Overview
Supports supervisors and organisations to develop a thoughtful, psychodynamically informed approach to professional supervision that strengthens practice, staff wellbeing and reflective culture.
Create the time, relationships and structures your staff need to think more deeply about their work.
Mulberry Bush Reflective Supervision Training supports supervisors and organisations to develop a thoughtful, psychodynamically informed approach to professional supervision. It explores how effective supervision can strengthen practice, support staff wellbeing and contribute to a reflective organisational culture.
Reflective supervision offers protected space to pause, make sense of complex experiences and consider how emotions, relationships and organisational dynamics may influence the work. It is not therapy or counselling. It is a professional relationship that supports learning, accountability, development and thoughtful decision-making.
Rooted in nearly 80 years of Mulberry Bush therapeutic practice, the course connects established supervision theory with participants’ own experience. It supports supervisors to move beyond supervision as a procedural or managerial task and develop relationships in which staff can feel heard, valued and supported to think.
The course is designed for people who provide, or are preparing to provide, professional supervision.
It may be particularly relevant to school and education leaders, designated safeguarding and pastoral leads, social care managers, residential childcare managers and senior practitioners, health and mental health professionals, youth and criminal justice professionals, team leaders and service managers, and anyone responsible for staff development and wellbeing.
It is suitable for both experienced supervisors who want to develop a more reflective approach and those who are newer to supervision. Although it may be particularly relevant to school and children’s services staff, the principles can be applied across any organisation where professionals work closely with people experiencing distress, complexity or vulnerability.
For most of our courses, no previous therapeutic training is required. Our sessions provide an accessible introduction while also creating opportunities for experienced practitioners to revisit and reflect on their existing practice.
The Foundation Degree is different, as it is work-based. You must be working with children or young people for at least 16 hours each week, through paid employment or a voluntary role, with opportunities to apply and reflect on your learning in practice. You do not need specific previous qualifications, but you may be asked to complete a short written task as part of the application process.
What you will learn
The course introduces the purpose, principles and practice of reflective supervision. You will explore:
- The purpose of reflective supervision within professional practice
- The difference between supervision, line management, therapy and counselling
- How to establish safe, clear and purposeful supervisory relationships
- The role of reflection in strengthening professional judgement and decision-making
- How feelings and responses can provide insight into professional situations
- The influence of relationships, group processes and organisational dynamics
- How supervision can support both accountability and staff development
- Ways to balance challenge, support and professional responsibility
- How to move from reactive crisis management towards more thoughtful and planned responses
- How reflective supervision can contribute to a wider culture of learning and support
The Mulberry Bush model draws on four core functions of supervision:
Management
Maintaining professional standards, accountability and clarity of purpose.
Development
Supporting learning, knowledge, confidence and critical thinking.
Support
Creating space to acknowledge and think about the emotional impact of the work.
Mediation
Connecting the individual practitioner with the wider team, organisation and professional system.
Throughout the course, you will be encouraged to reflect on your own experience of supervision and consider what you bring to supervisory relationships.
Yes. Most of our courses can be commissioned by organisations and delivered in person or online, adapted to the context, needs and experiences of your setting. Several courses can be delivered to teams of up to 30 staff.
Training a team together can be particularly valuable, as consistent practice often depends on clear communication, shared understanding and a shared language between the adults involved.
Benefits and Outcomes
Effective reflective supervision can benefit the person receiving supervision, the supervisor, the wider organisation and the people the organisation supports.
By completing the course, you can:
- Develop greater confidence and clarity in your role as a supervisor
- Create supervisory relationships in which staff feel heard, valued and supported
- Help practitioners think more carefully and creatively about complex situations
- Strengthen staff knowledge, self-awareness and critical analysis
- Support clearer professional judgement and decision-making
- Balance emotional support with accountability and professional development
- Recognise and explore the impact of relationships and emotions within the work
- Help staff move from reactive responses towards thoughtful planning
- Encourage more open and purposeful communication
- Strengthen reflective learning across teams and organisations
- Contribute to staff wellbeing, motivation and retention
- Support more consistent and effective practice
Successful completion also provides access to the Mulberry Bush network of supervisors and ongoing annual refresher training.
Mulberry Bush has been developing therapeutic approaches to working with children, young people and the adults around them for nearly 80 years.
Our training is rooted in practice. It draws on the day-to-day experience of our therapeutic schools, alongside established theory, current research and learning from professionals across children’s services. Our trainers have direct experience of working within the field and understand both the value and the emotional demands of this work.
We do not offer simple responses to complex situations. Instead, we support practitioners to develop the understanding, confidence and reflective capacity needed to make thoughtful decisions within their own roles and organisations. Our approach is:
- Collaborative – we seek to work with, and learn from, others who share our vision and principles.
- Psychodynamic – we promote an approach which enables us to understand the meaning of behaviour as communication.
- Reflective – we believe in the value of learning through reflection and experience.
And, we live by our values:
- Expertise – we are pioneers, thought-leaders, influencers and change-makers.
- Empathy – we care, support and work with professional, practitioners and the people we serve to enable them to make their own change and collaborate with and are here for everyone who needs us.
- Everyone – we are a community we collaborate and are here for everyone who needs us.