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Supervisory reactions: an important aspect of supervision
Eleanor F Counselman1, Alexis D Abernethy
1Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School. EleanorF@Counselman.com
International Journal of Group Psychotherapy
|April 6, 2011
Summary
Supervisors experience emotional reactions during supervision, often stemming from parallel processes or personal factors. Developing self-awareness and using a decision tree can help supervisors effectively manage these reactions.
Area of Science:
- Psychoanalytic Supervision
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychotherapy Training
Background:
- Supervision is crucial in psychotherapy training.
- Traditional focus is on supervisee and clinical material.
- Supervisors also experience significant emotional reactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the sources and impact of supervisors' emotional reactions.
- To emphasize the importance of supervisor self-awareness.
- To propose a framework for managing supervisory affect.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of supervisory dynamics.
- Review of factors influencing supervisor affect.
- Proposal of a supervisor decision tree framework.
Main Results:
- Supervisory affect can arise from parallel process, supervisor's background, clinical material, and setting.
- Supervisors' emotional reactions offer insights into the therapy, supervision, or supervisor.
- Self-awareness is key for supervisors to understand their affective responses.
Conclusions:
- Supervisors need to recognize and manage their emotional responses.
- A decision tree (awareness, source identification, relevance, appropriate use) aids in processing reactions.
- Effective supervision requires attention to the supervisor's internal experience.
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