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Neurodivergent-affirming supervision isn't simply about making supervision more accessing for neurodivergent supervisees.

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Sure, it means that I won't begin with the assumption that there is one correct way to think, communicate, reflect, process information or participate in supervision.

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There is an important difference to therapy. Clinical supervision isn't counselling. We're attending to your professional practice, your responsibilities and the wellbeing of the clients you work with. So there are things that supervision needs to do. But that doesn't mean there is only one way that we need to be while we're doing it.

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So what has this actually looked like in my supervision practice?

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• choosing whether to sit on the floor or a chair

• taking their shoes off when they arrive

• bringing drawings and objects into their session to reconnect with something they experienced while sitting with a client

• asking if its possible for a session to be moved from online to in-person at short notice because this helps them with their energy management

• asking if its appropriate for a session to be moved from in-person to online at short notice because their energy levels won't allow for the additional energy that the journey will take from them

• using playdoh in a session to get proprioceptive feedback whilst processing

• pacing the room while talking

• including conversations about personal sustainability when considering what the next week's work might contain

 

None of these things make supervision less professional. The session still contains all the components I expect from clinical supervision: reflection, accountability, challenge, attention to ethics, the practitioner and, importantly, the client. What changes are our assumptions about what ‘being professional’ has to look like.

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A supervisee can think deeply while pacing around the room. They can be accountable with their shoes off. Playfulness and professional challenge can exist in the same conversation. And sometimes thinking carefully about whether they have enough energy for next week's workload is part of thinking ethically about their practice.

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Perhaps, then, neurodivergent-affirming supervision isn't really about creating a different kind of supervision for neurodivergent practitioners. It's about creating supervision with enough flexibility for different practitioners to be fully themselves, while still holding firmly onto our shared professional responsibilities.