This document describes an attachment-caregiving model of supervision (ACMS). The ACMS views supervision through the lens of attachment theory. It proposes that the supervisor acts as a caregiver by providing proximity, safety, and security for the supervisee. When the supervisee's attachment system is activated by counseling experiences, the supervisor provides a safe haven and secure base. This allows the supervisee to deactivate their attachment system and reactivate their exploratory system with the supervisor's guidance. Through this process, the supervisee develops increased competence in counseling skills and identity. The ACMS aims to provide supervisors a framework to facilitate learning and development tailored to supervisees' individual attachment styles.

1. 1
What is supervision?
 Supervision is formally defined as a
relationship between senior and junior
member(s) of a profession that (a) is
evaluative, (b) extends over time, (c) serves
to enhance the skills of the junior person, (d)
monitors the quality of the services offered by
the junior person, and (e) acts as
gatekeeping to the profession (Bernard &
Goodyear, 1992, 2004)

2. 2
Models of Supervision
 Psychoanalytic (e.g., Binder & Strupp, 1997)
 Person-Centered (e.g., Patterson, 1997;
Searles, 1955; Muller & Kell, 1972)
 Cognitive-Behavioral (e.g/, Woods & Ellis,
1997; Liese & Beck, 1997)
 Developmental Models (i.e., Loganbill,
Hardy, & Delworth, 1982; Stoltenberg, 1981;
Stoltenberg & Delworth, 1987)

3. 3
Developmental Models of
Supervision
 Developmental models of supervision ascribe
to the idea that supervisees’ competence and
needs change over time
 For example, more highly structured
supervision fits the needs of inexperienced
therapists, although those with more
experience seem to prefer a more collegial
supervisory relationship (Ronnestad &
Skovholt, 1993)

4. 4
Why develop a new
developmental model of
supervision?
 The current structure of developmental
models of supervision lacks a framework that
(a) helps the supervisor to manage the
educational relationship effectively and (b)
promotes the supervisee’s growth and
developmental needs
 We propose that attachment theory offers a
theoretical vantage point from which to
conceptualize supervision and address the
issues cited above.

5. 5
Attachment-Caregiving Model
of Supervision
 Please insert model here.

6. 6
Attachment Activation –
Safe Haven Function
(Counselor’s Reactions)
 Activation of the counselor’s attachment
system is likely to occur before and
during supervision due to the following:
(a) being a novice at counseling and (b)
exposing one’s work for evaluation
 Counselor will engage in proximity-
seeking behaviors with the supervisor

7. 7
Attachment Activation –
Safe Haven Function
(Supervisor’s Response)
 Supervisor needs to provide appropriate responses to
the counselor’s attachment-related cues
 Through the caregiving mechanisms of sensitivity,
responsiveness, and flexibility, the supervisor
provides the counselor with a safe haven
 Function of afe haven: deactivate attachment, with
the outcome: supervisee is aware of (a) not being
solely responsible for the counseling, (b) the work
being monitored and discussed in a safe atmosphere,
and (c) having a place to access help and support

8. 8
Deactivation of Counselor’s
Attachment System
 Through the deactivation of the
counselor’s attachment system, the
counselor’s exploratory system becomes
primary again

9. 9
Activation of the Counselor’s
Exploratory System –
Secure Base
 By supplying the counselor with a secure
base, supervisors anchor the counselor’s
exploratory system and provide guidance as
needed
 Exploration facilitates the counselor’s
development, because it helps the counselor
to (a) regulate his or her emotions; (b)
examine therapeutic conceptualizations,
interventions, and skills; and (c) develop an
identity as a counselor

10. 10
Achievement of Increased
Competence
 Supervisee further develops by becoming proficient in
counseling skills, gaining self-efficacy and self-
mastery, being better able to define what it means to
be a therapist, and internalizing a professional
identity with confidence in the self’s work (Friedman
& Kaslow, 1986; Watkins, 1997)
 Separation-individuation occurs, where the counselor
consolidates an identity separate from the supervisor,
while acknowledging (a) the supervisor’s importance
and (b) the learning that occurs through supervision
(Watkins, 1990)

11. 11
Case Scenario
 Please insert the case scenario here

12. 12
Reactivation of the Counselor’s
Attachment System
 The Attachment-Caregiving Model of
supervision is not structured as a linear
progression from beginning to mastery
– the supervisee is likely to cycle
through this process numerous times
(e.g., due to client material or a
personal or family issue)

13. 13
Individual Differences in the
ACMS
 A secure attachment style is preferred and
warranted in a supervisory relationship
 Supervisees with more insecure attachment
styles (i.e., Dismissing, Preoccupied, and
Fearful; Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991) may
develop a more secure attachment due to the
optimal caregiving environment established
by the supervisor

14. 14
Individual Differences in the
ACMS (Continued)
 Three pathological attachment styles proposed by
Pistole & Watkins (1995) and Watkins (1995), which
affect the supervisory relationship and hinder the
educational process of supervision:
 Compulsively Self-Reliant
 Anxiously Attached
 Compulsive Caregiving
 In order to attend to these differences in attachment,
it is imperative that the supervisor is flexible and that
interventions be individualized and responsive to the
attachment-related cues of the counselor

15. 15
Conclusion
 The function of the supervisor as a caregiver
is to provide proximity, a safe haven, a
secure base, and protection for the counselor
 The instillation of the caregiving mechanisms
of sensitivity, responsiveness, and flexibility
are paramount (Bowlby, 19088; Carnelley,
Pietromonaco, & Jaffe, 1996; Pistole, 1999),
because it is through these mechanisms that
the relationship is both established and
functions effectively, thereby setting the
conditions for development to occur

16. 16
Conclusion (Continued)
 The developmental ACMS contributes to
the literature, because (a) supervisors
can use the framework in a way that
facilitates counseling and learning, and
(b) researchers will be able to use the
model for research, once we have
developed a supervisors’ version of the
Counselors’ Caregiving Scale (currently
in development)