Parallel Process In Supervision Research Articles

A Psychoanalytic Study on Parallel Process in Supervision: Focusing on Intersubjectivity

A Psychoanalytic Study on Parallel Process in Supervision: Focusing on Intersubjectivity

An Investigation of Supervisory Practices to Develop Relational and Reflective Competence in Psychologists

BackgroundCompetency‐based models of supervision acknowledge relationship, including reflective capacity, as foundational in professional psychology. However, current understandings of supervisory practices aimed at developing this competency are limited.ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore the practices used in supervision for the development of supervisee relational competence. These practices were also examined with reference to supervisor/supervisee theoretical orientation, as well as the nature of the supervisory relationship (including working alliance, real relationship, and attention to parallel process in supervision).MethodA total of 45 supervisees and 41 supervisors participated in an online survey in which they rated the perceived usefulness and actual use of various supervisory interventions for the development of relational competence. Participants also provided qualitative responses regarding the methods used to develop relationship competence. Finally, respondents completed measures of supervisory working alliance, real relationship, and attention to parallel process in supervision.ResultsRatings of supervisory methods and qualitative responses revealed a rich variety of interventions currently being utilised in enhancing supervisee relationship competence. Ratings of perceived usefulness and actual use of various supervisory interventions were not related to theoretical orientation. Finally, correlational analyses revealed multiple associations between the nature of the supervisory relationship and perceived usefulness and actual use of supervisory interventions for enhancing relational competence.ConclusionThe results of this study have important implications for the practice of supervision and guiding directions of future research.

Using Motivational Interviewing Techniques to Address Parallel Process in Supervision

Supervision offers a distinct opportunity to experience the interconnection of counselor–client and counselor–supervisor interactions. One product of this network of interactions is parallel process, a phenomenon by which counselors unconsciously identify with their clients and subsequently present to their supervisors in a similar fashion (Searles, 1955). Addressing parallel process has the potential to be valuable in the advancement of counselor development, but few strategies exist in the literature for working with the phenomenon. The authors describe the use of motivational interviewing as one method for effectively addressing parallel process in supervision.

Are there parallel processes in psychotherapy supervision? An empirical examination.

Parallel processes in supervision occur when (1) the therapist brings the interaction pattern that occurs between the therapist and client into supervision and enacts the same pattern but with the therapist trainee in the client's role, or (2) the trainee takes the interaction pattern in supervision back into the therapy session as the therapist, now enacting the supervisor's role. We examined these processes in the interactions of 17 therapy/supervision triads (i.e., supervisor, therapist/trainee, and client). Each session was rated for dominance and affiliation, and the similarity of these dimensions across equal status pairs (supervisor-therapist and trainee-client) was examined. It was hypothesized that if parallel process existed, there would be more similarity in dominance and affiliation between equal status pairs in contiguous sessions than would be true relative to general responses; the dominance and affiliation would be more closely matched than would be expected given general response tendencies. This was examined separately for each supervision triad using single-case randomization tests. Significant results were obtained for each dyad indicating the presence of parallel processes in each supervision triad. Additionally, the relation between parallel processes over the course of treatment and client outcome was examined using hierarchical Bayesian modeling. Results indicate that a positive client outcome was associated with increasing similarity of therapist behavior to the supervisor over time on both affiliation and dominance (increasing parallel process) and an inverted U pattern of high-low-high similarity of client behavior to trainee behavior over time. This study provides support for the existence of bidirectional parallel processes at the level of interpersonal interaction. Implications for therapist training and supervision are discussed.

Parallel Process and Projective Identification in Psychoanalytic Supervision

In the present paper I explore the notion of the parallel process, a controversial concept in psychoanalytic supervision. I suggest that the parallel process is essentially the operation of the defensive process of projective identification, which in some quarters is similarly viewed with skepticism and/or is mistakenly seen as primarily a malignant defense operating exclusively in severe character pathology (Kernberg, 1975; Mendelsohn, 2009). Further, I present several vignettes of psychoanalytic supervision where a series of parallel processes occurred, and I suggest that these parallel enactments are the result of the projective identifications which stimulated them. I agree with critical writers who say that simply suggesting the presence of a parallel process in the supervision adds no new information to the supervision, but I show how an exploration of the parallel enactments, which includes (1) exploring the patient-therapist dyadic dynamics, (2) a narrowly focused exploration of the dynamics of the therapist/presenter, and (3) and an exploration of the dynamics of the therapist-supervisor dyad, can enrich the treatment, as well as the supervision. Finally I suggest that while the projective identification that occurs in the supervisory dyad does not always lead to a parallel process, every parallel process is the result of projective identification(s). I further suggest that while every parallel process does not lead to an enactment via projective identification, enactments can only occur via the parallel process instigated by projective identification.

A model for dealing with parallel processes in supervision

A model for dealing with parallel processes in supervision Supervision in social work is essential for successful outcomes when working with clients. In social work, unconscious difficulties may arise and similar difficulties may occur in supervision as parallel processes. In this article, the development of a practice-based model of supervision to deal with parallel processes in supervision is described. The model has six phases. In the first phase, the focus is on the supervisor’s inner world, his/her own reflections and observations. In the second phase, the supervision situation is “frozen”, and the supervisees are invited to join the supervisor in taking a meta-perspective on the current situation of supervision. The focus in the third phase is on the inner world of all the group members as well as the visualization and identification of reflections and feelings that arose during the supervision process. Phase four focuses on the supervisee who presented a case, and in phase five the focus shifts to the common understanding and theorization of the supervision process as well as the definition and identification of possible parallel processes. In the final phase, the supervisee, with the assistance of the supervisor and other members of the group, develops a solution and determines how to proceed with the client in treatment. This article uses phenomenological concepts to provide a theoretical framework for the supervision model. Phenomenological reduction is an important approach to examine and to externalize and visualize the inner words of the supervisor and supervisees. Een model voor het hanteren van parallelle processen tijdens supervisie Om succesvol te zijn in de hulpverlening aan cliënten, is supervisie cruciaal in het sociaal werk. Tijdens de hulpverlening kunnen impliciete moeilijkheden de kop opsteken en soortgelijke moeilijkheden duiken soms ook op tijdens supervisie. Dit worden parallelle processen genoemd. Dit artikel beschrijft een op praktijkervaringen gebaseerd model om dergelijke parallelle processen expliciet en hanteerbaar te maken gedurende supervisie. Het model bestaat uit zes fasen. In de eerste fase ligt de nadruk op introspectie van de supervisor: zijn of haar persoonlijke reflecties en observaties krijgen aandacht. In de tweede fase wordt de supervisie “stil gezet” en kijken supervisanten en supervisor vanuit een metaperspectief naar de situatie. De innerlijke wereld van de participanten aan de supervisie staat centraal in de derde fase, waarin reflecties en gevoelens van eenieder worden geïdentificeerd en gevisualiseerd. De supervisant die de casus inbrengt staat centraal in fase vier en in fase vijf wordt getracht tot een gezamenlijk begrip en theoretische interpretatie van het supervisieproces en de daarin besloten parallelle processen te komen. In de zesde en laatste fase probeert de supervisant, samen met de supervisor en de overige deelnemers, tot een oplossing voor de casus te komen. Een fenomenologisch perspectief wordt gebruikt om dit model van een theoretisch raamwerk te voorzien. Fenomenologische reductie is een belangrijke benadering voor onderzoek en voor introspectie van supervisor en supervisanten.

Contemporary Trends in Supervision Theory: A Shift from Parallel Process to Relational and Trauma Theory

This paper describes how relational theories of supervision and one aspect of contemporary trauma theory coalesce to offer a conceptual shift in supervision theory and practices. The paper gives a brief overview of the concept of parallel process in supervision. Following this, the paper summarizes current literature that questions the universal nature of parallel processes in supervision. Next, the characteristics of supervision, when framed in relational theories, are offered. Last, the paper describes how the understanding of trauma theory’s triadic self of victim-victimizer-bystander is a useful construct in understanding impasses in supervisory relationships. Supervisory vignettes are utilized to illustrate the theoretical constructs.

Haunted Bodies: Commentary on Melanie Suchet's “Whose Mind Is It Anyway?”

This essay explores the enigmas of unconscious communication both in treatments and in parallel process in supervision. It extends the concept of intersubjectivity to overlapping dyads and systems. As supervisor in the case in question and as a commentator on Melanie Suchet's moving case report, I speak as observer and as participant. I consider the case material and the supervisory experience as a form of unconscious communication and of unconscious listening, and as an inevitable enactment. I argue that multiple unconscious spaces are activated in the analyst, the supervisor, and the analysand.

The triadic intersubjective matrix in supervision: The use of disclosure to work through painful affects

The use of the psychoanalyst's subjective reactions as a tool to better understand his/her patient has been a central feature of clinical thinking in recent decades. While there has been much discussion and debate about the analyst's use of countertransference in individual psychoanalysis, including possible disclosure of his/her feelings to the patient, the literature on supervision has been slower to consider such matters. The attention to parallel processes in supervision has been helpful in appreciating the impact of affects arising in either the analyst/patient or the supervisor/analyst dyads upon the analytic treatment and its supervision. This contribution addresses the ways in which overlapping aspects of the personalities of the supervisor, analyst and patient may intersect and create resistances in the treatment. That three‐way intersection, described here as the triadic intersubjective matrix, is considered inevitable in all supervised treatments. A clinical example from the termination phase of a supervised analysis of an adolescent is offered to illustrate these points. Finally, the question of self‐disclosure as an aspect of the supervisory alliance is also discussed.

Parallel process in supervision

This paper addresses the concept of parallel process and its application in clinical supervision. Parallels between therapy and supervision are examined as well as some of the key issues surrounding the use of parallel process as a supervisory intervention. Although there is a need for more investigation to explain and support this concept further, the authors would argue that parallel process interventions in supervision can enhance the supervisory process and the task of teaching and learning for both the supervisee and supervisor. A case example is provided to demonstrate the parallel process in supervision and its potential as a facilitative intervention.

Parallel process in supervision

This paper addresses the concept of parallel process and its application in clinical supervision. Parallels between therapy and supervision are examined as well as some of the key issues surrounding the use of parallel process as a supervisory intervention. Although there is a need for more investigation to explain and support this concept further, the authors would argue that parallel process interventions in supervision can enhance the supervisory process and the task of teaching and learning for both the supervisee and supervisor. A case example is provided to demonstrate the parallel process in supervision and its potential as a facilitative intervention.

Teaching Termination to Trainees Through Parallel Processes in Supervision

The termination of relationships is a complex process for clients, interns and supervisors. Negotiating this process can be facilitated by utilizing the concepts of parallel processes in supervision. Bases on the notions of parallel process this paper provides a framework for assisting supervisors in training interns to effectively terminate thier relationships with clients, supervisors and field placements . The significant role of schools of social work and field liaisons in facilitation supervisors to adequately manage these complex terminating processes with trainees are discussed.

The use of parallel process in supervision and group counseling to facilitate counselor and client growth

Abstract This article presents a model for supervision of group counselors focusing on the parallel process between the supervisory and counseling relationships

The parallel process in psychotherapy supervision.

An introduction to parallel process interventions is provided by a comprehensive review of the theoretical constructs and empirical studies regarding the use of the parallel process in supervision. Although more direct investigations of the parallel process are needed, we conclude that parallel process interventions within the supervisory relationship can be extremely potent and impactful. Recommendations for the facilitative application of the parallel process in the supervision and training of professional psychologists, as well as case examples, are provided.