Supervision Essentials for Psychodynamic Psychotherapies

Relational psychodynamic psychotherapy arose in reaction to hierarchical, doctor-patient aspects of Freudian psychoanalysis. It emphasizes instead the partnership between therapist and client, and focuses on the power dynamics involved in this inherently unequal relationship. In this book, Joan E. Sarnat describes a model of clinical supervision that is based upon this therapeutic approach. While some clinicians treat the supervisory relationship as entirely distinct from the supervised therapy, Sarnat presents a straightforward and ethical framework within which a supervisor uses his or her clinical skills to work in the supervisory relationship, helping supervisees navigate their emotional responses to clients. Clear, concise chapters cover the theoretical and empirical basis for a relational model of supervision, and offer specific recommendations for addressing typical problems encountered by beginning, intermediate, and advanced supervisees. The book also includes revealing transcripts and analyses of the author’s supervisory sessions with real trainees, including those documented in the author’s companion DVD.

Joan E. Sarnat, PhD, ABPP, is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst in private practice in Berkeley, California. She is Board Certified in Clinical Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology. She is a member of APA, The National Register, The International Association for Relational Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, and The International Psychoanalytic Association.

Dr. Sarnat has lectured widely on psychoanalytic supervision and has published in numerous journals, including Psychoanalytic Psychology; Psychotherapy: Research, Practice, Training; Psychoanalytic Dialogues; and The International Journal of Psychoanalysis. She coauthored with Mary Gail Frawley-O'Dea The Supervisory Relationship: A Contemporary Psychodynamic Approach (2001).