Unpacking the Nuances: Peer Consultation vs. Peer Supervision
Interchangeable Terms?
Terms such as “Peer Consultation,” “Peer Supervision,” and “Group Supervision” are often used interchangeably and have quite a bit of overlap. They all involve a supportive meeting with one or more professionals for the purpose of meaningful interaction, fostering reflective practice, professional growth, and enhancing service delivery to clients. Most of these interactions involve discussion of cases or professional work, sharing practical knowledge or insights, and seeking or sharing feedback on professional challenges.
However, if we dig a little deeper, we’ll find that there are some key differences between these two types of peer interactions. We can start by taking a closer look at the terms “consultation” and “supervision.”
Supervision.
Supervision implies that a person has direct authority over someone else’s work, whether from an administrative or clinical standpoint. While it would be simple to think of the term supervision only being applied this way if a person is not yet independently licensed, there are many instances where a licensed professional decides to or is required to obtain formal supervision from another professional. For example, when folks want to re-specialize, they may seek formal supervision or may be required to do so by their boards. In other cases, a licensed provider may be directed to obtain formal supervision after a board complaint or other complex circumstance. In these cases, it’s important to be clear about what exactly is being provided. If it’s supervision, the supervisor is usually legally responsible for clinical cases and can direct your work (in clinical supervisory relationships) or mandate that you attend these meetings (in administrative supervisory relationships). It can also be required by the board as part of the licensing process. In supervision, the focus is not on the supervisor’s cases but on the supervisee's. Further, the supervisor may be formally evaluating the supervisee's skills, often for licensure or completion of internships or residencies. In other words, in supervision, there are typically clear hierarchical roles and a clear facilitator or leader.
Consultation.
On the other hand, the term consultation implies a more collaborative approach to obtaining an opinion, feedback, or knowledge from a professional peer who does not take on responsibility for the consultee’s work. Consultation, while required by most licensing boards in some way or another, typically involves more choice by the consultee. In most cases, the consultee can choose how, when, where, and how often consultation will occur, in addition to choosing the consultant, which is not always possible in a supervisory-supervisee relationship. While consultation is sometimes less formal, such as calling a colleague to talk about a case, consultation can also be more formal. But often, our informal consultations are with a peer we are close to or work with, which may make it difficult to obtain an unbiased perspective (similar to why we don’t provide services to family members). Additionally, there are times when we could benefit from a totally different perspective, approach, or lens. These are examples of situations where formal consultation can really be valuable. The benefits of formal consultation include having documented evidence of your efforts to consult (and in some states/cases, this counts as continuing education), which also helps reduce liability.
Take Away.
There are lots of options available when seeking peer support. It’s important to have access to both formal and informal support, depending on your needs and the nature of your current practice/services. Plus, it’s important to know what type of support makes sense for your situation - is it consultation or supervision? Or maybe both?
Stay tuned for another post on how to decide on consultation vs supervision.