Reflections on the role of the supervisor

Counter-transference can be conceived of as being composed of two components: therapist-induced counter-transference (TIC), and client-induced counter-transference (CIC). These components are mostly intertwined into combined counter-transference. One of the foremost tasks of the supervisor is to help the therapist to analyse counter-transference, when encountered in the combined form, into its contributing components in order to apply each component in accordance with its defining origin. Strong transferential forces, that are independent of the specific contents of the therapy, are generated inside the supervisory situation, manifesting themselves, sometimes destructively so, in the therapy (parallel process in reverse). In order to forestall this destructive effect, these forces ought to be interpreted by the supervisor to the supervisee inside the supervisory situation. In order to gauge the extent of such interpretations as well as those of other dynamic manifestations in supervision, the supervisory situation is compared to therapy administered to the therapeutic couple ex parte. The situation of the supervisor vis-à-vis the patient is briefly discussed.