Contemporary Relational Supervisor

Robert E. Lee brings diverse experience to this text. He began his career in a general medical and surgical hospital, moved to private practice and legal consultation and, at age 50, became a full-time academic. He became clinical director of the MFT program at Michigan State University and, over the next ten years, became a researcher in family science (CFT training; psychometric family assessment tools; state and federally funded family therapy foster care interventions) and a full professor. He then moved to Florida State University as Director of its doctoral program in marriage and family therapy. He is now Professor Emeritus. In the course of this career, Lee was a division president of AAMFT and a member of its ethics committee. He also chaired his state licensing board. During that period, he helped construct and disseminate the National Examination Program in Marital and Family Therapy. He has written many articles about CFT supervision and reviewed others. His first book on supervision, The Eclectic Trainer, was co-edited with Shirley Emerson in 1999. This was followed by The Integrative Family Therapy Supervisor: A Primer, co-authored with Craig Everett, 2004, and translated into Japanese, 2012.Thorana S. Nelson also brings diverse experience to this text. Trained primarily from a systemic perspective, she did not have to “unlearn” linear therapy or supervision practices. She taught in Purdue University’s COAMFTE-accredited doctoral program and then moved with her husband and cat to Utah, where she co-developed and then directed the COAMFTE-accredited master’s program at Utah State University for 13 years. She continued as a member of the faculty for another six years. Nelson has taught supervision courses for AAMFT and the Utah division of AAMFT. She developed and taught the online 30-hour fundamentals and refresher supervision courses for AAMFT. She was a member of the steering committee for the development of the AAMFT Core Competencies and chaired the task force for a revision of the AAMFT guidelines for the Approved Supervisor designation. She received the AAMFT Training Award in 2009 for her accomplishments in training and supervising relational therapists. In 2023, she was awarded the AAMFT Emeritus Award in recognition of leadership within marriage and family therapy. She served on the AAMFT Board of Directors and various AAMFT Committees at both the central and divisional levels, including as president of the Utah division. She has authored, edited, co-authored, and co-edited articles, chapters, and books on a variety of topics, although those related to training in couple and family therapy, solution-focused brief therapy, and supervision are most dear to her heart. She is now retired in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Professor Emerita of Family Therapy at Utah State University.Toni S. Zimmerman has served as MFT Program Director (accredited by COAMFTE) at Colorado State University for 35 years. Toni is proud of the unique three on-campus clinics developed and operated by the MFT faculty where the graduate students gain meaningful diverse clinical experiences and community members have access to therapy, trauma assessments, and mentoring. The MFT Program has a long history of commitment to social justice receiving the AAMFT Training Award back in 1999 and many awards and grants since recognizing the impact of the program and centers. Toni is University Distinguished Teaching Scholar, Full Professor, Licensed MFT, and AAMFT Approved Supervisor. Zimmerman has a long and strong publication record primarily in the areas of social justice in the practice of therapy and supervision and therapeutic mentoring for youth who have faced adversity (Campus Connections, which provides mentoring to youth by undergraduate and graduate students). Toni has received multiple awards and honors throughout her career for her teaching, scholarship, community engagement, and commitment to diversity. She has been involved with the Semester at Sea study abroad program since 2007 serving as Dean, faculty, and therapist. Toni has taught AAMFT supervision courses for over ten years and loves meeting colleagues from all over with a common goal of becoming AAMFT Approved Supervisors and providing great training for the next generation of therapists.

• 1. Systemic foundation and scaffolding 2. Supervisory relationships, purposes, goals, and roles 3. Screening, contracts, and documentation 4. Evaluation, core competencies, remediation 5. Self-of-therapist and self-of-supervisor 6. Supervision models and connection between own therapy model and supervision 7. Sensitivity to contextual factors 8. Processes in supervision 9. Ethical and legal aspects of supervision Appendices Appendix A Major marriage and family therapy models developed by Thorana S. Nelson, PhD and Students; Appendix B AAMFT core competencies; Appendix C AAMFT personal philosophy of supervision paper guide; Appendix D Ethical decision-making model; Appendix E Sample remediation plan; Appendix F Contextual-functional meta-framework for supervision

"The Contemporary Relational Supervisor, 3rd Edition, is a must-have, comprehensive guide for those who are just starting out as well as those who want to become more effective and thoughtful as systemic supervisors. The authors provide accessible and practical expertise for applying the complexities of systemic supervision, offering crucial support to those who are helping usher in the next generation of clinicians." Teresa McDowell, EdD, LMFT, professor emerita Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling“The Contemporary Relational Supervisor, 3rd Edition speaks to everyone who wishes to begin, refresh or upgrade their supervision journey. This new edition carries you from the trusty fundamentals of systemic supervision to emerging issues, via pragmatic and clinical highlights that include ethical and contextual wisdom. The “how to” tips in the book will expand your supervisory knapsack while also appealing to readers who want a one-stop shop.”Mudita Rastogi, PhD, LMFT, Chicago, IL“Contemporary Relational Supervisor, 3rd Edition, is a thoroughly comprehensive book on how to become an excellent mentor of psychotherapists who want training as “Systemic” clinicians. Focusing on the quality of the supervisory relationship as an isomorphic process that parallels the psychotherapeutic alliance, it covers every complex detail involved in the systems that interact with the client, the trainee, and the supervisor. I particularly found the vignettes and the exercises, offered in each chapter, very helpful. Every Supervisor needs this one on their shelf!”Michael L. Chafin, M.Div, MEd, LMFT, Former President of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy“I am honored to endorse The Contemporary Relational Supervisor, 3rd Edition. This book skillfully explores the dynamic contexts of supervision, emphasizing ethical and clinical integrity. It foregrounds trainees’ intersecting identities—race, gender, sexuality—and expertly weaves in intersectionality to enrich clinical practice. A vital resource for the evolving field of relational supervision.”Rhea V. Almeida, LCSW, PhD, Founder, Institute for Family Services, Somerset, NJ“Bob Lee, Thorana Nelson, and Toni Zimmerman have created a readable relationship-centered book to guide all involved in couple/marital and family therapy (C/MFT) supervisory processes. Therapists, supervisors-in-training, seasoned supervisors, students, educators, front-line workers, and managerial supervisors will benefit from this updated and carefully documented work. Their expertise in and emphasis on systemic perception, cognition, and participation percolates in every chapter. A wholistic perspective, necessary in the formation of informed, ethical therapists, guides the book’s structure, while their decades of experience in and reflection on supervision provide supportive anecdotes, illustrations, and wisdom. The up-to-date attention to current issues including artificial intelligence (AI) and telesupervision, plus their extensive discussion of current ethical and legal issues, makes this a front runner among supervision and training texts. And unlike many books covering this field, I actually enjoyed perusing every chapter. Bravo/Brava!”Frank N. Thomas, PhD, Professor Emeritus Counseling and Counselor Education Program (MEd, PhD), Texas Christian University, Author, Solution-Focused Supervision (2013)