The roles of group supervision of supervision

This article recommends that group supervision of supervision be an integra l part of the curriculum of any senior professional who is involved in regu lar supervision of trainees. Work in the group setting enables use of group dynamics to understand therapeutic events as well as processes of mirrorin g and identification in the supervision. The supervisory group may promote feelings of security and containment in the supervisors while attenuating a nd minimizing their potential feelings of vulnerability and validating thei r perceptions of reality, At the same time, such a group gives rise to diff iculties (owing to issues of trust and confidentiality) both inside and out side the group (e.g., among trainees who develop fantasies about the procee dings of the group). Some general resolution of such problems is presented here.