As a Clinical Psychologist and Personal Construct (PCP) supervisor and teacher, it may seem odd for me to be writing about this book, which ostensibly is aimed at a different audience. There is quite a wide overlap in interests, however, and a fair proportion of my PCP colleagues have a professional background in speech and language therapy.
For myself, the chapters on group supervision have been of particular interest. With colleagues, I am working on a new framework for offering PCP supervision in groups, and the ideas shared in chapters 6 and 13 have been particularly thought provoking. They have helped me to articulate my own interests, aims, and requirements for such a group, and have provided me with some ideas to share with group members once we get started. I have shared this thinking with other potential supervisors.
In the first of these chapters, I was particularly stimulated by the practical details discussed, such as the time allocation for and sequencing of different activities during the session. This helped me to think about the options and what might work for me. I was also taken with the opening exercise described; sharing trauma, trivia or joy. I am not sure if this would work for my group but it makes me focus on the transition from everyday life to the session, and on ways of quickly focussing participants on working together.
The theme of practical considerations was continued in chapter 13. There was discussion of group numbers, duration of sessions, and diversity of group members. The approach used in discussions was encapsulated as only asking questions you don’t know the answers to. I found that an interesting way of expressing a spirit of enquiry, without the danger of implicit criticism. So often an apparently neutral question is really prefaced by a silent ‘shouldn’t you really be focussing on this?’ The passages on clarifying and revisiting the purpose and function of the group have made me question how much of this to do, and how best to balance it with the other activities in our meetings.
Last December we hosted a study session based around the book, and led by Cathy Sparkes. Fourteen people signed up for the session, from a wide range of backgrounds – therapy, management consultancy etc. and from far and wide within Britain, and from the US. Attendees commented that found it stimulating and thought-provoking, suggesting that this book has an attraction and relevance for people for beyond its obvious target cohort.
Sally Robbins
Clinical Psychologist, Coventry Constructivist Centre