[Jordy]

I used to not really care whether my T talked to her supervisor about me or not, nor when she would do it, but this time it's different. I know she sees him on friday as she had to tape a couple of our group sessions and I'm pretty nervous about this. Might be, because the last time she taped group I wasn't in my usual seat and thus faced the camera, made me a bit self conscious, even though I tried to ignore it. Also last time she saw her supervisor the following session was quite rough as her supervisor made her realize that there is no way I can make much more progress without moving out and she's pushing this issue much more now.

I know why supervision is important, especially as my T has already said that at times she's not really sure how to help me anymore, that most of her usual techniques fail with me and that at times she was a bit at a loss. But I can't help but hate the fact that a person whose name I don't even know, knows almost everything about, and now will even know what I look like...

How do you all deal with these situations?

[HazelGirl]

The supervisor doesn't know everything about your case, only the things necessary to help you. Also, you will most likely never meet this person and so you will never have to deal with them knowing anything about you.

[Jordy]

I know I will never meet her supervisor, especially as she does supervision somewhere in Germany where she also takes her DBT course. I don't know anymore specifics about it, so no way to find out more.

But I still feel like her supervisor knows so much about me, like the CSA, how much my horses mean to me and so on... lately a couple times she mentioned her supervisor saying things about me and it was a bit weird.

I think I would feel nervous, too. My T does not have a supervisor so I have not been in this situation, but I believe I can understand why you'd feel uncomfortable, especially hearing what this other person says about you... I don't think you need to feel that the supervisor knows everything about you, though. There are lots of things that your T knows that she won't tell her supervisor, I'm sure. And wouldn't it be possible for you to find out a little bit about this person? Or would that break confidentiality rules?

[Willowleaf]

I find it strange that she speaks to you about her supervision. I have supervision for some of my work but I would never mention it to my clients. The only time my own t mentioned it was when I was talking about my own supervision and we were talking about different approaches to supervision. Does anyone else's t talk about it. I agree I would feel very awkward. My supervisor ironically once asked to tape a session for her supervisor( the circle never ends!) but I refused as I got too nervous and wasn't myself at all.

[Jordy]

I only know about her supervision on friday because we looked into booking a session this week and she mentioned being out of town for dbt training. As her supervision is part of the training I put 1 + 1 together....

She never went into details when talking about her supervision, it actually only happenned twice. The first one was a couple months ago, about the moving out situation and she only mentionned it because she felt she had made a mistake as she didn't realize how much still living there has an impact on my daily life. The second time was last session and she only said something quick like: my supervisor also thinks your horses are a major ressource in your life. And that was after talking about my suicideal ideations and saying I'm fighting for my horses...

So I doubt this is too much out of the ordinary, but still makes me feel self-conscious. And no, can't find out who her supervisor is.

[HazelGirl]

My T tells me about some of her supervision, so I don't think it's very weird that it is mentioned. In my mind, it's reassuring that she has supervision because I can trust that her decisions aren't just from her own mind, but are from many people.

[Wren_]

That would unsettle me as well I think ... I know that through her supervisor you get the input and expertise from a second therapist but still ... I think you should tell your therapist about your concerns especially the bit about moving out and her pressuring you on this after her supervisors comments.

[tinyrabbit]

My T told me his supervisor doesn't know who any of his clients are apart from
their first names as these would probably slip out sooner or later.

I'm a bit hmm about videoing a session at a group that doesn't usually have a camera because the presence of the camera is bound to change things (observer paradox).

Anyway, this would unsettle me too. I'm fine with knowing my T has someone overseeing his work (a must as he's in the UK and registered with UKCP) but I wouldn't want to know what they said about me.

[someone321]

Hmmm I even do not know if my T is under supervision, I know that she supervises other Ts but have no idea if she still has her own supervisor... Maybe she has, maybe it's required by the law or maybe she's already too old for it

[BrokenGirl22]

My T has mentioned her supervision to me but only in the context of me seeking reassurance as to the confidentiality of my disclosures. I don't feel entirely comfortable with someone else, who I don't know knowing private stuff about me but I understand the need for it so try not to let if affect me.