Proctor’s Three-Function as a Framework for Supervision

I use Proctor’s Three-Function Interactive Model. It works through education, admin, and support. This is a personal choice, it doesn’t fit with everyone and that’s all good.

The reason why I like it is because it covers multiple aspects of our practice, that ALL influence how we do our roles.

Education: teach me something! I’m nervous about going out to this house to have a discussion about Dad threatening to kill himself if Mum leaves, how do I bring that up with Mum safely? How do I then speak to Dad about that safely? Give me examples, help me think of questions, and let’s practice a couple.

Admin: it gets a bad rap, but being accountable to the legislation, policy, and guidance keeps the client safe, but also you as the worker safe. It supports us to know what our practice remit is and gives us boundaries to work within. I’m a nerd for some well-written legislation and policy.

Supportive: this job is hard. It is emotionally, physically, psychologically, and spiritually draining. How do you do it? How do we support each other to manage the emotional stress and demands of being a social worker? And how is this support provided in a safe, helpful way?

Throughout any supervision session, we may focus more on one aspect than another. Say you need 2/3 of the session to focus on support and only a bit of learning and practice and even less about policy the framework can be changed to reflect this. Like life, it’s flexible, we can move with your needs.

There are many theories of supervision out there that can inform supervision in social work. Are there any others that work for you?