SUPERVISION AND RELATED MATTERS
Given the wide range of programs and services that can be provided as part of a services delivery system, such as the one described above, supervision is very important. In this regard two kinds of supervisory formats need to be considered,
These formats can be termed professional supervision and administrative supervision.
1. Professional supervision can be defined as the process of guiding and
communicating with individuals who are providing professional services. In
this regard, the professional supervisor needs to be an individual with the
graduate education, knowledge bases, and skills sets as their supervisees. The
focus of professional supervision is on matters that have to do with
assessment, intervention planning, and implementation of mental skills, life
skills, and mental health services. In this regard, the professional supervisor
must be an individual who is licensed and qualified to supervise in this area.
2. Administrative supervision has to do with the process of overseeing whether
and to what extent the individual, as an employee or contracted consultant is
functioning properly in relation to policies and procedures of the club or the
player development system. The supervisory maters in this form of
supervision would focus on ones such as being on time for meetings,
collaborating with staff in ways that do not compromise confidentiality, and
being a willing collaborator of a larger performance enhancement team.
3. It is possible that one individual in an organization may possess the graduate
education, knowledge bases, and skill sets to serve in both professional and
administrative supervisory roles. If not, attention to how professional and
administrative supervision will occur is an important decision for the sports
organization.
PLANNING AND EVALUATION GUIDELINES
From my thirty years of professional experience (and organizational research) in designing, implementing, and evaluating m coordinated mental health, life skills, and mental health programs and services in professional baseball and at the collegiate level, the following guidelines are provided for use by baseball coaches and administrators:
1. Decide about how mental skills, life skills, and mental health services are
going to be organized such as by a department or another organizational
structure.
2. Delineate professional and administrative supervisory reporting
relationships.
3. Construct a mission statement and set of goals for the area.
4. Specify the target populations for mental skills, life skills, and mental health
services.
5. Describe the continuum of programs, products, and services that mental skills
coaches, employee assistance professionals, and other professionals will be
providing.
6. Formulate a process for assuring that the programs, products and services that
are being provided are occurring in ways that are worthwhile.
7. Use quality assurance information as one basis for the continued
development and improvement of services delivery.
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