Psychodynamic Clinical Supervision: Shanti Monteiro
Psychodynamic clinical supervision is a form of professional guidance and support provided to clinicians, particularly those working in psychodynamic or psychoanalytic therapeutic frameworks. It involves a reflective and interpretative process that helps supervisees (typically therapists or counselors) deepen their understanding of their clinical work, while ensuring that their practice is ethically sound and professionally enriching. Supervision serves as both a space for clinical skill development and a forum for personal growth, focusing not just on technique, but also on the internal dynamics that inform a therapist’s approach to clients.
Key Components of Psychodynamic Clinical Supervision
1. Reflective Practice
Reflective practice is at the heart of psychodynamic clinical supervision. It encourages supervisees to engage in thoughtful reflection about their work, their emotional responses to clients, and how unconscious processes, both within the therapist and the client, influence the therapeutic relationship.
- Self-awareness and Countertransference: Supervisors often help supervisees explore their emotional reactions to clients (countertransference). By reflecting on these reactions, therapists can better understand how their personal history, emotions, and unconscious biases might be impacting the therapy. This awareness is crucial for maintaining an objective, non-judgmental stance while also promoting therapeutic growth in the client. -
-Therapist’s Inner World: Reflective practice also includes examining the therapist’s own inner world. Psychodynamic supervision acknowledges that therapists' personal issues, unresolved conflicts, and unconscious desires can manifest in the therapeutic process. The supervisor provides a safe space for therapists to explore their emotional responses, personal challenges, and subjective experiences of their work, thus enhancing emotional resilience and personal growth.
2. Case Consultation
Case consultation is a fundamental aspect of psychodynamic clinical supervision. During case consultation, the supervisee presents specific clinical cases to the supervisor for discussion, feedback, and guidance. The process is not simply about getting technical advice; it focuses on understanding the underlying dynamics of the therapeutic relationship and the unconscious processes at play.
- Exploring the Unconscious Dynamics: Supervisors in psychodynamic supervision help supervisees look beyond presenting problems or behaviors to uncover deeper, unconscious factors that may be contributing to a client’s issues. This includes exploring defense mechanisms, transference (how the client’s unresolved issues are projected onto the therapist), and the role of the therapist in activating these dynamics. -
-Transference and Countertransference: The supervisor helps the supervisee explore how transference (the client projecting past relationships onto the therapist) and countertransference (the therapist's emotional responses to the client) are playing out in the clinical work. A careful, reflective analysis of these dynamics can guide therapeutic interventions and help prevent potential blind spots in the therapist's approach.
- Therapeutic Interventions: Case consultation also involves discussing specific therapeutic interventions—what worked, what didn’t, and why. Through these discussions, supervisors guide supervisees toward more effective, insightful interventions while helping them understand the long-term psychological processes that influence their clients.
3. Case Studies
Case studies are detailed accounts of individual therapeutic cases that are analyzed in depth during supervision. A case study in psychodynamic supervision typically includes a narrative of the client’s presenting issues, history, and the progression of therapy, alongside the therapist’s subjective experience and interventions. The supervisor helps the therapist explore various aspects of the case, including:
- Understanding the Client’s Psyche: Psychodynamic case studies aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of the client’s internal world. Supervision encourages an exploration of early childhood experiences, unconscious conflicts, attachment patterns, and repressed emotions. This allows the therapist to work more effectively with the client’s resistance, defense mechanisms, and underlying motivations. -
-Therapist-Client Relationship: The case study includes an exploration of the therapeutic relationship itself—how it evolves, what transference and countertransference dynamics are emerging, and how these can inform therapeutic interventions. Reflecting on these relational dynamics is essential in psychodynamic supervision, as the relationship between therapist and client is often a microcosm of the client’s broader relational patterns. -
-Complex Clinical Issues: Complex cases, such as those involving personality disorders, severe trauma, or dissociative disorders, are often explored in detail in case studies. Supervisors may help the therapist navigate these challenges, offering insights into deeper psychological patterns and guiding interventions that promote healing and growth.
Benefits of Psychodynamic Clinical Supervision
- Personal and Professional Growth: Psychodynamic supervision fosters both personal and professional development. By reflecting on their emotional responses, unconscious processes, and interpersonal dynamics, therapists develop greater self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and insight into their own motivations. This supports their overall growth as clinicians and as individuals. -
-Effective Treatment of Clients: The ultimate goal of psychodynamic supervision is to improve the therapeutic process for clients. Through in-depth case consultation and reflective practice, therapists are equipped with the skills to better understand and work with clients’ unconscious dynamics, leading to more effective therapeutic outcomes.
- Ethical and Reflective Practice: Supervision ensures that therapists engage in ethical, reflective practice, which reduces the risk of harmful or unethical behavior. It also helps clinicians manage emotional challenges that may arise in their work with clients, such as burnout, compassion fatigue, or over-identification with clients.
- Support and Validation: Supervisors offer emotional support and validation to therapists who may struggle with difficult or emotionally challenging cases. Knowing that there is a space to share and reflect on their experiences helps reduce isolation and promotes resilience in the clinician.
The Supervision Process
The process of psychodynamic supervision is usually structured around regular, ongoing sessions (e.g., weekly or bi-weekly), which may include:
1. Presenting a Case: The supervisee shares one or more cases, including relevant background information, therapeutic interventions, and any challenges or dilemmas they have encountered.
2. Supervisor’s Feedback: The supervisor provides feedback based on psychodynamic principles. This may include reflections on unconscious dynamics, transference and countertransference, the therapist's role in the therapeutic relationship, and suggestions for interventions.
3. Reflective Dialogue: A significant part of the process involves reflective dialogue, where the supervisor and supervisee engage in a mutual exploration of the therapist’s feelings, thoughts, and actions in the clinical setting. The supervisor may invite the therapist to reflect on their emotional responses and interpretations of client behavior.
4. Actionable Insights: Supervisors provide actionable insights to the supervisee, helping them consider new ways to approach clinical challenges, improve their techniques, and deepen their understanding of the therapeutic process.
5. Ongoing Evaluation: As therapy progresses, the supervisor continually evaluates the therapist's growth, providing ongoing feedback and refining the therapeutic approach based on evolving needs.
If this resonates with you and you would like to explore booking in some psychodynamic supervision please complete the contact form on this website or email Shanti on shantim@solanapsychology.com.
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- Emotional Freedom Technique: Therapeutic Tool for mental and emotional healing: 2 hours
- Understanding body disease and psychosomatic association: 2 hours
- Trauma Healing & Therapeutic Intervention - Understanding defense mechanisms: 2 hours
- Understanding and working with de-addiction: smoking and alcohol: 2 hours
- Exploring core beliefs and core emotions: 2 hours
- Working with childhood trauma in adults: 2 hours
- Working with trauma in young children and teens: 2 hours
- Introduction to Neuro Linguistic Programming: 2 hours
- Introduction to Clinical Hypnosis: 2 hours
- Understanding Inner child and trauma recovery: 3 hours
- Understanding Weight Management and therapeutic techniques: 3 hours
- Understanding basics of handwriting analysis: 3 hours
- Working with Couples: Understanding Personalities and Differences: 2 hours
- Working with Couples: Counselling and Therapy: 3 hours
- Interpersonal Communication and Personality types: 3 hours
- Understanding Free floating vs static anxiety and therapeutic implications: 2 hours
- Case Consultation: 2 hours
- Initial Assessment and Identification of therapeutic Alliance between clinician and client: 2 hours
- Clinician Guide to tools for Counselling and Intervention: 3 hours
- Clinician Guide to tools for Homework and Growth Work: 3 hours
Key Components of Psychodynamic Clinical Supervision
1. Reflective Practice
Reflective practice is at the heart of psychodynamic clinical supervision. It encourages supervisees to engage in thoughtful reflection about their work, their emotional responses to clients, and how unconscious processes, both within the therapist and the client, influence the therapeutic relationship.
- Self-awareness and Countertransference: Supervisors often help supervisees explore their emotional reactions to clients (countertransference). By reflecting on these reactions, therapists can better understand how their personal history, emotions, and unconscious biases might be impacting the therapy. This awareness is crucial for maintaining an objective, non-judgmental stance while also promoting therapeutic growth in the client. -
-Therapist’s Inner World: Reflective practice also includes examining the therapist’s own inner world. Psychodynamic supervision acknowledges that therapists' personal issues, unresolved conflicts, and unconscious desires can manifest in the therapeutic process. The supervisor provides a safe space for therapists to explore their emotional responses, personal challenges, and subjective experiences of their work, thus enhancing emotional resilience and personal growth.
2. Case Consultation
Case consultation is a fundamental aspect of psychodynamic clinical supervision. During case consultation, the supervisee presents specific clinical cases to the supervisor for discussion, feedback, and guidance. The process is not simply about getting technical advice; it focuses on understanding the underlying dynamics of the therapeutic relationship and the unconscious processes at play.
- Exploring the Unconscious Dynamics: Supervisors in psychodynamic supervision help supervisees look beyond presenting problems or behaviors to uncover deeper, unconscious factors that may be contributing to a client’s issues. This includes exploring defense mechanisms, transference (how the client’s unresolved issues are projected onto the therapist), and the role of the therapist in activating these dynamics. -
-Transference and Countertransference: The supervisor helps the supervisee explore how transference (the client projecting past relationships onto the therapist) and countertransference (the therapist's emotional responses to the client) are playing out in the clinical work. A careful, reflective analysis of these dynamics can guide therapeutic interventions and help prevent potential blind spots in the therapist's approach.
- Therapeutic Interventions: Case consultation also involves discussing specific therapeutic interventions—what worked, what didn’t, and why. Through these discussions, supervisors guide supervisees toward more effective, insightful interventions while helping them understand the long-term psychological processes that influence their clients.
3. Case Studies
Case studies are detailed accounts of individual therapeutic cases that are analyzed in depth during supervision. A case study in psychodynamic supervision typically includes a narrative of the client’s presenting issues, history, and the progression of therapy, alongside the therapist’s subjective experience and interventions. The supervisor helps the therapist explore various aspects of the case, including:
- Understanding the Client’s Psyche: Psychodynamic case studies aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of the client’s internal world. Supervision encourages an exploration of early childhood experiences, unconscious conflicts, attachment patterns, and repressed emotions. This allows the therapist to work more effectively with the client’s resistance, defense mechanisms, and underlying motivations. -
-Therapist-Client Relationship: The case study includes an exploration of the therapeutic relationship itself—how it evolves, what transference and countertransference dynamics are emerging, and how these can inform therapeutic interventions. Reflecting on these relational dynamics is essential in psychodynamic supervision, as the relationship between therapist and client is often a microcosm of the client’s broader relational patterns. -
-Complex Clinical Issues: Complex cases, such as those involving personality disorders, severe trauma, or dissociative disorders, are often explored in detail in case studies. Supervisors may help the therapist navigate these challenges, offering insights into deeper psychological patterns and guiding interventions that promote healing and growth.
Benefits of Psychodynamic Clinical Supervision
- Personal and Professional Growth: Psychodynamic supervision fosters both personal and professional development. By reflecting on their emotional responses, unconscious processes, and interpersonal dynamics, therapists develop greater self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and insight into their own motivations. This supports their overall growth as clinicians and as individuals. -
-Effective Treatment of Clients: The ultimate goal of psychodynamic supervision is to improve the therapeutic process for clients. Through in-depth case consultation and reflective practice, therapists are equipped with the skills to better understand and work with clients’ unconscious dynamics, leading to more effective therapeutic outcomes.
- Ethical and Reflective Practice: Supervision ensures that therapists engage in ethical, reflective practice, which reduces the risk of harmful or unethical behavior. It also helps clinicians manage emotional challenges that may arise in their work with clients, such as burnout, compassion fatigue, or over-identification with clients.
- Support and Validation: Supervisors offer emotional support and validation to therapists who may struggle with difficult or emotionally challenging cases. Knowing that there is a space to share and reflect on their experiences helps reduce isolation and promotes resilience in the clinician.
The Supervision Process
The process of psychodynamic supervision is usually structured around regular, ongoing sessions (e.g., weekly or bi-weekly), which may include:
1. Presenting a Case: The supervisee shares one or more cases, including relevant background information, therapeutic interventions, and any challenges or dilemmas they have encountered.
2. Supervisor’s Feedback: The supervisor provides feedback based on psychodynamic principles. This may include reflections on unconscious dynamics, transference and countertransference, the therapist's role in the therapeutic relationship, and suggestions for interventions.
3. Reflective Dialogue: A significant part of the process involves reflective dialogue, where the supervisor and supervisee engage in a mutual exploration of the therapist’s feelings, thoughts, and actions in the clinical setting. The supervisor may invite the therapist to reflect on their emotional responses and interpretations of client behavior.
4. Actionable Insights: Supervisors provide actionable insights to the supervisee, helping them consider new ways to approach clinical challenges, improve their techniques, and deepen their understanding of the therapeutic process.
5. Ongoing Evaluation: As therapy progresses, the supervisor continually evaluates the therapist's growth, providing ongoing feedback and refining the therapeutic approach based on evolving needs.
If this resonates with you and you would like to explore booking in some psychodynamic supervision please complete the contact form on this website or email Shanti on shantim@solanapsychology.com.
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Supervision with Sherebanu Katawala
The Workshops, listed at the bottom of the page, can be logged as professional development hours by all participants including registered psychologists, provisional psychologists, counsellors and nurses. All sessions can be attended as individual topics or the full series. All workshops can be modified to suit individual supervision.
These workshops will be delivered by Sherebanu Katawala.
About Sherebanu Katawala
Registered Psychologist, MA clinical psychology, Supervisor
Sherebanu completed a Bachelor of Arts in Clinical Psychology, and a Graduate Certificate in Clinical Hypnosis in 2013 and went on to work as a full-time therapist, teacher and supervisor in the UAE until she relocated to Australia in 2020. She soon completed her requirements as an overseas psychologist and is currently a fully registered psychologist and soon to be board approved supervisor.
Sherebanu has worked across a variety of settings including private settings, forensic settings, parenting support, health settings with children and youth, trauma and relationships.
Working across the lifespan, Sherebanu has an interest in EMDR, Psychodynamic therapies, ACT, Clinical Hypnosis, attachment-based family therapy, and Psychosomatic intervention therapies. She enjoys parent and family work and is particularly passionate about supporting mental health support and care workers, students of the mind and provisional psychologists. As a result of some of her personal life-changing experiences, with teachers and supervisors, she has now dedicated the majority of her time to teaching and supervision.
Sherebanu is a certified and trained teacher of the Clinical Hypnotherapy integrated model, a workshop teacher of the popular Heal Your Life models by Louise Hay and an ex-lecturer at the Middlesex University (UAE). She has mentored hypnotherapy students, psychologists and counsellors through the various intervention workshops, group and one-to-one supervision and case reports.
One piece of advice she has for provisional psychologists is to enjoy the learning experience, keep their own mental health as a priority at all times, reflect and accept when the plan needs to be modified and stay true to their intent.
Workshops
Psychosomatic Healing
- Understanding the working of the subconscious mind & Learning Self Hypnosis: 3 hours- Emotional Freedom Technique: Therapeutic Tool for mental and emotional healing: 2 hours
- Understanding body disease and psychosomatic association: 2 hours
- Trauma Healing & Therapeutic Intervention - Understanding defense mechanisms: 2 hours
- Understanding and working with de-addiction: smoking and alcohol: 2 hours
- Exploring core beliefs and core emotions: 2 hours
- Working with childhood trauma in adults: 2 hours
- Working with trauma in young children and teens: 2 hours
- Introduction to Neuro Linguistic Programming: 2 hours
- Introduction to Clinical Hypnosis: 2 hours
- Understanding Inner child and trauma recovery: 3 hours
- Understanding Weight Management and therapeutic techniques: 3 hours
- Understanding basics of handwriting analysis: 3 hours
Relationship Healing
- Working with eating disorders in teens: 2 hours- Working with Couples: Understanding Personalities and Differences: 2 hours
- Working with Couples: Counselling and Therapy: 3 hours
- Interpersonal Communication and Personality types: 3 hours
Anxieties and Fear Healing
- Understanding fears and phobias and therapeutic differences: 2 hours- Understanding Free floating vs static anxiety and therapeutic implications: 2 hours
Self-Care and Clinician Support
- Provisional Psych Self-care to avoid burnout and experience a successful journey: 2 hours- Case Consultation: 2 hours
- Initial Assessment and Identification of therapeutic Alliance between clinician and client: 2 hours
- Clinician Guide to tools for Counselling and Intervention: 3 hours
- Clinician Guide to tools for Homework and Growth Work: 3 hours
Interested in attending a workshop?
Please get in contact with us via the client contact form and specify that you are seeking supervision or professional development. Please also let us know which topics or competencies you are seeking supervision for.