Purpose
A Boundary Map helps supervisors and supervisees clarify where different professional roles begin, overlap, and end.
It makes invisible boundaries visible, ensuring supervision remains ethical, transparent, and safe.
This tool is particularly useful when supervisors hold multiple roles, such as being both a manager and a reflective supervisor, or when supervision occurs within a workplace context.
Why Use a Boundary Map?
The Boundary Map:
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Clarifies expectations and limits of confidentiality.
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Prevents role confusion between supervision, management, and collegial work.
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Strengthens trust by establishing transparency.
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Maintains balance across the Tripod Model of Reflective Supervision — Learning, Accountability, and Wellbeing.
Visual Example
Figure: Three overlapping circles show how the reflective, managerial, and collegial roles intersect around a shared ethical core.
The Three Key Spaces
1️⃣ Reflective Supervision Space (Learning & Wellbeing Focus)
Purpose:
To explore practice, reflection, and professional growth in a confidential environment.
Includes:
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Reflection on practice and ethics.
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Exploration of emotional responses and wellbeing.
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Development of skills and self-awareness.
Boundaries:
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Not used for performance evaluation.
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Confidential except for legal or safety requirements.
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Supervisor acts as facilitator and reflective partner.
Tripod Focus: Learning and Wellbeing.
2️⃣ Managerial / Organisational Space (Accountability Focus)
Purpose:
To meet organisational, legal, and procedural requirements.
Includes:
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Performance discussions and workload management.
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Compliance with policies and service standards.
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Case allocation and operational updates.
Boundaries:
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Separate from reflective supervision.
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Notes stored in HR or management systems.
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Supervisor acts as manager or quality assurer.
Tripod Focus: Accountability.
3️⃣ Collegial / Co-Mediation Space (Collaboration Focus)
Purpose:
To collaborate professionally in shared client work or co-mediation.
Includes:
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Case planning, debriefing, and coordination.
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Sharing factual information relevant to client sessions.
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Mutual support and teamwork.
Boundaries:
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Not a supervision space.
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Reflective or emotional processing occurs elsewhere.
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Supervisor acts as peer or collaborator.
Tripod Focus: Accountability with awareness of Wellbeing.
Shared Ethical Core
At the centre of all three roles lies the Shared Ethical Core that anchors the professional relationship:
Reflection | Respect | Confidentiality | Fairness | Cultural Safety
This shared core connects all roles and supports ethical, reflective, and culturally responsive supervision practice.
How to Use the Boundary Map
During initial supervision:
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Co-create the Boundary Map together.
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Discuss and record examples under each domain.
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Clarify confidentiality and information-sharing boundaries.
During reviews:
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Revisit the map if roles or responsibilities shift.
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Adjust boundaries to maintain trust and clarity.
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Reflect on whether the “tripod” remains balanced.
Reflective Activity
Step 1: Identify the roles you hold in relation to your supervisee (e.g., supervisor, manager, colleague).
Step 2: Draw your own version of the Boundary Map and place examples of activities in each circle.
Step 3: Mark areas of potential overlap or confusion.
Step 4: Discuss how you can maintain safety, balance, and transparency in these areas.
Reflective Prompt:
“Where might my roles overlap, and how can I manage those overlaps ethically?”
Key Message
The Boundary Map is a practical reflection tool that promotes clarity and ethical safety in supervision.
By making professional boundaries explicit and shared, supervisors strengthen trust and ensure the supervision tripod — Learning, Accountability, and Wellbeing — remains stable and in balance.