Supervising group

To work with client analytically and not having maintenance of supervisor is very reckless. Every psychoanalytically oriented specialist one day is facing a necessity to request a supervising assistance. If they don’t do this they lose his client or health or profession. Or all in one.

Understanding this makes pofessionals seek and research possible forms of such help. In this sense a special place is taken by group form of supervision which in comparison with an individual one gives some additional possibilities for example providing to a supervised person more visual access to hidden or problem moments of analytical relations.

The basis of difficulties of psychoanalyst in his work with clients is impossibility to hold those aspects of countertransference that by some reasons can’t be transformed into fit for containment form. Such a contents involuntary for psychoanalytic tend to reproject outside from therapeutic setting. A task of supervision is to transform them into acceptable form accessible for the following conversion by psychoanalytic.

In a process of group supervision of content non containment by supervising psychoanalyst reproject to the members of supervised group.  They occur differently in different members of group because of their special sensitivity to individual aspects of these contents. The availability of “blind stains” and personal unworked problems of participant increases this differentiation. Although they occur as a transformed by defensive mechanisms of group participants. At the same time the aspects of  countertransference unworked by supervised psychoanalytic get increased in their private and unbalanced common aspects due to split between a group members.
Strengthening and distribution in a group of countertransference contents that are not preserved by psychoanalytic provides their influence on the members like feelings (successful containment) and sensations (conversion) and other thoughts and also private memories (intellectualyzation and moving affect). Owing to setting of the supervisors’ group these reactions appear to be available for the members to be realized like countertransferencial. And might be brought into situation of communication of the therapist and his client. With the members’ help these contents later get transformed to their successful appearance in containment form. 
Transformation happens by binding of countertransference contents, while using the whole new method of affects’ objection, which they provoke. 

As supervising content increases which has never been recorded before, integration happens. 
When the connection between these contents increases they due to their technical rules of supervision, begin to be stable in the supervisors’ behavior.

Another aspect of the process is gradual abolishing of I-function of the psychoanalytic which is being formed by the client’s introjection. Setting leads to the moment when psychoanalytic achieves identification of his own mature I-functions on the supervisor and the part of the group which has already done returned of  countertransference contents.

As soon as feelings get reintroduced gradual transformation of the countertransference inside the group happens. After reintroduction of non containment countertransference contents into situation of connection between psychoanalytic and his client, group represents healthy parts of clients personalities and psychoanalytic’s one. Psychoanalytic happens to be in a situation when he preserves recently uncontrolled contents of client’s mental state, and his supervising I is being projected on the group. At the same time he controls in the containment state those contents that has never been contained and reprojected before. 

Briefly speaking, in the process of supervision role game happens. In the beginning of group supervision group endures that points of mental state that psychoanalytic is uncapable of reliving empathetically and psychoanalytic endures his state which happens while working with the certain clients. In the process of supervision specialist gains ability to relive projected contents on his own. The whole situation of the group supervision reaches containment as a united intersect, pathological aspects of client’s psychological functioning. This introjection dominates in a client’s state, but is being containmented by his own I, projected on a group.

This situation urges client to introject group’s supervised I and supervised I part of the client. After this happens, supervision derails. Often process of full I functions recovery ends after the supervision course.

Number of a group members should be seven or ten. If there are less people, recovery of containment skills might be difficult. If there are more group member, process might be too long.

Form of communication-free and includes: request, client’s story, information about containment, process’ dynamic, diagnostic features, client’s request. Often supervisor shares his thoughts and mention valuable information. Messed and complicated message is acceptable. When it’s impossible to explain the problem, it’s also very typical for supervision.

Message must be approximately twenty minutes long. If it lasts longer, members’ supervising I won’t be able to react properly. 
Role of the supervisor in the group is the main. He is the center of I function of the client and he defines, how well I functions will be projected on the group. Supervisor’s target is to reject efforts to comprehend the situation and try to respond meaningfully. 
Members shouldn’t evaluate each other. All reaction of those who are not fully in charge of they feelings, should be seen as a part of client’s introect. Reactions of those who are fully in charge, might be seen as a integration of mature I function of psychoanalytic and his client.

Feelings’ recreation begins, when the leader felt departure or transformation of containment feelings. When the transformation happens, it’s necessary to start returning them from the very beginning.
Sometimes, after members have reached their goal, seduction to continue appears. It shouldn’t be done, otherwise, there will be difficulties with I function’s disadvantages.

Group supervision techniques.

Supervisor offers to inform about a case. At the same time, he offers members to comprehend their feelings and mental state, look its dynamic. While the client informs, supervisor records different reactions. The most important part is supervisor’s reactions. His ability to indentify and verbalize his own feelings is essential. When the supervisor starts to loose the point, there is need to quit. 
In other words, it’s unacceptable to let containment’s contents outshine supervisor’s I functions.

The other point is that members might ask to hear the full story. They may subconsciously attack their supervisors and each other. When somatization appears, somatic reaction can be seen. If it’s getting very visible, it’s important to stop.
Third option, increasing supression of client's I functions, is quite wide-spread. His speech becomes less confident and person starts creating boundaries. 

When the speech ends, supervisor offers to ask some extra questions. Members should have their own vision of the story. 
Supervisor must let members with troubled I function to ask questions to protect themselves. Finally, has to demonstrate how reliable he is. He indentifies and rejects any form of attack. 

Reprojected containment’s return begins with a supervisor. Member, who is managing this return, describes his feelings and some changes. Speech’s construction doesn’t matter. Goal is to symbolize. Verbal symbolization is not enough, it also includes some other things. The only condition is for supervisor to pay attention.

Theoretic part is to hear different opinions. At the very end, difficulties, which supervisor faces, become visible. Very often there is no need to explain theoretically further, because everything is clear. 

In other cases, different opinion concerning theoretical part can be an obstacle. In these cases theoretical explanation is not preferable. 

Like in some other forms of group supervision, ability to collect and gain containment reactions exists. But the risk to see this is low, comparing to other groups, where interpretation is the idea. This difficulty dilutes by tracking members’ feelings, following rules and being involved. Then unattached aspects join further therapy. Besides, risk of somatic reaction of unattached containment aspects exists, if a member has brought these aspects back. In this case, introjected aspects get consolidated, by imagining previous supervisions, while informing about feelings, which were appearing during the process. 
Very important moment is to create a reliable and safety space, which will include privacy, lack of lecturing. 
The best option is a closed group, where people aren’t leaving but are following the rules. 
In our consulting centre Savchenko Elena Vladimirovna, the head of UPU, ECPP, UCPP, is in charge.