ABSTRACT
This chapter is meant to be foundational to all that follows. It intends to result in a clear understanding of those things that characterize effective couple and family therapy (CFT) or relational supervision. It is based on the distinction between education and training ( Lee & Nichols, 2010 ; Nichols & Everett, 1986 ). Education in CFT is acquiring a knowledge base; training in CFT is acquiring skill in the application of this knowledge base to therapeutic situations. Couple and family therapy supervision is a training endeavor; it follows some amount of CFT education and is dependent on a working alliance between the trainee and the supervisor in pursuit of the trainee’s professional goals while education can occur without such an alliance.
