Supervision: A didactic or mutative situation

SUMMARY

This paper discusses the nature of learning in the supervision of psychoanalytic psychotherapy. It considers the complexities of the relationship between therapist and supervisor, especially in the context of a training where the supervising relationship occurs as part of complex relationships to the parent institution and is subject to potentially conflicting pressures. It is with this background that the author examines methods of supervision in the literature, noting that there have been few systematic studies and that there is certainly no standard or generally accepted method. The author discusses the nature of learning, especially from a psychoanalytic viewpoint, and then considers his own systematic study of supervision, which included the detailed study of transcripts of supervision sessions. This enables exploration of the interactive process between supervisor and therapist and allows for some general consideration of the types of interaction which allow for mutative change in the therapist: ‘transmutative situation’. Some examples are given and finally conclusions are drawn about the essential and desirable prerequisites for learning and teaching in supervision.