Supervision for Mental Health Professionals

In the Asian parable “Seven Blind Men and the Elephant”, a group of blind men grope an elephant, in order to understand what it is about. Each one of them examine one, and only one, a different part of the animal’s body, such as ribs, a tusk, tail, or trunk. Then they compare their experiences and realize that each individual experience, leads to completely different conclusions. In this parable, blindness represents the inability to perceive and discern with clarity – the elephant represents the reality or truth. The story notes that whichever perspective we have or we choose, we will realize the truth accordingly. Consequently, the knowledge of an alleged absolute truth, can only come from incomplete and partial, i.e. individual and subjective approaches.

​

A basic operation of the supervision process is to investigate the psychodynamics of professional relationships and the accompanying reflection of experiences, questions and conflicts that arise in professional work.

​

With the mediation of the supervisor and considering the given working context, a creative dialogue is promoted, which aims at activating and harnessing the potentiality of the supervised, offering thus help for self-help. [Wilker (Hrsg.) Supervision und Coaching, 1998, dvp]

​

In PTYCHES, supervision functions as a counselling framework of synthetic approach, in order to promote, expand and deepen professional understanding, knowledge and skill. It is ruled by a fraternal attitude of responsibility and mutual respect, offering a space of containment and reflection, in which, the mental health professional has the opportunity to explore aspects of his/her professional identity and practice as part of the offered service (counselling, psychotherapy, other services).

​

Possible points of focus and exploration can be:

• defining the position and role of the therapist in the therapeutic context

• the therapeutic process

• the therapeutic relationship

• the relationship between supervisor and supervised

• the importance and dynamics of therapeutic interventions and selected techniques

• general issues of psychotherapeutic practice