journal_august_2026_release_full_edition - Flipbook - Page 135
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not otherwise have considered possible. Possibly I had actually
become more of a character= (p. 144).
In conclusion to our article, and to explore further in deconstructing supervision
methods (or intervision or altervision, whatever the term), could we not ask an
even more dizzying question:
Why is it that the person whose subject is being discussed in supervision is
precisely the one who is not present? Why even use a recording? Where does this
idea come from, in the history of psychotherapy, coaching, and social work, that
supervision should take place without the person, family, or team whose situation
is being examined? How did this practice develop, and on what foundations? Is it
possible to imagine removing additional barriers (which reflective teams in family
therapy, followed by outsider and insider witnessing in narrative therapy, have
already begun to break down) while still maintaining professional ethics and
protecting the persons and those who support them? Wouldn't the person,
family, or team be the first to have valuable assets for supervising their own
coach, therapist, or social worker? Or, at least, be present? With the practice we
describe in this article, are we not still maintaining some position of power,
legitimised by so-called knowledge, which is so opposed to the aim of narrative
practices, i.e., to re-situate useful knowledge and skills for personal agency into
our clients?
References
Carlson, T. S., & Epston, D. (2017). Insider witnessing practices: Performing hope
and beauty in narrative therapy: Part two. Journal of Narrative Family
Therapy, 1, 19–38.
Hastrup, K. (1995). A passage to anthropology: Between experience and theory.
Routledge.
Sax, P. (2017). What are insider witness practices? Re-Authoring Teaching.
https://reauthoringteaching.com/what-are-insider-witness-practices/
I Could See Myself in Her … Practising Insider Witnessing in Supervision
Journal of Contemporary Narrative Therapy, August 2026 Release, p. 111-135.
www.journalcnt.com
