Supervision seminar: Postgraduate Psychoanalytic Society and Institute and the Kaunas Society for the Studies of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy

This paper reports on the supervision seminar in Kaunas, Lithuania with five faculty members from the Postgraduate Psychoanalytic Society and Institute (USA) and the Kaunas Society for the Studies of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy (Lithuania). Four teaching principles of empathic responsiveness in the supervisory process are presented. First is the establishment of an accepting atmosphere, a place where uncertainty is invited. Second is the group leader modeling "open listening,'' and the third is focusing on the needs of the presenter to clarify the problem. Finally, the "resolution experience'' occurs when the presenter feels genuinely helped. Brief vignettes from some members of the Kaunas Society are included, which additionally highlight the supervisory experience.