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296 Canadian Journal of Counselling / Revue canadienne de counseling ISSN 0826-3893 Vol. 44 No. 3 © 2010 Pages 296–306 Magazine Picture Collage in Group Supervision Le collage de photos de magazine en supervision de groupe Blythe C. Shepard University of Lethbridge Francis L. Guenette University of Victoria abstract A magazine picture collage activity was used with three female counsellor education students as a vehicle to support them in processing their experience as counsellors in training. e use of magazine picture collage in group supervision is described, and the benefits and challenges are presented. e collages served as jumping-off points for group discussions on developing a sense of competency, a quest for answers, discovering their strengths, finding personal and professional balance, and moving towards the realities of the counselling profession. Collage work can provide an alternate medium in supervision to develop reflective analysis and self-exploration. résumé On a employé le collage de photos tirées de magazines comme moyen d’aider 3 étudiantes en counseling à décortiquer leur expérience de conseillères en formation. L’emploi du collage de photos de magazines en supervision de groupe y est décrit et l’on en présente les avantages et les défis. Les collages ont servi d’amorces aux discussions de groupe sur le développement d’un sentiment de compétence, la recherche de réponses, la découverte des points forts, la conciliation entre vie personnelle et vie professionnelle et le chemi- nement vers la réalité de la profession de conseiller. Le travail de collage peut fournir un nouveau type de support en supervision permettant de favoriser l’analyse réflexive et l’autorévélation. Art work has been used for many years to assist individuals in exploring val- ues, perceptions, and emotions. e use of the expressive arts in therapy is based on the belief that the creative process involved in the making of art is healing and life-enhancing (Rubin, 2001). Expressive therapies offer nonverbal ways to express feelings that are difficult to put into words or even coherent thoughts. Creative therapies can provide a safe emotional outlet that allows individuals to gain personal insights and to move forward psychologically (Rubin, 2001). Other benefits include an increase in personal awareness, a means to mitigate emotional responses to stress, an opportunity to express deeper personal meanings, and the provision of a container for unpleasant emotions (Neswald-McCalip, Sather, Vigil-Strati, & Dineen, 2003; Newsome, Henderson, & Veach, 2005; Wilkins, 1995; Wong-Wylie, 2006).

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Page 1: Magazine Picture Collage in Group Supervision Le collage ... · Collage is an art form in which images and/or objects are combined in one piece of artwork. Theterm “collage” comes

296 CanadianJournalofCounselling / RevuecanadiennedecounselingISSN0826-3893 Vol.44No.3 ©2010 Pages296–306

MagazinePictureCollageinGroupSupervisionLecollagedephotosdemagazineensupervisiondegroupe

BlytheC.ShepardUniversity of Lethbridge FrancisL.GuenetteUniversity of Victoria

abstractA magazine picture collage activity was used with three female counsellor educationstudentsasavehicle tosupport theminprocessingtheirexperienceascounsellors intraining.Theuseofmagazinepicturecollageingroupsupervisionisdescribed,andthebenefitsandchallengesarepresented.Thecollagesservedasjumping-offpointsforgroupdiscussionsondevelopingasenseofcompetency,aquestforanswers,discoveringtheirstrengths,findingpersonalandprofessionalbalance,andmovingtowardstherealitiesofthecounsellingprofession.Collageworkcanprovideanalternatemediuminsupervisiontodevelopreflectiveanalysisandself-exploration.

résuméOnaemployélecollagedephotostiréesdemagazinescommemoyend’aider3étudiantesencounselingàdécortiquerleurexpériencedeconseillèresenformation.L’emploiducollagedephotosdemagazinesensupervisiondegroupeyestdécritetl’onenprésentelesavantagesetlesdéfis.Lescollagesontservid’amorcesauxdiscussionsdegroupesurledéveloppementd’unsentimentdecompétence,larecherchederéponses,ladécouvertedespointsforts,laconciliationentreviepersonnelleetvieprofessionnelleetlechemi-nementvers laréalitéde laprofessiondeconseiller.Letravaildecollagepeutfournirunnouveautypedesupportensupervisionpermettantdefavoriserl’analyseréflexiveetl’autorévélation.

Artworkhasbeenusedformanyyearstoassistindividualsinexploringval-ues,perceptions,andemotions.Theuseoftheexpressiveartsintherapyisbasedonthebeliefthatthecreativeprocess involvedinthemakingofart ishealingandlife-enhancing(Rubin,2001).Expressivetherapiesoffernonverbalwaystoexpressfeelingsthataredifficulttoputintowordsorevencoherentthoughts.Creativetherapiescanprovideasafeemotionaloutletthatallowsindividualstogainpersonalinsightsandtomoveforwardpsychologically(Rubin,2001).Otherbenefitsincludeanincreaseinpersonalawareness,ameanstomitigateemotionalresponsestostress,anopportunitytoexpressdeeperpersonalmeanings,andtheprovision of a container for unpleasant emotions (Neswald-McCalip, Sather,Vigil-Strati,&Dineen,2003;Newsome,Henderson,&Veach,2005;Wilkins,1995;Wong-Wylie,2006).

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Whileconductingresearchoncounselloridentitydevelopmentwithmaster’slevelstudents,wenotedhowart-basedactivities,andinparticularcollage,werebeneficialinsupportingstudentstoprocesstheirexperienceascounsellorsintrain-ing.Thefocusofthisarticleisonthecollageactivityasavehicleforsuperviseestoexpresstheirdevelopmentaspractitionerswithinagroupsupervisionformat.Priortodescribingthecollageactivity,webrieflyreviewtheutilizationofart-basedpracticesingroupsupervision.

useofexpressiveartsingroupsupervision

Anumberofstudieshaveupheldthebenefitsofgroupsupervisionforstudentsascost-efficient,time-efficient,andclinicallyrich(Bernard&Goodyear,2004;Borders, 2007;Ray&Altekruse, 2000).Benefits as outlinedbyBernard andGoodyear(2004)includeavoidingcounsellingstudentdependence,opportunitiesforvicariouslearning,diminishingthehierarchicalissuesbetweenthesupervisorandthecounsellingstudent,increasingthevarietyofbehaviouralandexperientialsupervisionstrategies,andhelpingalleviatethesenseofintellectualandemotionalisolationfeltbybeginningcounsellors.Groupsupervisionprovidestheoppor-tunityforpeerstointeractmoreopenlyandtooffersupporttooneanotherintheirgrowth.

Whenexpressive-arts-basedmethodsareemployedinagroupsetting,aspecialkindofcreativeenergymaybeactivatedandcirculatedwithinthegroup,takinggroupmemberstoplacestheymaynothavegottentoontheirown(Malchiodi,2002;Wilkins,1995).“Theuseofcreativeapproachestosupervisionopenschan-nelstotheintuitivefacultiesofthesupervisees.Theyallowagreaterspontaneityand theopportunity toconveydeeppersonalmeanings inawaywhichotherapproachesmaynot”(Wilkins,1995,p.257).

McCalip(2000)describesthepotentialbenefitsofcreativeworkinmeetingtheneedsofdevelopingcounsellors.ShecitessupervisiontechniquesbyCosta,whousedfamilysculptingandroleplayinmarriageandfamilyprogramstoas-sisttraineesinrespondingtodiverseclientsituations.McCalipalsonoteshowLettintegratedsimultaneousdrawingwithtalkingtoencourageself-awarenessintrainees.Thecombinationofdialoguewithdrawingpromotedanin-depthexplo-rationoftheclient-counsellorrelationship.DuPreezandRoos(2008)exploredthedevelopmentofcounselloridentitythroughaseriesofvisualprojectsthattheyfoundincreasedtrainees’capacitytoreflectonthemselvesandincreasedtheirlevelofself-knowledge.Groupsupervisionusingexpressiveartsmaterialscanprovideopportunitiestoshareanddiscussmetaphoricalrepresentationswithpeersandsupervisorsandpotentiallytoopenupnewavenuesfordiscussion.

magazinepicturecollageactivity

Collageisanartforminwhichimagesand/orobjectsarecombinedinonepieceofartwork.Theterm“collage”comesfromtheFrenchwordcoller,which

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means“topaste”(Harrison,2003).Creatingcollagecanbeafreeingandplayfulexperience,astherearenorules.Theartformisidealforthosepeoplewhoarenotgiftedindrawingorsculpting.Collagehasbeendescribedasaright-brainrandom-abstractactivity.Inaleft-brainedlinearworld,collagecanhelppeopleescapeboundariesandlookbeyondlimitations(Harrison,2003).

Theuseofmagazinepicturecollageiswellestablishedineducationalsettings(Seymour1995;Williams,2000)andhasbeenusedwithintheclinicalnursingsupervisionrelationship(Williams,2000).Theapproachrequiresnoartorarttherapyskillsbythesupervisor;thematerialsarefamiliar,inexpensive,andread-ilyavailable;andthemethodissuitableforadministeringinagroupsetting.Forpracticumstudentsthisformofartmaylessenanxietyasitis“anon-threateningmediumwhereanindividualdoesnotneedtofeel‘artistic’inproducingtheirpieceofwork”(Williams,2000,p.274).Thepicturesarealreadycreated,andtheindividualisonlyrequiredtoplacethemonposterboarduntilsatisfiedwiththecomposition.

Magazinepicturecollageoffersanopportunitytoengageinanextremelyrich,visual,kinestheticexperienceasparticipantsmoveshapes,colours,words,andim-agesontheposterboardbeforegluingtheminplace.Materialsrequiredincludeavarietyofcolourfulmagazineswithavarietyofimages(e.g.,food,animals,people,landscapes,flowers,phrases),agluestick,scissors,andaposterboard.Williams(2000)foundthatthismediumgeneratedreflectivequestioningfromwhichtoexploreissuesandperceptionsamongnursingstudents.Heviewedthemagazinecollageasa“metaphoricalrepresentationofeventsandinfluencesthroughwhichthesuperviseecan‘see’theirsituationfromdifferentperspectives”(p.273).

thecollageactivity

Threefemalepracticumstudentswhohadreceivedgroupsupervisionintheirfirsttermusingavarietyofactivities includingdrawings,groundingactivities,andjournalreflectionsunderthedirectionofthesecondauthorvolunteeredtocontinuewithgroupsupervisionthatfocusedontheirdevelopmentascounsellorsaspartofasmallresearchproject.Theymetwiththesecondauthorattheendoftheirfirstfield-basedpracticumandatthebeginningandendofthetwo-termpracticumintheirsecondyearforatotalofthreesessions.Althoughavarietyofart-basedapproacheswereusedintheresearchproject,superviseesreportedinthecourseofaresearchstudythatthemagazinepicturecollagewasthemosthelpfulexerciseinprocessingtheirexperiencesasdevelopingcounsellors.

Eachsessionfollowedthesameformat.Studentssignedconsentformsaspartoftheresearchprojectofwhichtheseactivitieswereapart.Theywerethenaskedtocreateacollagethat“representsyourinterpretationofwhereyouareatrightnowasacounsellorintraining.”Superviseestookturnsdescribingtheircollagesandfollowedthatwithagroupdiscussionabouttheprocessofbecomingacounsellorandtheissuesfacedasdisplayedintheircollages.Afterdigitallyphotographingtheircollages,thesessionendedwithabriefcheck-out.

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Inthesecondandthirdmeeting,superviseeswerealsoaskedtoreflectontheirpreviouslymadecollagesinresponsetothequestions“Whenyoulookatwhatyoucreatedatthatmomentintime,whatdoyouthinkaboutwhatithadtosayaboutyourexperienceasacounsellor intraining?Howdoyouthinkandfeelaboutthatmessagenow?”Thecirclingbackprocessofreviewingpastcollagesinlightofthepresentcollageservedasacounterpointtothecurrentself(Markus&Nurius,1986),allowingpersonalassessmentofprogressmadetowardbecomingacounsellor.

In each session, supervisees were given about 30 minutes to select images,pictures,andslogansfromalargenumberandvarietyofmagazinepicturesandtoassembleandgluethemontoaposterboardinresponsetotherequesttorep-resenttheirexperiencesasacounsellorintrainingatthismomentintime.Duringthecreationoftheircollages,groupmembersworkedinsilenceastheybecameabsorbedintheirtask.However,oncethecollagewascompleted,eachmembertalkedabouttheirrepresentationwhilethesupervisorandothermembersactivelylistened.Individualsoftenfocusedonaparticularimage,butatothertimeseveryimagewasdiscussedasequallyimportant.Asthestoryunfolded,thesupervisornotedanythemesthatemergedandencouragedgroupmemberstoaskclarifyingandreflectivequestions.AsWilliams(2000)noted,collageworkacts“asatriggerorseriesoftriggerswhichheightenawarenessofvaluesandwhichclarifyrelation-shipsoftheimagesasthediscussionunfolds”(p.276).

tina’scollages

ThreeofTina’scollagesprovideanexampleofhowcollagewasusedtoexpressherexperienceasacounsellorintrainingoveraperiodof18months(Figures1,2,and3).Theaccountsofthesecollagesincludeadistillationofherwordsalongwithdirectquotations.Ellipsesareusedtoindicateomittedinformation.

CentralfiguresinthecollageinFigure1arethethreeblackbirds.Tinafeelslikeababybirdasshecompletesherfirstpracticum.“Thefearisaboutneedingsomuch…nourishment,information.ThefacultyarethemotherbirdsandtheyarewithholdingwhatIneed.”Theinformationandskillssheneedsarenotbeingdeliveredfastenoughbyfacultymembers,andshefearsshewillnothaveenoughskilltoavoidharmingherclients.Thereissomuchtolearn.TheimagesofthedressandscalesarereminderstoTinathatsheisnotengaginginself-care.Nearthebeginningoftheprogram,Tinabelievesshecandrawonherinnerstrength,representedbythegoddess.“Isurroundthisimagewiththeimageofagrownbird.Iwillmakeitthroughthisstage,andwithagoddess-likeimage,Iwillbeenough.Icandothis,Ihavewhatittakes.”

Atthebeginningofthesecondyear,Tinaidentifiesthetinyfigureinthebot-tomsectionofthecollageshowninFigure2asapersonscalingarockcliff.“[M]ylearningcurve,Iguess.Butthepersonlooksverystrong,likeshechoosestobedoingitandshecandoit.Thatisagoodreminderforme—Ihavechosenthiscliff.”Whenquestionedastotheimportanceofthecottage,flowers,anddessert,

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Figure1Tina in first session: The fear of needing so much

Figure2Tina, beginning of second year: The end is in sight

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Figure3Tina, end of second year: Less dark but still a struggle

Tina shares that that is the future: “serenity,mountains, andbalance.”Groupmemberswerecuriousabouttheslogansdepictedonthecollageandencouragedfurtherclarificationoftheirmeanings.

Thewords“wherethetruthlies”—itisreallyaboutconnectingwithpeople.Thetruthisinmyselfandintheclient.Noslowingdownthough…theendisinsightbutitisjustthebeginningofanotherjourney.Balance…notgettingcaughtup…workingouttheknots.Idon’twanttobedoingfastfoodcoun-sellingbutfinediningcounsellinginstead.Itisnotaboutdoingitquicklybutquality.ThisfieldIaminopenssomanyotherdoors—agatewaytoadventure.Seeingthequieterpartofmyself.Iamnottherescuer.Ihavedevelopedshiftingperspectivesonaclient.Iammoreatease.Tinawassurprisedbythedifferenceinthefinalcollage(Figure3)attheconclu-

sionofhersecondpracticum.Thiscollagewaslessaboutbeingacounsellor—otherpartsofherlifewerebeginningtoemerge.“Iamnotsofocusedonthegoalofbeingacounselloranymoreforsure.”Whenweaskhertotellusabouttheangryyoungman,shestates,

Ididn’tthinkIwasangrybutthatguywithhismouthopenbutmaybeIam.Idon’twanttobecomeanactivist.Peoplesayyouneedtobeanactivistforyourclientsbutthathomelessguy.Thosearemyclients.Beinganactivistmightjustbewaytoomuchforme.Thewordtoughcameupalot.

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Tinawasdiscoveringtheday-to-daychallengesofworkingasacounsellorwererequiringmoreofherthanshehadanticipatedandquestionedwhichparticularclientgroupwouldbeagoodfitforher.Sheidentifiedherselfasthewomaninthecollage.

Sheissortofsadbutjustcalmsittinginthegarden.I’mawareofenvironmentsthatbringserenitymorethanIwas.Itisnowaboutbalancingcounsellingandotherthings.Itisalotlessdarkbutstillastrugglebutthenwaymorepos-sibilitiestoo.

debriefingthecollages

Self-reflectionistheprocessofexaminingtheimpactofpersonalvalues,be-liefs,andexperiencestodevelopadeeperunderstandingofone’spersonalandprofessionalbiases,experiences,andbeliefsasthesemayinfluencefutureactionandlearning.ByviewingeachcollageasamomentintimeinTina’sexperienceasadevelopingcounsellor,groupmembersandthesecondauthorwereabletopinpointareasofconcern(e.g.,normalizingtheperceivedneedforhaving“all”theskillsandknowledgebeforeseeingclients;brainstormingwaystostrengthenhersupportsystems).Thecollagesalsoservedasjumping-offpointsforimportantgroupdiscussionsarounddevelopingtheirsenseofcompetency,theirquestforanswers,discoveringtheirstrengths,findingpersonalandprofessionalbalance,andmovingintotherealitiesofthecounsellingprofession.

Developing a Sense of Competency

Thecollageactivitygeneratedarichvarietyofreflectionfromthestudents.In the following sections, selected quotes provide a glimpse into the insightsthatemergedfromadebriefingoftheactivity.Intheirfirstcollages,superviseesexpressedtheirconcernaboutharmingtheirclients.“ThereisthefearIhavebutIknowIneedtopushpastthatandengage,butatthesametimeIdon’twanttoscrewupandhurtanyonebecauseofmyincompetence.”Onesuperviseesur-roundedherfearofnothavingenoughtimetodothepersonalworkthat“reallymattersinbecomingacounsellor.”Shesurroundedthisfearwithherneedtofocusonhealthyeatingandrelaxation.

Duringthesecondsession,thesuperviseeswereabletolookbackandseehowtheyhadmovedfromself-doubttofeelingmoresecureintheirabilitiestoprovideservicetoclients.

IamclearonfeelingmoreconfidentbutthereisstillthispartofmethatfeelslikeImightwanttothrowupeverytimeIgetreadytoseeaclientandfeelsgreatreliefwhentheyareno-shows.I’mmoreintouchwithboththeconfidentandscaredpartofmyselfnowandknowthattheconfidenceismoreandthefearislessthanitusedtobe.Stillthetwoofthem,though.Onesuperviseenotedthenumberofwordsonhercollageusingthephrase

“wherethetruthlies”tounderstandtheimportanceshenowplacesonthecon-nectionwith“mytruthandwiththeclient.”

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Astheyprocessedtheircollagesattheendofthesecondpracticum,thethreesuperviseescouldseeintheircollageshowtheirconfidencehadgrownthroughthequalityofthesupervisionreceived.Foronesupervisee,thefaceofastrongrelaxedwomanrepresentedhowshewaslessanxiousandhowshehadgainedconfidencefromtheacknowledgmentshereceivedforherowninitiativeatherpracticumsite.

The Quest for Answers

All the supervisees portrayed in various ways their need for certainty andanswers.Onegroupmemberrepresentedherreactiontotheambiguityof thecounsellingprocessas“amachinegonewildwithallthegearsandcogswhicharesupposedtoworkinacertainwaybutforsomereasontheywon’tworkforme.”Anothermemberdisplayedasharkinthemiddleofhercollage.Whendebriefing,thestudentspokeaboutbeing“constantlyonyourlearningedgesoyouneverfeelcomfortable.Italmostseemsdesignedtomakeyoucrazy.”

Themessagethat“thereisnosuchthingasdoingitperfectly,nosuchthingasaperfectsessionorcounsellor”isrepresentedbyacliffinoneofthefinalcollages.“Idon’tseeeveryclientasthatcliffformeanymore.I’mnotindangeroffalling,Icandothework.”Anothergroupmembernoted,“Iamhavingtherealizationthattherewillneverbearightwaytodothis.”

Discovering Their Strengths

Thecollageswereusefultogroupmembersinrediscoveringtheirstrengths.Their senseof themselves as counsellors across the three sessions showedhowtheymoved“fromalittlegrasshopperwhoknewnothingtoapseudo-employeein‘real’counsellingwork.”Overtimeafoundationwasbuilt,while“ontopIamstillsmall,aseedlingreally,butmyrootsarestronglyplantednow.IknowIwon’tgetpulledoutwhenitgetswindy.”Throughtheirappliedworkatpracticumsites,theybecameawareoftheirinnerstrengthandresilience.“Manypeoplewithwaymoreexperiencejustwerenotgoodontheflyandinthemoment.SoIwasabletoseethecontextformyownstrength.”

Balancing the Personal and the Professional World

Intheirfinalcollages,allsuperviseesfoundwaystoportraythattheyhadcomefullcircle.“IfeellikeI’vemovedthroughthepartofdevelopmentofmeasacoun-sellor…itisaboutmorethanthatnow…nottosayIwon’tkeepdevelopingforsure.”Anotherplacedtheword“HEALTH”inthecentreofhercollage,notingthat,“Itisn’tsomuchnowaboutbeingacounsellor—itismoreaboutbalancingbeingacounsellorwiththerestofmylife.”

Moving into the Realities of the Counselling Profession

Phraseslike“integratethis”and“buildingcommunity”aswellasapictureofatreadmillwereusedbygroupmemberstodiscussthechallengesofworkinginthefield.Advocacyforclients,workingwithawiderangeofmentalandconcurrentdisorders,andresourcingclientswereidentifiedasthemajorshiftsastheytookon

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professionalpositions.“WhatIamhearingissographicIamgettingtraumatizedbythem.AndthathastochangeandIknowthat.IknowIwon’tstayinsubstanceabuseformorethantwoyears.”Thecollageactivitieswereviewedasvehiclesforexpressinganddiscussingtheirfearsandanxietiesastheyenteredtheprofessionalworld.“Theartworkallowedmetobetransparentwithmyselfandwithmypeers.”

thebenefitsandchallengesofusingmagazinepicturecollageingroupsupervision

Creative approaches to group supervision, including collage work, increaseopportunitiesforpersonalawarenessandreflectionbutrequirecarefulplanning.Group cohesion is necessary in order for supervisees to experience a sense ofbelonging,acceptance,andsafety.Formingsmallerself-selectedgroupsfromthelargercohortwasonewaywefosteredcohesion.Groupmembersalreadyhadahighlevelofcomfortwitheachother.Assupervisors,weincreasedcohesionbyasking supervisees to share their experienceswith eachother, andwe ensuredmodellingofgoodlisteningandreflectingskills.Asgroupmembersgainedcom-fortwiththeprocessofsharingtheirperspectivesoftheirwork,theybegantochallengeeachothertoexploretheiremotionalreactions.

Findingtimetocommittothisprocesswascertainlyachallenge.However,thefirstauthorwasabletodrawontheresourcesprovidedbydoctoralstudentswhowereeagertoactassupervisorstoasmallgroupofstudents.Inthismanner,allstudentscouldbeprovidedwithgroupsupervisioninadditiontoothertypesofsupervisionexperiencestypicallyofferedintheprogram(e.g.,one-on-one,dyads,peer,andwholeclasssupervision).

Keepingaclearboundarybetweenpersonalconcernsandprofessionaldevelop-mentwasanotherareaofunease.Throughthecollagework,superviseesdisclosedpersonalaspectsoftheirlifethatsupervisorsmaynothavebeenprivytoinmoretraditional supervision approaches. Art-based approaches in supervision canbeverypowerful anddisclosing.Therefore,maintainingboundaries thatkeepthesupervisor-superviseerelationshipfromshiftingtooneoftherapist-clientisessential.Bytakingadvantageofpotentialboundarycrossingsasteachablemo-ments,supervisorscanmodelappropriateboundarysettingandtheimportanceoffollowingcodesofethics.

Inthefuture,wewouldprovidearangeofexpressiveartactivitiestosuperviseesingroupsupervisiontoincrease“self-awarenessbyhavingthemexpressthemselvesinasymbolicmanner”(Gladding,2005,p.10).Additionally,ajournallingactivityfollowingtheexpressiveartactivitywouldassistsuperviseesinintegratingnewperspectivesandself-knowledge.

conclusion

Theuseofexpressiveartsinsupervisioncanactasacatalystinaccessingalter-nateformsofknowledgeandinretrievingbeliefs,feelings,andexperiencesoutside

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ofone’simmediateawareness.Creativemethodscanallowforthedeconstructionofaproblemstoryandtheconstructionofastorymoreresonantwithstudents’valuestotakeitsplace(Crocket,2004).Thisisespeciallymeaningfulforcoun-sellorsintrainingbecausethestoriesthatdevelopingcounsellorstellthemselvesinfluencehowtheydeveloptheirownpersonaltheoryofcounselling(Wong-Wylie,2006).Expressive-arts-basedapproachescanhelpnavigatetheunknownandfindmeaningbybuildingabridgebetweenpastandpresentandbetweenone’sownstoryandthejourneythatstoryrepresentsasthesuperviseeandsupervisorengageininteractivemeaningmaking.Collageworkcanprovideanalternatemediuminsupervisiontodevelopreflectiveanalysisandself-exploration.

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Wong-Wylie,G. (2006).Narrativesofdeveloping counsellors’ preferred themesof counsellingstoriedthroughtext,metaphors,andphotographicimages.Qualitative Report, 11(2),262–301.Retrievedfromhttp://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR11-2/wongwylie.pdf

About the AuthorsBlytheShepardisanassociateprofessorofcounsellingpsychologyattheUniversityofLethbridge.Hermaininterestsareinruraladolescentlife-careerdevelopment,possibleselves,counsellortrain-ingandsupervision,andethnographic-narrativeresearch.

FrancisGuenetteisadoctoralstudentandSSHRCDoctoralFellowattheUniversityofVictoriawheresheworksonseveralresearchprojectsandteachesintheareaofcounselloreducation.

AddresscorrespondencetoBlytheShepard,FacultyofEducation,UniversityofLethbridge,4401UniversityDrive,Lethbridge,AlbertaT1K3M4;e-mail:[email protected]