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19 FEBRUARY 2010

NO 1544

Supervision

To be an alive experience consistent with the philosophy and value of psychotherapy, meetings between the "supervisor" and the student must contain the dimensions of a truly human relationship. This means the supervisor maintains a belief in the student's potential for growth as a therapist with children, respect for the student's perceptions of the nature and meaning of his experiences, and acceptance of his particular way of approaching the child and relating to him.

In a philosophy of self-growth, the student is not trained. He is offered or presented possibilities for growth, i.e., resources for self-development in a particular area of professional endeavor. The student is not supervised. He meets with another person whose background of therapeutic experience may serve as a source of information and knowledge. The only real growth is the student's self-growth as a person and as a professional worker. This the student must do himself. The supervisor participates in the process as a way of presenting a philosophical basis for therapy -not to influence or mold the student, not to direct his behavior or convince him of its validity, but only to point to one basis for understanding the therapeutic process in psychotherapy with children. The manner in which the supervisor presents his philosophy to a significant degree determines whether the student is free to examine his own thinking and experience and to develop a meaningful set of concepts and principles which for him form a responsible basis for child therapy. If the student is interested, he should be encouraged to explore different theories and to examine his own experience as a basis for therapeutic work. It is of utmost significance that the student recognize and be aware of the process of therapy in which he is participating.

Orienting the student to a philosophy of therapy as a way of initiating his self-education is generally a first step in "training" the student for professional responsibility as a child therapist. The philosophy should include principles and concepts of health, growth, and creativity as well as concepts of pathology and psychosocial illness. The student should be given ample opportunity to raise questions, discuss ideas, and examine various theories presented in the literature. When the student fully understands a theory of child therapy, the next step is to provide him with opportunities for observing normal, disturbed, and creative children of different ages and from varied environmental situations. Time should be available to discuss the observations immediately after a therapeutic session is completed. This enables the student spontaneously and openly to discuss his reactions, questions, and interpretations when they are still fresh and alive in his mind.

Another source of experience is the tape recordings of sessions he is observing, as well as recordings of previously completed cases. These may be presented to the student as a way of studying the therapeutic process and seeing the nature and problems of initial, middle, and terminal interviews. The recordings should also be made available to students who wish to listen to them and study them privately: The list of references in child therapy is another possible resource. Although the student may wish to discuss his reading experiences with the supervisor, he should be free to decide what he wishes to read, what is relevant to his own interest and purpose.

CLARK E. MOUSTAKAS

Moustakas, C.E. (1959). Psychotherapy with children: The living relationship. New York. Ballantine Books. pp. 346-347.

The International Child and Youth Care Network
THE INTERNATIONAL CHILD AND YOUTH CARE NETWORK (CYC-Net)

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