Supervisor's Positioning in Systemic Training: Complex Relational Space and Significant Oscillations

The present study focuses on the positionings adopted by supervisors in systemic psychotherapy supervision within teams of therapists-in-training. The participants were five supervisors working with their respective teams. The study centers on the supervisors' positionings in relation to their supervisees and adopts an exploratory, qualitative methodology, structured as a single-case design with multiple units of analysis. The procedure involved the videorecording of pre-sessions, inter-sessions, and post-sessions. These recordings were transcribed and analyzed using discourse analysis. The material was reviewed multiple times. Sixteen distinct supervisor positionings were identified. Among these, confirming, directivity, and reflexivity emerged as three fundamental positionings. Additionally, a distinctive supervisory movement, termed "significant oscillation," was identified. The analysis highlights supervision as a complex relational space where the supervisor's positioning within the interactive process plays a crucial role in the supervisees' learning.