The supervisory process reflected in dreams of supervisees.

The study supports the notion that what may be concealed in the supervisory process may be revealed in the dreams of supervisees. Supervision as well as patient work mean an intense emotional experience for supervisees, especially for beginners in psychotherapy. This emotional experience was reflected in dreams. The supervisory situation reactivates the supervisees' earlier relationships and problems with authority people. This was also expressed in dreams. Stages in the supervisory process have earlier been described in terms of the learning experiences of the supervisees. The present study provides evidence that the supervisory process should not only be described in terms of different stages of learning, but also in terms of different emotional stages, where especially the beginning and end period mean a strong emotional investment.