Supervisory Structures

• Close adherence to the SupervisoryStructures are one of the Core Features of AMBIT practice.
• Supervision in AMBIT is more than simply meeting regularly, or occasionally, to talk about work, ensure fidelity of methods, check on training needs and career progress, etc.
• Supervision in AMBIT is much more dynamic and takes a number of forms.
• AMBIT does not attempt to replace local Governance structures, but to reinforce them.
• Individual staff members are expected to fulfil any local supervisory commitments.
• In addition there are weekly Team Meetings that provide group supervision.
• Another of the Core Features of AMBIT describes a Keyworker well-connected to wider team
• This refers to the use of team members for on-the-spot peer-to-peer supervisory contact.
• Such peer-to-peer consultation functions according to clearly defined Rituals and Disciplines such as Thinking Together.

Boundaries of Competence

• There are AMBIT Competencies documented.
• The KeyWorker must always remain within the boundaries of his or her competence.
• Practitioners in the field are respnsible for their clinical practice
• AMBIT training is strongly recommended before working in an AMBIT service.
• Avoiding Omnipotence
• A risk in developing multi-skilled practitioners who can work relatively independently in an outreach setting is that a KeyWorker might develop rather 'omnipotent' ideas about what he or she is able to handle.
• The risk in such a situation is of workers who assume more expertise than they have, who fail to use the SupervisoryStructures available, and get caught in a situation that escalates and places people at risk of harm.
• Such omnipotence would represent a loss of one of the key features of a Mentalization-based approach - which is the quality of tentativeness, assuming the opaque nature of other people's minds (we cannot know the contents of another person's mental experience - we can only infer, guess, or ask.)
• This aspect of practice is covered in Maintaining Mind-mindedness.
• Use of SupervisoryStructures is a key protection against the risk of breaking this important boundary.