Working Group D/Supervision

by Werner Kraus

The IFF survey, "How to be a Successful Practitioner," revealed that many colleagues believe supervision is one of the major needs within the Feldenkrais community. Starting from this point, the core question of our working group was, "what kind of supervision do we need to enhance the quality of Feldenkrais work?" A group of 11 people from nine different countries formed to discuss this.

As often happens in an IFF working group, we had to first clarify the different meanings of the term "supervision" in respect to different languages and cultures. In France and Germany (at least in the recent past), supervision is very much connected with the negative connotation of control. However, use of this term in psychotherapy has led to greater acceptance. In Holland, and indeed other European countries, regular supervision is compulsory to maintain certification in certain professions such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy and psychotherapy.

Questions posed in the first round of discussion:

• Is supervision actually necessary to improve quality & competence?
• Up to what level is supervision needed?
• Is supervision generally a way for a practitioner or a student to feel safe?
• Is supervision needed in the training programs?
• Who supervises trainers?
• What makes us aware of the need for supervision?

Outcome of the second round of discussion

This was more concrete. We agreed that we have to make a distinction between a) Feldenkrais skills-related supervision and b) interpersonal skills-related supervision. Tools for Feldenkrais skills-related supervision would be trainers, assistant trainers and experienced practitioners. Tools for interpersonal skills related supervision would be professionally trained supervisors. As an option for the future we would like to go for a combination of a + b = Feldenkrais teachers trained in supervision.

Outcome of the third and final discussion

The group made the proposal that an ongoing working group be formed to include: Francesco Ambrosio (Italy), Sylvia Weise (Germany), Marianne Costa (France), Werner Kraus (Austria), Wolfgang Aigner (Austria), Kristin Ruder (Norway), Rosalia Odessky (Argentina), Marianne Lacina (Switzerland), Francesca White (Australia), Ute Ruge (Germany).

The working group wants to communicate via email and perhaps have its own page on the website. It will report to the next Assembly and maybe prepare a special issue on supervision for the IFF Journal.

The working group made the following commitments:

• Werner will write an article about client-centered supervision (Carl Rogers) and how it could relate to supervision in Feldenkrais
• Sylvia will write an article on the Systemic Approach and its relationship to supervision
• Rosalia will translate these two articles into Spanish
• Marianne will undertake a local practitioner survey in France, looking at experiences in and of supervision, at a grass roots level
• Wolfgang will write an article on logotherapy (Victor Frankl's work) and
• its relationship to supervision
• Francesco will interview students in Italian training programs to find out their needs concerning supervision
• Kristin will work to heighten awareness locally (in Norway) about our working group via local bulletins and newsletters and will also interview an N.L.P. practitioner and find relationships to supervision and Feldenkrais
• Ute will (as a newly graduated practitioner) maintain a journal, as someone who is "beginning again," and notate her personal needs for supervision as she goes along. This information will also be useful for the continuous learning group
• Monica will contribute her views on a possible relationship between the Pickler Method and the Feldenkrais Method (although she was unable to participate in the working group)
• Francesca will write an article about the difference between group supervision and peer supervision, and how participants shift from one to the other
• Ursula Seiler requested to be added to this working group, and would like to offer her journal of collaborative supervision which she is currently undertaking with a student.