Customer Reviews

The Supervisory Relationship: A Contemporary Psychodynamic Approach

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Drs Sarnat and Frawley-O'Dea have made an original contribution to the literature of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. Their discussion of the contemporary supervisory relationship is rich and alive, reaching back and forth between the dyads of supervisor/supervisee, supervisee/patient and supervisee/analyst, and seeing parallels and counterpoints in all of these. I found it particularly useful to hear how these experienced therapists lay out the supervision they endorse, how direct they are about their expectations, and how this creates an atmosphere in which growth can occur for the trainee along many dimensions. The interplay of two different treating and teaching personalities is also engaging and enlightening. The clinical material is pertinent, alive and well explicated. Among the subsidiary pleasures and benefits of this well constructed book are a review of early psychoanalytic thought about supervision which allows a review of early psychoanalytic thought itself, and a lucid discussion of contemporary relational psychotherapy. Dr Sarnat brings her remarkable synthetic powers to a unification and differentiation of many schools of thought.Both authors are disclosing in an extremely helpful way about their own training experiences and thus model an aspect of their own development in print much as I am sure they do in the consulting room. This is an outstanding book.

This is a very practical book. It both provides an overview and deepened understanding of some very effective ways to practice the craft of supervising psychodynamic clinical work. I enjoyed the approachable language, careful editing and organization of ideas.