Case example 9

Elena had been searching for a much-needed larger house for months prior to beginning her internship at the local homeless shelter. After her internship began, Elena spoke with co-workers often about various houses she had seen with her realtor. Disappointment and frustration mounted as the weeks rolled by, and a satisfactory house was yet to be found.

Meanwhile, Elena's internship was going well. She was learning a tremendous amount from her supervisor, Grace, an older woman with extensive experience whom Elena admired enormously. On two occasions, she had visited Grace's home, once for a staff party and once to drop off a report. On both occasions, Elena had admired Grace's home and had even commented, "If only we could find a place like this." Therefore, Elena was delighted when Grace announced that she and her husband planned to sell their house and move into a townhouse. Elena immediately and enthusiastically indicated her interest in the house. Grace had mixed feelings about the situation. She knew that there could be trouble in doing business with her student, but it pleased her to think about Elena and her family enjoying the house. Also, she knew what a difficult time Elena had been having in finding a suitable place. Within days, Elena contacted Grace's realtor and viewed the house with her family. Shortly thereafter, she made an offer on the house. The offer was a good one financially, and Grace, with some misgivings, decided to accept it.

Over the next few weeks, Elena and Grace increasingly spent supervision time, as well as any other free moments at work, talking about the house and the details of the sale. Each "supervisory session" ended with the mutual promise that next time they would stay on task, but each week there seemed to be more press- ing issues to deal with about the house. Matters grew worse when conflicts arose between them about the conditions of the sale. Elena began to request repairs that Grace felt were unreasonable. Elena felt put out by Grace's asking for an extension on the closing date because construction on the townhouse that she and her husband were building was running behind. Tension and mutual mistrust began to develop, and both Grace and Elena began to avoid each other as much as possible. By the end of the placement, Grace and Elena were spending limited time with one another, and Elena was informally seeking supervision on a "catch-as-catch-can" basis from other staff members.

EXERCISE 3.14 Analysis

• At what point in the supervisory relationship did a clear dual role develop between Elena and Grace?
• What responsibility did each individual bear in ensuring that the integrity of the supervisory relationship was preserved?
• How might Grace and Elena have handled the situation differently in order to avoid the dual relationship?