Building Reflective Practice into Everyday Supervision: Simple Strategies for Supervisors and Supervisees

When I first started as a clinician, supervision felt a bit like solving puzzles. I’d bring a client issue or a question to my supervisor, and they’d help me figure out the “solution.” But over time, I realized that it wasn’t just about finding answers—it was about reflecting on how I arrived at those answers, what I learned in the process, and how it shaped my work moving forward.

Now, as a supervisor myself, I’ve come to see that reflective practice isn’t just an “add-on” to supervision; it’s the core of it. Reflective practice helps you think more deeply about your work, the choices you make, and even the personal reactions you bring into the therapeutic space. When we integrate reflection into our regular supervision sessions, it’s not just about improving clinical skills—it’s about transforming the way you think and grow as a practitioner.

Let’s explore how reflective practice can strengthen both your clinical work and our supervisory relationship.

Why Reflective Practice is Key to Your Growth

I remember working with a supervisee—let’s call him Jack—who was feeling stuck with a particularly challenging client. In our early sessions, Jake would bring in specific issues, hoping I could give him step-by-step advice on what to do. However, after a few sessions, I noticed that while he was implementing my suggestions, he wasn’t reflecting on why these strategies worked or how they fit into his own evolving approach as a therapist.

That’s when we started leaning into reflective practice. Instead of giving Jack the answers, I began asking more reflective questions: “What made you decide to try that approach with your client?” or “How did your feelings in that session shape your intervention?” This shift allowed James to step back and think critically about his decisions, his reactions, and how they aligned with his goals for the client.

Reflective practice helped Jack move from simply “doing” therapy to being more intentional about his work. It also deepened our supervision relationship. Instead of being the person with all the answers, I became a partner in his reflection—someone who could help him explore his insights and strengthen his self-awareness.

The Benefits of Reflective Practice in Supervision

There are so many ways that integrating reflective practice into our supervision can help you grow. Here are just a few of the benefits I’ve seen over the years, both for you and for the relationship between supervisor and supervisee:

1. Greater Self-Awareness Reflective practice helps you step back and think about your thoughts, emotions, and decisions in the therapy room. This kind of self-awareness is key because it allows you to understand your reactions, biases, and patterns, and how these might affect your work with clients. It’s not just about being a better therapist—it’s about knowing yourself better as a practitioner.

   
   

2. Deeper Clinical Insights Reflecting on what’s happening in your sessions can help you identify patterns and themes in your clients’ behaviors, as well as in your interventions. This can lead to greater clarity about what’s working, what isn’t, and where you might need to shift your approach.

   
   

3. Strengthened Supervisory Relationship When you engage in reflective practice with your supervisor, it opens up more honest and meaningful conversations. You’re not just coming to supervision for advice or solutions—you’re coming to explore, question, and reflect. This helps build a more collaborative relationship, where both supervisor and supervisee contribute to your growth and learning.

   
   

4. Confidence in Clinical Decision-Making One of the most important outcomes of reflective practice is that it builds your confidence. Over time, you’ll start to trust your insights and instincts more. You’ll develop a deeper sense of autonomy and feel more prepared to navigate complex or challenging client situations with less direct input from your supervisor.

   
   

How We Integrate Reflective Practice into Supervision

So, how do you build reflective practice into your supervision sessions? Here are some practical steps we can take to make reflection a regular part of supervision.

1. Create Space for Reflection At the beginning of a supervision session, I like to start with a reflective question. For example, “What has stood out to you this week in your work with clients?” or “Is there a moment in a recent session that you’re still thinking about?” These questions create space for you to pause, step back, and reflect before we dive into problem-solving.

   
   

2. Use Reflective Journals Some supervisees find it helpful to keep a reflective journal. You might jot down thoughts, feelings, or insights after particularly challenging sessions. Then, when we meet, you can share some of those reflections, and we can unpack them together. One supervisee I worked with, Maria, started journaling about her emotional reactions after sessions with a difficult client. This gave her a deeper understanding of her countertransference, and it also helped us have richer discussions in supervision.

   
   

3. Ask Reflective Questions I’m a big believer in asking reflective questions during our sessions. These might include questions like:

   • “What did you notice about your client’s reaction when you used that intervention?”

   • “How did you feel in that moment?”

   • “What surprised you during that session?”

     
     

   The goal here isn’t to give you the answers but to help you explore your insights and deepen your understanding of what’s happening in the therapy room.

   
   

4. Encourage Peer Reflection Another way to build reflective practice into supervision is through peer discussions. If you’re in group supervision or attending workshops, take advantage of those spaces to engage in reflective conversations with your peers. Hearing how others reflect on their work can give you new perspectives and ideas for your practice. I’ve seen groups where supervisees challenge and support each other through reflection, and it leads to some incredible growth.

   
   

5. Reflect on Your Supervision Sessions Finally, I like to take some time now and then to reflect on the supervision sessions themselves. What’s working? Where do we feel challenged? Where might we need to adjust our approach? Just like in therapy, reflecting on the process of supervision helps ensure that it’s meeting your needs and supporting your growth.

   
   

A Real-Life Example: How Reflective Practice Transformed James’ Supervision

To go back to Jake—by the time we had integrated reflective practice into our sessions for a few months, something shifted. He stopped coming to me asking, “What should I do?” and instead started saying, “Here’s what I’m noticing about my client,” or “I’m realizing that my feelings about this case are influencing my decisions.” That shift from asking for answers to offering reflections completely transformed the way Jake approached his work. He became more confident, more thoughtful, and more intentional about his practice.

Reflective practice didn’t just improve Jack’s clinical skills—it helped him become a more self-aware, confident, and thoughtful therapist. And it strengthened our supervisory relationship, too. Instead of being the person who had all the answers, I became a collaborator in his reflection—a guide who helped him discover his insights and trust his instincts.

Reflective practice is one of the most powerful tools we have in supervision. It helps you become more self-aware, deepens your clinical insights, strengthens your relationship, and builds your confidence as a clinician. As you continue your supervision journey, I encourage you to lean into reflection—to ask yourself questions, to explore your reactions, and to trust your insights. Over time, you’ll find that reflective practice becomes not just a part of supervision, but a core part of your growth as a therapist.

Let’s continue to make space for reflection in our sessions and see how it transforms your practice.