The Resonance from Personal Life in Family Therapy Supervision

Abstract

This chapter presents an understanding of the relation between the therapist’s private and personal experiences, and the encounters with different clients. This is a perspective we will bring into supervision conversations. The map of resonance which is drawn and the concepts presented are developed in relation to family therapists, yet it can contribute to the analysis of the meeting between the supervisor and the supervisee, and can be a starting point for questions being asked and subjects being explored in supervision.

The resonance concept derives from the world of music, and in this context concerns what in the clients that might resonate with the therapist. The encounter with the clients might remind the therapist of something from own experience or own history. Subsequently, this resonance can affect what the therapist chooses to emphasize, and what she does in the meeting with clients or families. The map of resonance can help us talk about these connections in supervision.

The map of resonance concerns the part of clinical practice which is understood and affected by the therapist’s personal and private experience from his/her own life. These experiences can be resources for the therapist, but they can also contribute to non-therapeutic moves and can represent blind spots in the practice. Through supervision the link between private and personal experiences and professional practice can be explored and challenged.