ABSTRACT
Supervision and consultation continue to be an integral part of mental health professionals’ education and support systems. Internal Family Systems is a meta-model of psychotherapy growing in popularity in the United States and internationally. This chapter demonstrates the structure and flow of the process of supervision and consultation informed by IFS detailed by PhD research. It offers novice and experienced IFS supervisors and consultants a reflective mirror to wonder with, while simultaneously offering a framework for how IFS can support a supervisory/consultation process for experienced supervisors and consultants without IFS experience. Crucial elements of IFS-informed supervision include the development of Self-leadership, the collaborative nature of the relationship, ongoing in-session contracting and recontracting, unblending, the facilitative use of language, and the overt role of the supervisor modelling and supporting a collaborative process. The process of supervision and consultation informed by IFS described in this chapter will be of interest to all supervisors wishing to reflect on their own processes, regardless of their theoretical orientation.
