Addressing the Person of the Therapist in Supervision: The Therapist's Inner Conversation Method

• Date: 01 June 2017
• Author: Peter Rober
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12220
• Published date: 01 June 2017

Addressing the Person of the Therapist in

Supervision: The Therapist’s Inner Conversation

Method

PETER ROBER*

,†

To read this article in Spanish, please see the article’s Supporting Information on Wiley Online Library

(wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/famp).

In this study a method of retrospective case supervision is presented aimed at helping the

supervisee to become a better self-supervisor. The method pays special attention to the ther-

apist’s self-reflection and has the therapist’s inner conversation as a cent ral concept. The

starting point of the method is an assignment in which the supervisee reflects on a case

using a tape-assisted recall procedure. The method helps trainees to develop experiential

expertise to become more flexible and effective therapists. A case example of one training

group of novice family therapists illustrates the use of the method.

Keywords: Supervision; Person of the Therapist; Training

Fam Proc 56:487–500, 2017

In this study I will present a method of retrospective case supervision aimed at helping

the supervisee to become a better self-supervisor. This method is based on an assign-

ment in which the supervisee reflects on a case following a certain protocol based on

a tape-assisted recall procedure. This assignment is the starting point of a group supervi-

sion.

I will address the way we use this supervision method in our training groups of novice

family therapists, in the context of a 4-year academic postgraduate family therapy train-

ing for psychologists and psychiatrists. The method is not grounded in a particular model

of therapy as it is mainly focused on common therapy factors (Sprenkle, Davis, & Lebow,

2009), in particular on the therapeutic alliance, and on an important aspect of the alli-

ance, the person of the therapist. Research shows that the person of the therapist is a

major contributing factor to therapy outcome (Lambert & Ogles, 2004; Wampold & Imel,

2015). It is a consistent finding that some therapists are more effective than other thera-

pists, irrespective of the model they practice (e.g., Blatt, Sanislow, Zuroff, & Pilkonis,

1996; Elkin, Falconnier, Martinovich, & Mahoney, 2006). It seems that therapists are

most effective when they are sensitive to the specific needs of their clients (Beutler et al.,

2004). They should be able to attune their interventions to the unique client (Duncan &

Miller, 2000). Sensitivity and flexibility seem to be essential qualities of an effective ther-

apist.

In comparison to individual therapy, this may be even more important in family ther-

apy, as the alliance in family therapy is typically complex (e.g., Friedlander, Escudero,

*Context, UPC K.U. Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.

†

Department of Neurosciences, Institute for Family and Sexuality Studies, University of Leuven, Leuven,

Belgium.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Peter Rober, Department of Neuro-

sciences, Institute for Family and Sexuality Studies, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. E-mail:

peter.rober@med.kuleuven.be.

487

Family Process, Vol. 56, No. 2, 2017 ©2016 Family Process Institute

doi: 10.1111/famp.12220