Supervision in Shiatsu
Below you find a tekst on the value of Supervision by the European Shiatsu Federation. We at the Belgian Shiatsu Federation endorse and support this view. That is why we re-publish this view on our website.
The Value of Supervision
The ESF has come to believe that everyone working in the fields of medicine, health and well- being needs Supervision. Supervision is designed to help practitioners, teachers and students understand problems arising from time to time in their relationships with clients and students. In this sense, supervision protects clients and students, helps to reduce the risk of serious oversight and helps practitioners, teachers and students reflect on their own thoughts, feelings, behaviour and general approach towards their clients and students.
In other words, Supervision increases the value of our work by providing a safety net for clients, students, teachers and practitioners. Supervision therefore aligns well with the importance we attach to Continuing Professional Development.
Supervision in Shiatsu
The holistic form of touch used in Shiatsu activates the entire system - body, mind, emotion and spirit - and leads to multi-level relationships. Therefore it is important for us to be aware of these various levels of interaction, reflect on our role in them and deal with the reactions we trigger in our clients and students and they in us.
The goal of supervision is partly the understanding of "one's own contribution" to the problem and consequently possible solutions that can otherwise not be seen. Essential parts of a problem may derive from the practitioner or teacher (systemic understanding) rather than their partners in relationship (clients and students).
Definition
Supervision is a consulting approach for people in their professions or for career preparation. Supervision helps us reflect on professional actions and professional structures from an external perspective i.e. by a person from outside the observed system who is familiar with Shiatsu or someone from outside the institution in the case of supervision carried out by Shiatsu practitioners.
During a supervision session, a professional describes their relationship with clients to a supervisor. The supervisor can make interventions based on either: 1) content - helping the practitioner to adjust their construction of the client or 2) process - highlighting and clarifying the patterns within which the practitioner views the client.
In many fields, professionals employ the services of a supervisor to review their work with clients, their professional development and even their own personal development.
The focus is on emotional development, creative thinking, understanding of organizational structures and the development of new perspectives for more effective professional action. Greater satisfaction and well-being in the relationship between private and professional life are other subjects for supervising consultations.
Continue reading on the ESF website