ABSTRACT
One of the key elements of professional development in most clinical and medical fields is the supervision of clinicians in training by experienced practitioners. Supervision in the field of marriage and family therapy greatly depends on direct observation of clinical interaction either through live or videotape supervision. In live supervision, the supervisor observes the trainee during an actual client session through a one-way mirror or video monitor and can call in suggestions by means of an intercom telephone. In videotape supervision, trainees present videotaped excerpts of a recent clinical session. Then, supervisor and trainee can discuss what is happening with each case to reach a better understanding of the family and possible therapeutic strategies. In this way, videotape supervision can allow the supervisor to focus on the trainee’s learning needs to a greater extent than is to be expected under the time pressure of live supervision. The focus of this chapter is on one way masterful supervisors make suggestions to trainees during videotape supervision.
