ABSTRACT
As relational, systemic therapists, we know that context influences people’s actions, thoughts, emotions, and interactions. We are not islands, but selves in context. Each member of the training system perceives, thinks, feels, and acts differently with regard to all others depending on the professional context as well as a myriad of other factors. The personal and professional backgrounds of therapists and supervisors, aspects of the training setting, and general factors of culture all combine in the mix of the therapy and training context. Context also includes the explicit and implicit purposes for which an interaction is taking place; for example, case conceptualization, and live or video observation may focus on client data or self-of-thetherapist issues, group interaction, and so forth.
