New Books Network Nancy McWilliams, "Psychoanalytic Supervision" (Guilford Publications, 2021)
Nov 30, 2025
Nancy McWilliams, a renowned clinical psychologist and psychoanalytic author, shares insights from her extensive experience in therapist supervision. She highlights how supervision can significantly influence a therapist's growth and confidence. McWilliams emphasizes the need for safety in the supervisory relationship and discusses the balance between teaching and treating. She candidly addresses challenges like supervising therapists dealing with suicidal patients and ethical dilemmas. Her reflections offer a thoughtful approach to optimizing the supervisory experience.
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Supervision Shapes Professional Growth
- Supervision drives deep, professional growth beyond mere skills training.
- Nancy McWilliams argues supervision often rivals personal analysis in shaping clinicians' work.
Supervision Preserves Therapeutic Reverie
- Therapists need supervision to maintain mental reverie and tolerate difficult affects.
- McWilliams links supervision to preserving a therapist's capacity to sit with disturbing material without shutting down.
Psychological Safety Enables Honest Reporting
- Supervision must create psychological safety for honest reporting.
- McWilliams warns supervisees often keep secrets unless the supervisory relationship reduces evaluative threat.
