Dialectical Tensions Supervisor Attitudes and Contextual Influences in Psychotherapy Supervision

Psychotherapy supervision is a complex process; supervisors must concurrently balance multiple roles, such as teacher, counselor and consultant. The current paper proposes four “dialectical tensions” inherent in supervision which, if attended to, can guide supervisor behavior during the supervision session. Specifically, supervision requires balancing the following polarities: (1) promote change/provide support, (2) provide feedback/maintain relationship, (3) supervisee-directed/supervisor-directed, and (4) client focus/supervisee development focus. We discuss these dialectical tensions in a contextual framework, and we propose that supervisor awareness, intention and willingness are necessary to incorporate contextual factors and balance the dialectical tensions during supervisory interactions. We present two examples of supervisory interactions and describe how attention to the dialectical tensions can guide supervisory decisions.