can avoid having punitive or disciplinary roles with one another.

Limitations

CCC supervision presents many strengths, but also includes some limitations. Clinical supervision is typically a formal evaluative process; however, CCC supervision is a peer-based and self-evaluative process. With self-report as the basis of CCC supervision, self-reported disclosures and feedback from peers may present biases (Ronnestad & Skovholt, 2013). Colleagues in peer supervision may not always stay on task, or may be overly supportive to avoid confrontation, although this only stagnates growth (Borders, 1991). By establishing a safe environment and rapport, colleagues may feel encouraged to be genuine about sharing experiences and giving feedback. Assigning school counselors in dyads, triads, or groups is a flexible process; however, pairings may not be ideally matched due to interpersonal conflicts or disagreements impacting the growth process; Lawson et al. (2009) found that mismatched groupings of supervisees negatively impacted productivity, feedback, and supportiveness of the experience. To reduce the risk of incompatibility, intentional matching may optimally impact the process and outcome of supervision, rapport, quality of feedback, and overall supervision experience (Hein & Lawson, 2009; Hein et al., 2013). CCC supervision, although structured and beneficial, may not only require initial training for school counselors but also ongoing professional development, which can be costly and involve time.

Some practical challenges may arise during supervision, such as transference, countertransference, legal and ethical issues, and multicultural considerations. Colleagues may potentially project unresolved feelings and issues from past supervision experiences, reducing the likelihood of open-mindedness and self-disclosure (O’Shaughnessy et al., 2010). To address issues of transference and countertransference, participants can use a strengths-based approach and recognize their own skills and contributions. By developing rapport and trust, colleagues can openly explore triggers and origins of unresolved conflicts (Walker, 2010).

Various legal and ethical issues also may arise. During peer supervision, school counselors prioritize student confidentiality, and if sharing recordings, school counselors should receive parent/guardian consent. If a colleague feels that a school counselor’s practice is neither ethical nor appropriate in consideration of the student’s welfare, and if the ethical or legal violation exceeds the scope of the colleague’s competencies, the colleague must report to the district-level supervisor or relevant licensing boards as a means of gatekeeping within the school counseling profession. Due to the nonhierarchical nature of peer supervision, colleagues should not be placed in the unfair and precarious situation of punishing or disciplining a fellow colleague.

Dual relationships are likely to occur in peer supervision, and CCC supervision may not be recommended for colleagues who already have a personal relationship, because separating roles would be difficult. If dual relationships are unavoidable, colleagues should make every effort to address only supervision-related topics in sessions, and should the relationship go beyond supervision, colleagues may request a different pairing. Multicultural challenges also may occur when colleagues are at different stages of their racial/ethnic identity development and lack awareness of colleagues’ and students’ cultural contexts. During peer supervision, colleagues help to recognize students’ cultural strengths, interrogate the systemic injustices and contexts of the district, and broach cultural identities and dynamics of the peer supervision relationship.

Implications for Practice

CCC supervision is a practical, nonthreatening, and informally evaluative process that promotes collaboration and supports colleagues’ strengths and development. CCC supervision is an innovative and resourceful form of peer supervision that utilizes readily available networks within a district to train school counselors and offer opportunities to learn from colleagues. As a peer-based and practical approach that considers ethical, legal, and multicultural factors of supervision, CCC supervision promotes personal and professional growth for school counselors; reflection, conceptual knowledge, and counseling skill development; and feedback to inform practice and lifelong learning. Introducing the CCC supervision approach in graduate training programs can familiarize students with supervision techniques and formats upon entry into the profession. This can prime graduate-level trainees to understand the importance of seeking clinical supervision, regardless of district requirements, elevating the standard of school counseling training and practice (Tang, 2020). Later, when sought for supervision, these school counselors will have developed the fundamental knowledge and skills to supervise interns and novice professionals.

Research has shown that school counselors have limited access to or do not see a need for clinical supervision. Although mental health professionals are required to have 3000 to 4000 hours of supervised practice prior to licensure (Counselor-License, 2017), school counselors do not share this requirement, calling attention to their potential disadvantage for personal and professional advancement and development compared to other helping professions. Many school counselors may already be required to have district performance plans and evaluations; thus, CCC supervision can complement or replace administrative supervision and evaluations so that school counselors have access to and are adequately being supervised by those with school counseling experience, such as experienced or senior professionals in the field.

Considering the importance of partnerships between universities and local schools and districts, counselor educators can provide guidance and serve as facilitators for peer supervision programs (Magnuson et al., 2001). Likewise, school and district leaders can invite counselor educators and researchers at local universities to provide live or virtual training and resources related to the supervision needs of the district. Counselor educators can also leverage their access to university library resources and up-to-date research to serve as a bridge between school counselor practitioners and researchers (Thomas, 2005). This form of collaboration between universities and schools/districts can enhance the professional development of school counselors while also sustaining meaningful relationships that strengthen the research-to-practice pipeline.

Future Research

To date, few empirically supported peer supervision models exist that are relevant to school counseling practice (Crutchfield & Borders, 1997; Starling & Baker, 2000). Thus, there is a need for further research on this topic. An empirical study is needed to justify the effectiveness of the CCC supervision approach and perhaps understand the specific components of this approach that are most beneficial, meaningful, and rewarding for participants. Ronnestad and Skovholt (2013) provided three inventories for self-reflection and -evaluation: the Skovholt Practitioner Professional Resiliency and Self-Care Inventory (measures practitioners’ self-care to decrease burnout and stress levels), Therapist Work Involvement Scales (measures practitioners’ positive or negative work morale), and Therapist Professional Development Scales (measures practitioners’ experiences of professional growth or stagnation). To evaluate CCC supervision, district leaders can also conduct a practitioner-led intervention study with their school counselors and use these inventories to quantitatively and qualitatively measure school counselors’ experiences of self-care, morale, and professional growth as a result of engaging in peer supervision. Research is also needed to understand the social justice implications of having access to and experiencing peer supervision for practicing school counselors. An important investigation would be how such ongoing support for school counselors can impact their own professional development and, in turn, enhance outcomes and advocacy for their diverse students and stakeholders. Future research about the procedural elements of peer supervision is also needed. Researchers can conduct studies that demonstrate empirical support for appropriate matching of peers in supervision, logistics, and quality of supervision meetings, such as frequency and length of peer supervision sessions and specific content and process topics to be discussed in peer supervision.