For many, supervision is the entry point to the mental health professions and the introduction on how to contextually apply skills and work through experiences that arise in both clinical work and supervisory experiences. However, training programs and approaches to supervision emphasize the development of competencies that are in favor of the systems where the supervisor and trainees are located. In this sense, many supervision experiences attempt to offer universal approaches to training that are disconnected from daily living experiences and may not hold a pluralistic integration into the training experience.
This paper aims to further expand on the practice of supervision with a Pluralistic Approach as an act of resistance to training experiences offered by training programs. As such, the author will emphasize on ways to humanize the supervisory experiences, navigate the balancing of power in the relationship, and centering on a non-expert stance consistent with intercultural approaches that advance mutuality, collaboration, and the integration of lived experience. Lastly, a strong foundation of theory with interaction skills will be highlighted and how these can manifest in different systems.
Course Content
Presenter
José Francisco Avilés-Acosta, PsyD (elle/they) is a bilingual, non-binary, Boricua, and Clinical Psychologist licensed in the state of Ohio, U.S.A. They are the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Clinical Services Coordinator and a Staff Psychologist for the University of Cincinnati’s Counseling and Psychological Services. They have spearheaded interdisciplinary training programs focused on cultural responsiveness and the integration of social justice in therapies with marginalized identities. They have presented on working with intercultural non-monogamies and immigrants from an ecosystemic and multidimensional focus. They live in Cincinnati with their nesting partner and two cats.
