Psychoanalytic Supervision: the Supervisor’s Tasks

This paper reviews key aspects of psychoanalytic supervision, including the capacity to combine a teaching function with an openly expressed evaluating one; communication of a clear, interpretive theory of technique, combined with an intuitive reaction to the totality of information gained in the supervisory situation; a combination of collegiality and honest communication with the candidate; and the awareness of reciprocal parallel processes. Reducing the influence of institutional dynamics, particularly those related to authoritarian pressures, is another responsibility of the supervisor. These tasks also involve discrete understanding and management of countertransference developments in both supervisor and supervisee.