Abstract:
In the past, Black people had little access to psychological services in their
communities. Historically, Black people were not allowed free access to
psychological training in South Africa. After the new dispensation of 1994,
however, the establishment of affirmative action policies changed the face of
professional psychology training programs in South Africa. The number of Black
people accepted into training programs has increased as a result of these policies.
The need to understand how Black supervisees experience psychotherapy
supervision with a White supervisor is therefore of critical importance, given the
prevalence of White supervisors’. It is apparent that there have been few studies
done in South Africa dealing directly with the issue of racial dynamics within
psychotherapy supervision. This study was aimed at exploring how Black
psychodynamic psychotherapy supervisees experience psychotherapy supervision
with White supervisors, and how this racial difference is perceived to influence the
supervisory relationship. In order to explore these aims, a qualitative approach,
thematic content analysis was adopted to encourage the participants to voice their
opinions. The results of this study indicate that Black supervisees often experience
themselves as passive and inferior in relation to their White supervisors. This
study also indicates that the issue of racial difference needs to be discussed openly
by White supervisors and Black supervisees. In addition, the study suggests that
Black supervisees may need their White supervisors to take an active interest in
attempting to understand the values and beliefs associated with their racial
background.
