What do therapists worry about: A tool for experiential supervision

The idealized concept of the private practice of psychotherapy is that it signifies the clinician’s arrival at some mysterious level of expertise and professional maturity where independent functioning is legally sanctioned. Before an individual goes into private practice he is expected to possess the required graduate or professional degree in his discipline, and to become licensed and/or board certified. Once he/she has passed these milestones, he is usually considered eligible to practice independently. The individual practitioner runs into a difficult case and becomes stymied. They experience an impasse because of counter-transference phenomena. Occasionally one is confronted with a symptom or problem they had little experience with. In these instances they may want to voluntarily enter into an arrangement for supervision or consultation. This chapter focuses on selecting a supervisor, working out arrangements, the special aspects which accompany the decision to seek and purchase supervision and the benefits to be derived.