“To share and speak freely.” Six factors to support psychological safety in the supervisory relationship

A “safe” supervisory relationship that is cognizant of indirect trauma and the emotional impacts of health and human service work is essential to practitioner growth, critical thinking, and well-being. The current study gathered allied health practitioner perspectives of effective professional supervision within a large health organization in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Experiencing psychological safety in professional supervision emerged as a central theme to support effective supervision. In this article, six interrelated factors that support psychological safety in the supervisory relationship are presented and discussed. The potential risks of the absence of psychological safety in the supervisory relationship are also considered.