Supervision, Coaching & Co

Supervision, coaching & co

In the jungle of advice that is now offered, it is not so easy to keep track of serious offers.

Here you will find an overview and explanation of supervision, coaching, life and social counseling and self-awareness.

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• Supervision
• Coaching
• Life and social counseling
• Self-awareness

Supervision

Supervision is a professional form of advice that supports people on job-related issues. During supervision, questions and problems that arise in professional life are reflected on - they are thought about carefully and intensively. In addition, attempts are made to clarify these and to work out alternative options and solutions together with the supervisor. Supervision is also used preventively and can be used in many ways, e.g. in teams.

When and how is supervision used?

The tasks of supervision include:

• Support during change processes,
• Decision support for current events,
• Support in stressful or challenging work situations,
• Prevention of bullying and burnout.

Questions for supervision can be, for example:

• How do I find my way in the new work environment?
• How do I deal with conflicts?
• How should I decide in this situation?
• How can communication in our team be improved?
• How can I best support my clients?

Supervision can take place in different settings:

• Teams: Team supervision is about improving communication within a team or making work more efficient, for example.
• Groups: In a group it is possible, for example, to exchange experiences with each other in order to learn from them or to recognize similarities or differences.
• Individuals: In the individual setting, personal questions are in the foreground (decisions, conflicts with others, etc.).

Supervision can be used in a wide variety of areas such as social pedagogy, health care, schools and the economic sector (e.g. in companies).

Pay attention to qualification

Qualified psychotherapists, clinical psychologists and doctors from the field of psychiatry and psychotherapeutic medicine offer supervision, among other things - often as part of the support of colleagues who are completing training in this field. Those working in the field of life and social counseling must register a trade and are not allowed to offer supervision that is reserved for the above-mentioned professional groups from the field of health professions.

Professional supervisors complete well-founded training. Supervision itself is a mandatory part of this. You can find out more about supervision on the website of the Austrian Association for Supervision www.oevs.or.at. In addition, the Austrian Federal Association for Psychotherapy (ÖBVP) offers a search for supervisors.

Coaching

Professional coaching can be understood as a special form of supervision. Coaching sees itself as continuous, time-limited and partnership-based accompaniment and support for individuals, groups and teams. The focus here is on the professional role and person - often in the area of ​​executives or management. The support relates to specific topics. So-called “skills” are developed in short training sequences.

Reasons to visit a coach can be, for example:

• Advice on the management of employees,
• Advice on management tasks,
• Working on your own appearance (e.g. presenting projects),
• Support in change processes,
• Career advice,
• Decision uncertainty,
• Conflicts with other people (e.g. colleagues).

Coaching aims to promote the skills of customers and is resource and solution-oriented.

Note Coach is not a protected term, does not belong to the health professions and is used in different areas - sometimes even without proof of qualification. It is therefore all the more important to pay attention to the qualifications of providers. The Austrian umbrella association for coaching provides information on this topic.

Life and social counseling

Life and social counseling aims to provide professional advice and support to people in problem and decision-making situations. Possible fields of activity for life and social counseling include so-called psychological counseling. Life counseling and social counseling is not one of the health professions, but is regulated by law and requires appropriate training.

The counseling fields of life and social counselors in the psychological counseling division include:

• Personality counseling,
• Conflict counseling,
• Communication consulting,
• Partnership and family counseling,
• Educational counseling,
• Coping with stress.

Individuals, couples, families or groups as well as companies are advised, with solutions or change options being developed in a form of coaching, supervision or mediation. The activity in the field of life and social counseling is exclusively preventive and is intended to promote well-being. For this purpose, those working in the field of life and social counseling must register a trade and are not allowed to enter areas of activity that are reserved for health professions such as psychotherapists or clinical psychologists.

At www.lebensberater.at the internet portal of the professional group of life and social counselors of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, you will find more information and members of the official association.

Self-awareness

Psychotherapeutic self-awareness, for example, serves to get to know yourself better and to reflect on the past or present in life (to think about it carefully and intensively). Self-experience in a non-therapeutic setting occurs, for example, by speaking about oneself (e.g. in social conversations). But experiencing your own personality in groups and group dynamic processes also makes a significant contribution to personal reflection and further development. In the case of offered self-experience, attention should always be paid to the qualification of the person offering it.

Self-awareness is also part of the training to become a psychotherapist (teaching therapy). The prospective therapist becomes a “client” himself and through this role reversal not only learns a lot about himself, but also about the elements of therapeutic work. Self-awareness is also used in other related areas, for example in clinical psychology.