Embodiment and the supervisory task: The supervision of Dance Movement Psychotherapists in training

Abstract

Supervision is an intimate act of creation and this article endeavours to understand the mercurial nature of this task, drawing on theoretical perspectives grounded in a Jungian framework. With a focus on training, supervisor and supervisee negotiate a labyrinth as they co-create a process within a triangular relationship, in which one key player, the client, is absent. The role of embodied knowing shapes a process involving the body as an active agent of change, whilst the wider matrix of the institution offers a multi-layered universe of parallel processes. The article offers composite vignettes to illustrate how unarticulated embodied wisdom transforms into a conceptualised understanding of clinical material through the transcendent function. The article illuminates the value of the body as radar for unconscious communication within the supervisory relationship.

The art of movement in supervision

“…Psychoanalysts have defined body as the visible part of the ego or as a bridge to the inner world. Though verbalisation is important in supervision, it is clear, that the bodily experiences rising up during the process are an inseparable part of any client work, supporting the delivery and understanding of messages (Frizell, 2012).…”