Dear Early Career Therapist,

I know how hard and difficult our job is from an emotional, intellectual and practical level. Our job is so strange that it doesn’t often feel like a job! Sitting with another person in their most vulnerable and difficult state can stir so much of the same within us and it’s so easy to get lost and confused in the chaos of an other’s inner world. This is a profession where growth requires us to lean into the unknown, all day and everyday.

I learned early on that in order to do this work well, I needed 1) A very comfortable and sturdy chair and 2) Ongoing supervision.

Being in weekly supervision was my lifeline when I was a budding therapist. I needed someone in the trenches with me, who totally gets what I’m going through while at the same time being ahead of you with a bright flashlight to guide the way.

15 years later, I continue to speak with my consultant every week because I want an extra set of ears when I’m feeling stuck with a patient. Ongoing self-reflection and outside support is an integral part of our work as therapists!

And now I’m going to get a little nerdy and talk about the clinical skills I have to offer you as a supervisor:

I work best with clinicians who already have an interest in psychoanalytic theory and practice and want to deepen their clinical thinking, develop their listening, and discover their own particular way of working with their patients.

In supervision, I can help you formulate your case using psychoanalytic diagnostic categories. These categories differ from the DSM in that they aim to help us choose the appropriate interventions based on the client’s psychic structure.

I focus on listening to the words the patient uses and associating to their symbolic content. We get into the practice of noticing everything that happens in the session, even minor details that seem meaningless at first.

Attending to unconscious processes requires us to think and question our own interpretations of what is happening in a session, which includes transference and countertransference dynamics that naturally occur between therapist and patient. We pay close attention to moments of uncertainty and material that is difficult to articulate or communicated indirectly.

A patient's suffering does not develop in isolation. We will always explore how cultural context, family dynamics, social class, history, and other aspects of a patient's social world shape their experience of themselves and their relationships.

This is how you will feel working with me:

Unconditionally supported: I will support you in being the best therapist you can be. Supervision is a place to think honestly about your work and where you don’t have to have all the answers.

Challenged: Supervision should be more than validation. Professional growth comes with a healthy amount of discomfort. You want to bring your biggest questions and uncertainties and have someone there to think with you. My goal is to give you new ideas and directions that you hadn’t thought of before.

Motivated:  Good supervision should inspire you and reignite your curiosity and desire for your patients and the work you are doing with them! Learning and improving your skills can be joyful when you feel pushed to do your best.

Empowered: Supervision can help you set better, firmer boundaries with your patients and build your confidence. We may explore how to say no, set limits, protect your time and emotional space, and work with greater ease in the room. Rather than experiencing boundaries as simply restrictive, we can consider limit-setting itself as a powerful clinical intervention.

As your confidence grows, you may find yourself becoming less self-conscious and more free-flowing in your clinical work.

Safe to be vulnerable: As a supervisor, I am not a police officer or evaluator. You do not need to present your work perfectly- far from it, you are encouraged to bring in the patients you struggle with the most. Vulnerability, uncertainty, shame, and fear of rejection are all part of being a therapist—and they can become meaningful material for supervision rather than something you need to hide.

Supervision is a place to think together, take risks, and develop the confidence to practice in your own way.