IJSP Number 8, 2026

International Journal of Supervision in Psychotherapy, Number 8, 2026 Page | 35 SUPERVISION AS A RELATIONAL PROCESS IN MINDFULNESS- AND COMPASSION-ORIENTED INTEGRATIVE PSYCHOTHERAPY (MCIP) Claudia-Gabriela DUMITRIU 1,2,3 1 Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Bucharest, Romania 2 ArtePsy – Association for Expressive-Creative Therapies and Clinical Psychology 3 Institute of Psychotherapy, Psychological Counselling and Clinical Supervision Email : gabrielacdumitriu@gmail.com Abstract: Mindfulness- and Compassion-Oriented Integrative Psychotherapy (MCIP) conceptualizes mindfulness and compassion as meta-processes of change unfolding within an attuned therapeutic relationship, supporting integration across cognitive, emotional, somatic, and interpersonal domains [1]. This theoretical paper extends the framework to clinical supervision, arguing that MCIP supervision is best understood as a relational process in which learning and professional development emerge from a mindful-compassionate field, not only from the transmission of techniques. Building on integrative supervision principles emphasizing the supervisory alliance, presence, and the supervisor’s role as a relational model [2], we propose that MCIP supervision cultivates therapist qualities that are clinically decisive yet difficult to teach through instruction alone, including embodied awareness, reflective capacity, emotional regulation, and self-compassion. Drawing on mindfulness-informed accounts of schema activation and transformation, we further propose that supervision can provide a context in which therapists recognize their own triggered maladaptive schemas and respond with compassion, reducing defensive reactivity and enabling more stable therapeutic presence [3]. Consistent with research linking stronger supervisory relationships to reduced burnout and improved coherence, this framework positions the supervisory bond as a key protective and meaning-making mechanism [4]. Ethical responsibility is addressed through compassionate accountability, maintaining evaluation without shaming while protecting client welfare [5, 2]. Finally, the paper highlights supervisor-centered protective practices as essential for sustaining attunement and preventing burnout. Keywords: clinical supervision, integrative psychotherapy, mindfulness, compassion, supervisory relationship, professional identity 1. CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF MCIP Mindfulness-and Compassion-Oriented Integrative Psychotherapy (MCIP) conceptualizes therapeutic change as a fundamentally relational and experiential process in which mindfulness and compassion function as meta-processes of transformation within an attuned therapeutic relationship [1]. Rather than viewing techniques as primary agents of