ABSTRACT
In supervision, play therapists may use drawings and imagery (Fish, 2016; Stauffer, 2019), modeling clay sculpture (Malchiodi, 2012), and movement (Devereux, 2015) techniques to enhance the therapist–child relationship and to increase their understanding of and availability to the child. The authors utilize a systemic theory base and relational cultural theory to highlight several therapeutic powers of play (Schaefer & Drewes, 2014) to support supervisors’ interventions and help supervisees overcome trauma stuckness and gain insight into difficult cases. To do so, the supervisor must impart knowledge or skills through strategies of instruction, modeling, and guided practice while reinforcing supervisee strengths (Fraser, 2014).
The authors provide practical prompts for readers to apply drawing, imagery, and movement practices to their supervisory casework so they can, in turn, support supervisees through the inevitable stuckness that occurs when trauma treatment becomes difficult to hold as a clinician. The authors provide case examples to illustrate the concepts elaborated and literature cited. Supervisors will help supervisees identify their resonances to gain awareness and insight of relationship dynamics that could help them move through this stuckness with their clients.
