*WORKSHOP FULL*


Rupture and Repair in Clinical Supervision: Navigating the Supervisory Alliance

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP:

Rupture and Repair in Clinical Supervision: Navigating the Supervisory Alliance

Supervisors have a responsibility to foster ethical, culturally safe and developmentally responsive supervision relationships. Building a secure supervisory alliance requires sensitivity to the supervisee’s individual learning needs, developmental level, cultural identity, values and lived experience. Supportive supervision occurs when a psychologically safe and inclusive environment is established that promotes learning and professional growth.

This master class builds supervisors’ capability to establish, maintain and strengthen a strong supervisory alliance grounded in professional integrity, cultural humility and reflective and reflexive practice. Participants will explore a clear framework for creating a strong alliance and learn how to recognise and respond to miss-attunement, stuck points, rupture, or relational strain.

Practical strategies will be introduced to support early identification, repair and recovery from supervision challenges, ensuring supervision remains safe, ethical and growth-promoting.

Delivered via interactive videoconference. This workshop is a PsyBA approved one day Master Class which will provide participants who are already approved supervisors with ongoing AHPRA accreditation for 5 years. 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Understand the importance of the supervisory alliance as a foundation for effective supervision
• Identify common challenges, ruptures and resistances that can occur within supervisory relationships
• Apply reflective and reflexive practices to recognise and manage countertransference and relational dynamics
• Develop strategies for repairing ruptures and re-establishing collaborative supervision relationships
• Enhance confidence in managing difficult conversations and supervisee resistance in a supportive and ethical manner.

WORKSHOP STRUCTURE

This interactive master class explores the central role of the supervisory alliance as the foundation for effective and ethical supervision. Participants will examine how to create and sustain a safe, culturally responsive and developmentally attuned supervision relationship that promotes learning, reflection and professional growth.

The workshop introduces a practical framework for establishing and maintaining the supervisory alliance and provides opportunities to identify and address challenges that can lead to ruptures or strain within supervision. Through case examples, discussion and experiential activities, supervisors will enhance their capacity to recognise and work with relational dynamics, countertransference and parallel process.

Workshop content includes:

• Core components of a strong supervisory alliance and factors that enhance safety, trust and collaboration
• Understanding supervisee developmental stages, cultural identity and individual learning needs
• Identifying common supervision challenges, ruptures and resistance patterns
• Applying reflective and reflexive skills to address power dynamics and relational difficulties
• Practical strategies for rupture repair and maintaining integrity and openness within the supervisory relationship
• Managing difficult conversations with supervisees in supportive, ethical and culturally safe ways.

WORKSHOP PRESENTER:

Christine Senediak is a Board-approved supervisor trainer with over 40 years of clinical and supervisory experience. She has extensive expertise providing individual, peer, group, and organisational supervision to psychologists, social workers and allied health professionals working in child, adolescent, and family services, schools, adult mental health, trauma, drug and alcohol, gambling, sexual assault, and cross-cultural contexts. Trained as a systemic and multi-generational family therapist, Christine brings a systemic lens to supervision, considering the broader relational and organisational context in understanding clinical challenges. Her supervision practice is grounded in reflective practice, fostering self-awareness and reflexivity to strengthen the therapeutic alliance and address relational dynamics. She integrates systemic, cognitive-behavioural, mindfulness, and person-centred approaches to create a flexible, evidence-informed framework that supports both professional growth and effective client care.

This workshop is an AHPRA approved (Psychology) Master Class and complies with the requirements for the Psychology Board supervisor requirements.  The workshop is also open to nurses, social workers, psychotherapists, counsellors, allied health and experienced practitioners who have at least 5 years clinical and supervisory experience and who have already undertaken introductory supervisor training. Non-psychologists should enrol via the Allied Health Supervisor Master Classes page