Family of Origin as a Supervisory Consultative Resource

Abstract

This article describes the rationale and methodology of a supervisory approach that recruits family-of-origin members as resources to help resolve professional dilemmas. We have found that professional impasses resonate with family-of-origin themes. As supervisory consultants, family-of-origin members have access to family stories, rules, myths, and resources that can provide new messages for a more differentiated use of self in the clinical setting. The standard format of this family supervisory consultation is separated in three phases. First, the supervisor discusses and explores the nature of the supervisee's professional dilemma (i.e., difficulty with angry clients). Second, the supervisor explores the evolution of this same theme through the historical and personal stories of the family-of-origin members. Third, the supervisee anonymously presents a specific case that exemplifies this theme. The supervisor, along with consultation from the family, focuses on the development of a more flexible use of self in the therapeutic system. Thus, the session begins and ends with the professional development of the supervisee. However, there is personal sharing during the second phase, so there are sections that address developmental, supervisory, and ethical considerations. Even though the goal of this meeting is to promote professional growth, personal and family changes are common by-products. Four supervisory anecdotes illustrate this approach to supervision.

Family therapists’ adult attachment styles and the therapeutic alliance

“…As Aponte and Carlsen () point out, some pioneers of family therapy, notably Bowen () and Satir () advocated the resolution of issues in the trainee's family of origin as part of training, including the use of genograms. This was discussed by, among others, Haber and Hawley () and Timm and Blow (). There are more recent examples of how trainees’ self‐reflexivity might be developed.…”

The Heart of the Matter: A Proposal for Placing the Self of the Therapist at the Center of Family Therapy Research and Training

“…These have detailed from within the perspective of specific treatment orientations the role presumably played by the self of the therapist in effecting therapeutic change, and the resulting focus on the self of the therapist that is required in training and supervision. Such model-specific discussions have been provided, among others, by Aponte (1992Aponte ( , 1994, Bowen (1978), Haber (1990), Haber and Hawley (2004), Jacobs, David, and Meyer (1995), McDaniel and Landau-Stanton (1991), Minuchin, Lee, andSimon (2006), andSatir andBaldwin (1983).…”

“…Generally, trainers would endeavor to keep this self-of-the-therapist work closely and recursively linked to the supervision of clinical work that remains the centerpiece of this phase of training (cf. Haber, 1990;Haber & Hawley, 2004;McDaniel & Landau-Stanton, 1991;Minuchin et al, 2006).…”

Elder Abuse and Neglect in Latino Families: An Ecological and Culturally Relevant Theoretical Framework for Clinical Practice

“…Family therapists who are unaware of personal stereotypes or misconceptions about ethnic minorities are at high risk of negatively influencing the process of therapy when working with these populations (Haber & Hawley, 2004). Thus, family therapists must engage in an honest examination of their beliefs about Latinos, Latino immigration, and undocumented Latinos.…”