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There is an old quip about learning surgical procedures in medical residency: “See one, do one, teach one.” Unfortunately, the teaching and learning of psychodynamic psychotherapy has been handled in much this fashion. The traditional attitude has been that the personal therapy, training, and supervision undertaken to become a therapist adequately prepares one to supervise others. With notable exceptions, such as Ekstein and Wallerstein's (1972) classic, The Teaching and Learning of Psychotherapy, a comprehensive study of the theory and technique of supervision has been a relatively neglected area.
Fortunately, supervision is finally getting increased attention. Frawley-O'Dea and Sarnat make a major contribution to this effort in their book, The Supervisory Relationship: A Contemporary Psychodynamic Approach, by developing and demonstrating a relational model of supervision. They trace the history of psychoanalytic supervision and identify three essential dimensions: the nature of the supervisor's authority, the data focused on, and the supervisor's participation. Using these constructs, they review what they consider to be the major models of supervision — from the patient-centered “classical” model to different therapist-centered models focusing on learning, empathy, or anxiety. Frawley-O'Dea and Sarnat go on to systematically develop a relational model of supervision and address important aspects of the relationship, such as the distribution of power and authority, regression, the teach/treat boundary, and parallel process. Along the way, they provide a great many supervisory vignettes that enliven the book and demonstrate their approach.
Influenced by postmodern, constructivist philosophy, the authors apply a relational psychoanalytic perspective to supervision, in which they advocate