What's Inside

• 175+ carefully crafted reflective questions organized by theme

• Topic areas like identity, ethics, burnout, trauma, advocacy, and clinical skill-building

• Role-specific prompts for school social work, medical, therapy, and case management supervisees

• Equity-centered and trauma-informed language for inclusive conversations

• A beautifully designed PDF: printable, reusable, and easy to navigate

Created Specifically For Social Work Supervisors

This guide was created for social work supervisors who are ready to lead with intention, not just follow policy. You're committed to providing supervision that goes beyond productivity checkboxes and becomes a space for deep reflection, ethical clarity, and authentic growth. You’re stepping into your role not just as a manager, but as a mentor, leader, and advocate. And you’re looking for tools that reflect your depth, your values, and your vision for the kind of supervision that truly makes a difference.

Whether you’re supervising pre-licensed clinicians, interns, or seasoned professionals, these questions will help you guide deeper, more meaningful conversations.

Why Reflection Matters

In a field shaped by urgency, burnout, and systemic barriers, supervision is often the only protected space for social workers to pause, process, and reconnect with purpose.

Reflective supervision supports:

• Better outcomes for clients

• Increased confidence and ethical clarity for supervisees

• Emotional sustainability and growth for both parties

• A stronger foundation for leadership and advocacy

As Falender and Shafranske write,

“Supervision is a distinct professional activity in which education and training aimed at developing science-informed practice are facilitated through a collaborative interpersonal process. It involves observation, evaluation, feedback, and facilitation of supervisee self-assessment, and the acquisition of knowledge and skills by instruction, modeling, and mutual problem solving.”

Reflection isn’t just a pause. It’s a dynamic, collaborative practice that fuels ethical clarity, strengthens clinical insight, and sustains purpose in the work of supervision.

How to Use the Guide

Intentional. Flexible. Grounded in Growth.

This guide is designed to meet you where you are, and grow with you. Here are a few ways to integrate it into your supervision practice:

• Begin sessions with 1–2 reflective questions to set the tone

• Invite supervisees to journal between meetings using selected prompts

• Choose question categories that match current themes, challenges, or developmental stages

• Return to key questions over time to support reflection, insight, and growth

This isn’t a script. It’s a conversation tool. Use it to deepen your relationships, expand your insight, and create supervision that’s as dynamic and thoughtful as the work you do.

Looking to take your supervision practice even deeper?

Love the depth and clarity this guide brings to your supervision?

Take the next step with our Clinical Supervision Training Program — a comprehensive, equity-centered course built to expand your skills, confidence, and leadership as a supervisor.

Learn more about the Clinical Supervision Training Program.

About the Author

Created by Bethany Raab, LCSW, ACS

Bethany Raab is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, educator, and the founder of the Center for Ethical Social Work Practice. With over 20 years of experience, she has supervised hundreds of social workers and trained many more through her nationally recognized Clinical Supervision Training Program.

After navigating a difficult and disempowering supervision experience early in her career, Bethany committed herself to changing how supervision is taught and practiced. Her work is rooted in the belief that supervision should be a space for reflection, growth, equity, and leadership - not just a checkbox for licensure.

These questions are drawn from real conversations and real challenges, grounded in the CARE Framework she developed to support relational, ethical, and equity-focused supervision across diverse settings.