A Development Theory of Psychodynamic Supervision

Mutual Transformation in Psychotherapy

“…Self-analysis reminded me of Alonso's (1983) observation that supervisors can use their relationships with supervisees to assuage feelings of ''personal loneliness'' and ''object hunger.'' I realized again that being a therapist assures me of being wanted, needed, and valued, while also providing measured amounts of what might, ironically, be characterized as ''managed intimacy.''…”

Transference Enactments in Clinical Supervision

“…Others react against having been sadistically supervised by refusing to exercise their legitimate power in relation to supervisees even when it is appropriate to do so. Earlier, Alonso (1983) identified a number of other subjective countertransference responses including supervisors' need to be ''loved and admired'' as well as their ''discomfort with competition ...object hunger, and personal loneliness'' (p. 34). Waldfogel (1983) states unequivocally that when supervisors focus on supervisees' ''personality structure, defenses and transference'' problems of learning are presumed to reside entirely in the personality of the learner.…”

“…Stephanie Schamess (2005) accurately observes that a reversal of the economically determined power dynamics between employers and employees also occurs in psychotherapeutic relationships where the therapist/employee expercises disproportionate authority over the patient/employer. This dynamic is important because supervisees prefer to admire their supervisors, and for the most part, supervisors prefer to be admired (Alonso, 1983;Doehrman, 1976). Moreover, voluntary supervisees look to supervisors for potential benefits above and beyond what they learn about clinical practice, e.g., recognition and praise, referrals, invitations to present at professional conferences, introductions to senior colleagues, publication opportunities, etc.…”

“…Understanding it, however, helps me restrain my tendencies to demonstrate how clinically astute I am (not an uncommon supervisory ambition), and to sit with the excruciatingly feelings that R, her patient and I experience, without ''freaking out.'' As Anne Alonso (1983) often says, ''Don't just do something, sit there.'' A small body of literature discusses transference phenomena in supervision (Bonosky, 1995;Sherry, 1991, Zetzel, 1953.…”

Therapeutic Processes in Clinical Supervision

“…Here, however, I want to emphasize that supervision can also impede learning, undermine professional self-esteem and exacerbate problematic relational patterns. Negative outcomes occur when supervisors abuse their power, and/or impose their subjective, countertransferentially determined scenarios (Alonso, 1983;Tosone, 1997). Abuse of supervisory authority and countertransference enactments constitute very significant problems, both for supervisors and for supervisees.…”