Personal transformation in clinical supervision

Abstract

The relationship between supervisor and supervisee may be understood as a means to enhance the supervision techniques, as the instrument of supervision itself and as a context that shapes the person of the therapist. The literature on supervision mentions but hardly explores this third aspect. The objective of this study was to investigate the personal impacts of supervision. Ten supervisors and ten supervisees were interviewed. Data collection and analysis were guided by the tenets of grounded theory. The results show that supervision effects supervisors and supervisees similarly. Regardless of the didactic goals and the treatment model adopted, both supervisee and supervisor learn about themselves, gain interpersonal efficiency, and deal better with their own difficult feelings. For supervisors, supervising is a path of personal fulfillment, being a source of incentive and joy.