Interpreting transference in the supervision of psychoanalytic psychotherapy

Supervisors of analytic psychotherapy have long wrestled with the question of whether interpretation has a legitimate role in dealing with supervisee countertransference and the transferences of the supervisory experience, itself. Currently, the majority view relies on didactic methods to deal with these transferences and avoids interpretation as incompatible with, even dangerous to, the supervisory task. This paper takes issue with this view and uses a clinical example to illustrate the impact and irreplaceable value of direct interpretation in supervision. It demonstrates that interpretation of a resistance in the supervisee can fundamentally and beneficially affect the therapeutic relationship, the supervisory process, and can have unanticipated diagnostic significance. It also demonstrates that, when applied with the same appropriateness and tact taken for granted in psychotherapy, concerns that supervisory interpretation will be traumatizing or counterproductive are unwarranted.