Supervision Is Not Management: Building Sustainable Supervision with Gulsah Kemer

In this episode of Supervision Simplified, Dr. Amy Parks is joined by counseling supervision researcher and educator Gulsah Kemer for a thoughtful conversation about what supervision truly is and what it is not.

Together, they challenge the idea that supervision is simply a form of management or administrative oversight. Instead, they explore supervision as a relational, reflective, and sustainability-focused practice that supports both supervisors and supervisees over time. Gulsah shares insights from more than a decade of research and teaching in counselor education, including the development of her Cohesive Model of Supervision, a research-informed framework grounded in how experienced supervisors think and make decisions in practice.

The conversation addresses why supervisors are often left to develop their identities and styles in isolation, particularly outside of academic settings, and how this lack of support can contribute to burnout, ethical strain, and uncertainty. Dr. Parks and Gulsah discuss the importance of supervisor self-awareness, intentional reflection, and lifelong development, as well as the role supervision plays in gatekeeping, professional identity formation, and client care.

This episode is especially relevant for supervisors working with students, licensure-seeking clinicians, and early-career professionals, as well as anyone interested in the future of supervision, counselor education, and sustainable clinical practice.