ABSTRACT
This case study provides an example of how to work with some important existential themes – authenticity, meaning, and emotion. It presents a case in which a successful female business client was finding it hard to remain authentic in her professional role. The supervisor works with the supervisee to identify key existential dilemmas in the client’s narrative.
In this brief look at part of the supervision, the supervisor enables the supervisee to focus on the issue of authenticity which is present throughout the client-supervisee dialogue. It becomes clear that the problem with remaining authentic in her current situation is linked to a difference in the meaning she places on the work and the meaning the employers bring to it.
This clash of meaning lies at the heart of her current dilemma and identifying it unlocks possible ways forward.
The example also briefly looks at the issues involved when the gender of the client is perceived to be an important element of the narrative. In this case the supervisee is male and the client female.
