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supervision training Program


The Supervision Training Program comprises a one-year curriculum which provides experienced supervisors and those interested in psychotherapy supervision a background in the theory and practice of supervision from a psychodynamic perspective, and provides an opportunity to look more deeply into the complexity of constructing a positive supervisory environment.  For many decades, standard practice was that any credentialed psychotherapist could be a supervisor.  Traditionally, most supervisors, from the newly minted through the advanced professional, have had to invent their own versions of supervision, cobbled together from the bits and pieces of their own supervisory experiences, without grounding in theory or practical guidance.  Recently, as people have looked at the teaching and learning of psychotherapy, supervision has taken on a focus of its own, as more than just a client-centered experience or an extension of the psychotherapeutic process.

This program provides a comprehensive view of the overlaps and differences between supervision and psychotherapy, and examines how conscious and unconscious forces, both within and between supervisor and supervisee, must be addressed for the supervisory experience to be effective.

curriculum

The Program consists of eight three-hour, once-monthly meetings, each devoted to a different topic.  The first half of each session is a didactic and clinical exploration of that day’s topic led by members of the faculty, who are experienced supervisors.  The second part is an ongoing, experiential supervision group led by one faculty member for the entire year. 

topics

·        The Supervisory Contract

·        The Supervisory Relationship

·        Manifestations of the Unconscious in Supervision

·        Supervisory Interventions

·        Anxiety and Esteem in Supervisor and Supervisee

·        Negative Supervisory Experience

·        Gender, Race, and Culture

·        Professional, Legal, and Ethical Issues

learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

  1. Conduct supervision using an affectively-based model, paying attention to the      conscious and unconscious material that arises, with a deeper understanding of unconscious processes at work in the client/therapist relationship.

  2. Apply knowledge of these processes, with their related theoretical concepts and techniques, to understanding and resolving impasses in the supervision and in the cases they are supervising.

  3. Identify the ways in which cultural differences can influence the supervisory alliance.

SCHEDULE

Classes meet on a monthly basis from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm on Saturday mornings from October through May at the Washington School of Psychiatry.  The first meeting will be on October 17.  The following meetings will take place on November 7, December 12, January 9, February 6, March 6, April 3, and May 1.

Eligibility and selection

Students must be licensed in a mental health discipline, and be working in a supervisory capacity or have had supervisory experience.   Selection of students is done on an individual basis.  The application deadline is September 15, 2009.  For further information contact    Barry J. Wepman, Ph.D. at bjwep@aol.com or, by phone at (202) 337-0705.

Tuition

Tuition for the 2009 – 2010 academic year is $720.

Faculty

  • Barry J. Wepman, Ph.D. 
    Kathryn J. Chefetz, LCSW, MSW 
    Kristina C. MacGaffin, MSW 
    William Pinney, Ph.D. 
    Linda S. Stern, Ph.D. 
    Cherian Verghese, Ph.D.