Your approach to supervision should resonate with who you are as a person at your core. Similarly, when working with clients, the relationship with your supervisee is key to unlocking a powerful experience for both of you, and you cannot do that unless you are authentically you in supervision.
My philosophy of supervision first and foremost starts with The-Person-of-the-Therapist model developed by Harry Aponte. The heart of this model is being able to understand myself as a person, as a therapist, and to have the ability to effectively use who I am in supervision. One way I often do this is through vulnerability. I know that I am a vulnerable person; I wear my emotions on my sleeve and I can cry at the drop of a hat. Rather than hiding my vulnerability, I lean into it in sessions and within supervision. I use my ability to be vulnerable by modeling it for sueprvisees, and by teaching them how to be vulnerable in a regulated way, that allows them to in turn do this for their clients.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not sobbing all over the place in supervision or i in sessions, but I don’t shy away from those powerful moments. It takes active work to not skip over them.
So, the next time you are feeling that a moment has the potential to be powerful and memorable in supervision, lean into it, pause, and reflect on what is happening in the room. I promise you that you won’t regret it!
