Mary Lee Nelson et al, “A Feminist Multicultural Perspective on Supervision”

This article discusses how gender and race interact with each other within the context of supervision. The authors suggest that in order to be open to multicultural supervision and the perspectives therein, supervisors must have the courage to be anxious, grapple with the uncertainty with respect to the silence that occurs in relation to feminism and white privilege (this involves acknowledge how white privilege influences situations and open the discussion to other voices and keeping it open), engaging in self-examination, and personally committing to uncertainty.

Furthermore, the authors indicate that it is the responsibility of the supervisor to “initiate discussions about gender and cross-cultural issues in the supervisory relationship” (110). However, this is more easily said than done. Addressing these conflict may lead to a variety of uncertain risks, some of which include an increase in the potential for alienation from the supervisee, which might not have existed prior to the discussion of race, culture, or gender; provocation of emotional reactions in both supervisors and supervisees that supervisors have not been trained to address effectively; alienation from the supervisee’s academic advisors or mentors and other colleagues who do not value giving attention to race and culture within the supervisory relationship; or experiencing shame resulting from actually finding out that there may be an error in their thinking about the contribution of race, culture, or gender to the supervisory relationship.

“To minimize these risks, preparation programs for both counselors and supervisors need to provide opportunities for students to explore their philosophical and emotional reactions to cross- gender or cross-racial discussions as well as to provide recommendations for how to have the discussions. Established supervisors who have not had such training could benefit from in-service trainings that provide it” (110).

“To foster environments wherein professionals and students can examine and challenge what they think they know, the professionals need to create situations in which the concomitant anxiety can be tolerated. These situations are, by definition, not safe in the sense that they are comfortable. However, they need to be safe in the sense that participants feel supported to grapple with their uncertainties, fears, and strong feelings. Naming race and gender issues in supervision may be seen as a process of coming out. As with any process of coming out, the input of supportive others is essential. Perhaps nothing is more important to multicultural understanding in our profession than intraprofessional support” (113).

Mary Lee Nelson et al, “A Feminist Multicultural Perspective on Supervision” (2006) 34:1 J Multicultural Counseling & Development 105.