THE OCCURRENCE OF MIRRORING IN PSYCHOTHERAPY SUPERVISION

The phenomenon of mirroring in psychotherapy supervision is a potentia lly valuable teaching tool, not often used in those settings where it is most likely to occur. Using a case illustration, this article illus trates known factors that facilitate mirroring (such as treatment impa sses, therapeutic blind spots, unconscious identifications, temporary regressions in therapist or supervisor, or other interpersonal process es) and then describes the previously unrecognized impact of the thera peutic milieu on the occurrence of mirroring. Consideration of the the rapeutic milieu allows the identification of situations in which mirro ring is most likely to occur and those in which mirroring can be false ly suspected. It provides a useful addition to recent conceptual model s of the mirroring process.