ABSTRACT
This chapter defines some of the key functions of supervision in psychotherapy before exploring particular experiences of supervision and counselling. Most definitions of supervision focus on the idea of a professional relationship that aims to help the therapist and the client to achieve better client outcomes. Edwards suggests that: the word supervision is generally used to describe the process by which a therapist or trainee receives support and guidance in order to ensure that the needs of the client are understood and responded to appropriately. One of the main tasks for therapists, for instance, is to build a therapeutic or working alliance with their patients, to enable them to be active participants in therapy, to gain understanding of themselves, their situation and of how, and why, to change. Supervision is becoming more rather than less important in the overstretched, increasingly frenetic atmosphere of healthcare provision that affects psychotherapy and counselling provision too.
