The use of clinical supervision in secure environments

It is probably still fair to say that clinical supervision is not widely implemented throughout the nursing profession. Indeed, Butterworth (1998) has implied that the notion that clinical supervision is widespread in mental health nursing is an assumption. This article draws upon the findings of two recent studies that examine the availability and acceptance of clinical supervision in forensic mental health settings. The findings indicate that there is a low level of acceptance of clinical supervision both within the prison service and also in forensic settings. Following an exposition of the findings, this article will discuss some of the practical difficulties encountered in the systematic implementation of clinical supervision across this professional group who work within conditions that test their professional resilience.