The supervision of therapists by their colleagues has become one of the primary requirements for continuing professional practice. Just about every Professional Body concerned with therapy emphasises the importance of supervision and, typically, specifies that its members must engage in it under regular and ongoing approved conditions. Although existential therapy is no different in that its members adhere to these governances, the very concept of supervision, and in particular what its meaning and purpose might be understood to be, has remained an ongoing source of debate.

In many ways, the issues surrounding supervision have provided existential therapists with a focus through which to address the wider debate as to what constitutes and defines existential therapy and what may be distinctive about its practice.

Existential supervision provides the opportunity for supervisees to explore and give critical consideration to their chosen approach and ‘style’ of practice so as to expose any underlying assumptions and biases that may impinge upon the therapeutic process. In doing so, existential supervision seeks to promote an excellence in practice through the specific focus on

a) supervisees' development and maintenance of a respectful yet challenging therapeutic alliance with clients;

b) supervisees' ability to work from an inter-relational perspective utilising the immediacy of the therapist-client relationship;

c) supervisees' ability to recognise personal and interpersonal issues that may be evoked by client’s material and willingness to explore these in supervision;

d) the supervisor and supervisee's consideration of their own way of relating within the supervisory encounter as potential indicator of the presenting concerns and issues.

This workshop explores what is distinctive about an existential approach to supervision. In attempting to do so, it will address several key aspects in the practice of existential therapy that can be transposed to supervision from an existential therapy perspective. The talk will provide participants with the opportunity of explore their own experience of being supervised and how this influenced their work as therapists.

Description supplied by the event organiser.