Abstract
For many years, the teaching offamily therapy has relied on the in vivo observation of the student behind a one-way mirror. A telephone line is connected between supervisor and supervisee, and the former interrupts the latter every so often to point out all her or his technical mistakes. Besides processing the information from the telephone, the supervisee has tofocus on thefamily sitting infront of her or him. Most of the time, the family is more interested in what goes on between supervisor and supervisee than in the therapy. After having endured this kind of teaching, the author contends that the practice of psychotherapy has more to do with the therapist's personality than with the display of effective techniques. As a result, the supervision of clinicians should consist of helping them develop their innate skills rather than of imposing on them a set of ready-made strategies.
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