Supervision and privacy in psychotherapy training

Abstract

Supervision is an essential element of training in psychotherapy, and the issue of privacy in relation to the supervisory process is an important one. The authors examine the attitude toward privacy implicit in each of the two major models of supervision, the so-called didactic and countertransference models. They consider the ways in which supervision, particularly the countertransference model, and the use of audiovisual devices intrude on the privacy of the therapist and the therapy. Finally, they consider how the institutional and professional structures within which supervision takes place deal with the issue of privacy.