The Supervisory Relationship - A Contemporary Psychodynamic Approach

Mary Gail, Frawley-O’Dea, Joan E. Sarnat
2001,  New York,  The Guildford Press

This book starts with a valuable historical look at the development of supervision and moves into considering a number of important issues. The authors move on consider models of supervision and have some interesting chapters on the Teach/Treat Issue, Regression and  Mutuality, Asymmetry and Negotiation.   They base their approach on a relational model and an understanding of unconscious processes and analytic theory.  This makes it a very useful book for supervisors working psychoanalytically and psychodynamicaly.   It does have a slightly ‘American Flavour’ but it is a very useful and insightful book on supervision.

Supervising Counsellors - issues of responsibility

Edited by Sue Wheeler and David King
2001,  London Sage

This looks a useful book in relation to ‘clinical-legal-ethical’ issues for supervisors.  Written by a number of authors it covers such areas as, ‘Supervisory Responsibility and the Law, the Supervisor and the BACP code of Ethics, issues of responsibility relating to context eg., primary care, and wider issues in relation to supervising groups, working with difference, and supervision for supervisors.  They end with a thought provoking chapter on ‘Expecting the Impossible? What Responsibility do Counsellors Expect their Supervisors to Take’.  This is a useful and practical book covering issues of ethics and responsibility in relation to ‘supervising practitioners and trainees’.

Psychotherapy Supervision - an integrative relational approach to psychotherapy supervision

Maria Gilbert and Kenneth Evans
2000,   Milton Keynes,  Open University Press.

 A brief look through the chapters of this book indicates that it has some useful and thought provoking considerations in relation to supervision.  Particular issues that caught my eye were -

a) the use of Martin Buber’s concept of ‘inclusion’ in the relational model,

b) transference and countertransference: an intersubjective perspective,

c) creating an effective learning environment,

d) theoretical and research foundations, and

e) multicultural aspects and anti-oppressive practice.  

This is a wide ranging book which takes in a variety of views and considerations. 

Written from an Integrative perspective.

Systemic Supervision

Gill Gorell Barnes, Gwynneth Down and Damian McCann
 2000,   London, Jessica Kingsley Publishers Ltd.  

This book provides a practical insight into the supervision of family therapy.   It gives practical suggestions as to how to enable supervisees to consider and feel at ease with issues of power, gender, ethnicity and sexuality within a family therapy setting and suggests ways to deal with these issues.  It considers the setting in relation to supervision, the training of family therapists and also the aspect of the ‘live supervision’ of family therapy.

As the title of the book indicates it is written from a systemic perspective and considers supervision in relation to this.  It is a valuable read if you are working with families or are supervising systemic work.

Integrative Approaches to Supervision

Michael Carroll and Margaret Tholstrup
2001,  London,  Jessica Kingsley Publishers Ltd.

This book is based on the ‘models and framework of Integrative Supervision’ and the early chapters in this book explore issues such as, Narrative Approaches to Supervision, Supervision in and for Organisations and The Cyclical Model of Supervision: A Container for Creativity and Chaos from this perspective.  What looks interesting however is the specific issues that some of the chapters focus on.  For example, Supervision in Primary Care, The Spirituality of Supervision, Supervision - Researching Therapeutic Practice, Which Sub-personality is Supervising Today.