ABSTRACT
The supervisory contract addresses the expectations that people bring to the supervisory relationship. Supervision can help to distinguish between actions that have been categorised as 'boundary crossing' and 'boundary violation'. Knowledge of the cultural constraints under which supervisees practising keeps the supervision focused within the bounds of what is possible. Supervisors can encourage, support and model through their own reflective practice, but it is the supervisee who determines and whether to use the opportunities provided. A style of supervision designated 'therapeutic' led supervisees to feel problematised when their struggles in their work appeared to be attributed by their supervisor to personality deficiencies in themselves. Live supervision containing for both client and clinician, if agreed in the contracting process, since changes of direction or interruption of unhelpful interactional patterns between client and worker can be accomplished in-session rather than through post-session discussion. The client can benefit from the presence of an experienced practitioner and a different perspective during the session.
