430 | What's Wrong with Our Field? Supervision

Episode summary

In this episode of the What's Wrong with Our Field? series, I tackle a major challenge for child-centered play therapists: supervision from someone who doesn't understand or practice CCPT. When a supervisor works from a completely different theoretical orientation—or doesn't even work with children—their recommendations can directly conflict with the model we're committed to following. I discuss the difficult position this creates for supervisees, why adherence is often mislabeled as "rigidity," and why we cannot expect child-centered guidance from someone who isn't child-centered themselves.

I also explore a larger problem with supervision: too often, there is no framework or structure designed to intentionally develop clinical competence. Supervision shouldn't simply be bringing in a random case and asking, "What do you want to talk about today?" I explain why CCPT supervision needs scaffolding, skill development, video review, and a clear path toward mastery—and what therapists can do when a qualified CCPT supervisor simply isn't available.