Tell us about your background and how you came to train as a supervisor/counsellor/psychotherapist/psychoanalyst?
I started my career as a university lecturer in sociology. My research interests at that time involved researching and conducting interviews with women in violent relationships; and women who were in high security psychiatric hospitals, including Broadmoor. The role of a researcher is an interesting one; you are asking people questions and learning about their lives, yet whilst you are understanding something about the experiences of their life, you are not contributing anything to make it better. As I listened to countless stories of traumatic childhoods and early abuse, I became curious about the lifelong impact of early familial relationships.
Is this what led you to the world of therapy?
During this time, I also entered into my own therapy, followed by an analysis. Somewhere along the way, I decided to train as a therapist myself. I have trained for about 8 years altogether, training to work analytically with individuals and as a couple psychoanalytic psychotherapist, as well as undertaking training as a psychoanalytic supervisor. After 18 years working at a university, I moved to Tavistock Relationships, working as both a clinician and supervisor, before becoming head of the psychodynamic training and eventually Director of Training.
After 11 years at TR, I arrived at a decision to step away from my institutional working life and leadership roles. I still teach and supervise there, but I have much more time to work in private practice, both with clients and supervisees.
What led you to HCC?
I live in Highgate, very close to the centre, and had known about HCC and its reputation for training and delivering high-quality and low-cost therapy. I decided to get in touch with HCC and spoke to Natasha, who offered me a supervision role. I gladly accepted.
What do you believe is the role of a supervisor?
The role, primarily, focuses on the safety of clients, and helping the therapist to provide a safe containing space where the clients can be helped to understand themselves better. Supervision offers a place to focus on the unconscious dynamics, the transference relationships and understanding these through the therapist’s countertransference. The other aspect of supervision, and one that I enjoy, is the clinical development of the therapists. This is probably linked to my teaching career – providing an environment that is conducive to learning not just from me, but from each other. Our learning doesn’t stop when training ends; it carries on, hopefully throughout our working lives.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
I feel passionate about the potential for change that long-term therapy can offer, and in my own clinical work and supervision, I am always curious and interested in everyone we see or hear about. My particular interest is in couple relationships – why are people together, why do relationships go wrong, why is it so much harder than it looks! – but I enjoy (and gain something from) all of my clinical work, both with individuals and with couples.
What do you enjoy least?
In stepping away from an institutional role, I have removed what I came to enjoy less in my working life, especially in regards to my senior managerial and leadership roles. I feel that I kept the bits that I enjoy the most.
What are the common misconceptions one may have about the role of a supervisor?
Perhaps that people often come to supervision with an expectation to be told what do to, whilst I believe it is about helping therapists to find their own way, their own voice in the work.
What are the main skills you need as a supervisor?
I am not sure these are skills, but to be able to inspire and encourage therapists in the work, drawing on our knowledge and experience to help therapists become better clinicians. I think the capacity to give constructive feedback is very important. Then of course there are the skills one needs in the clinical work which are also drawn upon in supervision such as the capacity to make observations and interpretations. As so much learning takes place in supervision, other skills are probably similar to that of a good teacher.
A theoretical text that you cherish and go back to over and over again?
There are so many valuable books and papers, however, if I had to choose one that has helped me in my practice it would be ‘Belief and Imagination’ by Ron Britton. Britton develops the idea of beliefs as distinct from knowledge and reality, and the required triangular psychic space to make that distinction. The concept is particularly useful in couple work, where couples can struggle with this position, to both see themselves inside and outside of the relationship.
I would also highly recommend ‘Inside Lives: Psychoanalysis and the Growth of Personality’ by M Waddell; a fantastic book providing a psychoanalytic understanding of human development in a very engaging and lively way drawing not just on clinical work but on examples from literature.
