IJSP Number 5, 2023

29 with us in the same fashion that the supervisee’s client is with them. For example, if the client is lost and unable to find words, the supervisee may come to supervision saying, “I’m lost for words”. In the supervision we investigate the possibility of parallel process between the supervisee and us as a window to see the interpersonal dynamics between the client and supervisee. We may ask, “In what ways is your emotional response to me similar to your client’s emotional response to you?” Searching for alternatives in understanding what the client may need in their psychotherapy is an important part of supervision. We explore with the supervisee the qualities of their therapeutic relationship with special attention to how they are involved and present with their client. We may ask the supervisee to talk about what they appreciate about the client. Or we ask them to describe the crises that their client has lived and how the supervisee might have coped if they had faced a similar crisis. We invite the supervisee to discuss with us, “How are you going to strengthen the therapeutic relationship?”. We may also engage the supervisee in a role-play where they act the part of the client and we serve as psychotherapist; this is a useful method for increasing the supervisee’s capacity for empathy. The Third Level of the Supervision Pyramid orients the supervisee’s therapy with their client. Our focus is on finding ways that the supervisee can support their client’s new sense of self-regulation and enhancement as well as thinking about what the next level of therapy may be for this particular client. We may do this by helping the supervisee review what they have accomplished in the time they have worked with their client, celebrating their client’s accomplishments, and appreciating what issues have not received adequate attention. Because both supervision and psychotherapy are co-creative processes, we invite the supervisee to practice the skills of interpersonal involvement during our supervision sessions. Again, we may use some form of role-play where the supervisor plays the role of the psychotherapist while the supervisee plays the role of the client. Or we may reverse roles where the supervisor acts as client while the supervisee perfects their therapeutic skills. Or, if we are conducting a supervision group, we may have various members take turns acting the role of client, therapist, and observer-discussant. This role-play provides corrective modelling about how to engage in acknowledgment, validation, normalization, and presence — the important dimensions of therapeutic involvement [1]. In these role plays, supervisees often realize what it means to be vulnerable as well as how to care for the client. Acknowledgement: Each person, whether they be client, supervisee, or supervisor, requires acknowledgement for who they are and what they do. In the process of supervision, we inquire about what the supervisee has done in each session with their client, e.g., “What did you say then?” and “What did you do next?” or “What is an alternative way of inquiring?”. As we listen reflectively, we may respond with comments about what they have said that also connect us as supervisor and supervisee. Validation: Our supervisee requires our validation if they are to mature and flourish as psychotherapists. Validation is about finding something of importance in what the supervisee has done with their client. Supervisees rely on us to find merit