holding this discomfort, and must embrace a stance of compassion, humility, and curiosity with their supervisees, including the willingness to say what they do not know. Supervisors are highly skilled in problem solving complex situations with their supervisees, yet listening is often the greatest skill in this context. Listening is the action step that replaces problem solving and defensiveness (Block, 2009). In turn, this will help supervisees feel more open to having these important discussions with their clients. Further, through the safety and authenticity of the supervisory relationship, supervisees may be more willing to seek additional connections within the play therapy community (Rock, 2008).


In our work with children, we know that a secure attachment allows them to safely explore the world around them, and this parallels the attachment within the supervisory relationship. If the play therapist supervisor is unable to cultivate a mutually secure attachment relationship with the supervisee, insecurities and inadequacies abound, leading to disconnection from the supervisory relationship, and a lack of belongingness to the play therapy community. The attachment to the play therapist supervisor, then, serves as a model and gateway for their supervisees into making other secure         association engagement and leadership, committment to becoming a Registered Play Therapist, and participation in play therapist relationships and community facilitated by the supervisor. When supervisees feel a sense of belonging and acceptance, they are more


likely to keep interacting and building relationships with colleagues in the play therapy community (Rock, 2008).


Culturally Informed Interventions with Supervisees To aid the supervisor in centering diversity, equity and inclusion with their supervisees, a few interventions will be discussed.


           beginning of each supervisory relationship, supervisors should  identities of their supervisees and potential discriminations they may face while working with various clients within the local community. Some examples supervisors can make include: “All supervisors are different. Know that in this supervisory relationship it is safe and welcomed to share the hard things- whether you face hurt or harm from a client, staff member, or myself. I know this is a new relationship and that it will naturally take time to build trust. I hope  listening, and open to feedback.”


To further this discussion, explore how intersectionality shapes  operate in people’s lives, we deepen our understanding of how identity, power, subordination, and exclusion intersect to better understand our own identities and privileges in relation to these groups (Nayak & Malins, 2017). One option is to create a Power Flower, an expressive


16 | PLAYTHERAPY December 2023 | www.a4pt.org


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