#46: Attachment In Supervision, with Dr Alex Rowell

Send us Fan MailSupervision can look calm on the outside while a whole attachment system is firing underneath. When a supervisee is worried about risk, second-guessing an intervention, or feeling judged, the supervision room stops being a “case review” and becomes a relationship shaped by safety, power, and emotion. That’s where attachment theory becomes more than an idea, it becomes a practical lens for clinical supervision.We sit down with Dr Alex Rowell, clinical psychologist, educator, and certified supervisor, to talk about attachment-based supervision and why it fits across orientations, from psychodynamic psychotherapy to structured approaches. We unpack what it means for a supervisor to function as a secure base and safe haven, how anxious and avoidant patterns can show up for both supervisee and supervisor, and why the best supervision often feels emotionally attuned rather than purely administrative. Along the way, we explore parallel process, the supervisory alliance, and how a supervisor’s own attachment style can quietly shape their responses under stress.We also get real about constraints: heavy caseloads, system pressure, and the fact that many clinicians are “voluntold” to supervise with little formal training. We discuss rupture and repair after hard feedback, the built-in power dynamic of supervision, and when developmental or CBT-style structure is exactly what a supervisee needs. If you supervise, get supervised, or train clinicians, you’ll walk away with clearer language and practical prompts for making supervision safer, sharper, and more humane.If this conversation helps you, please subscribe, share it with a colleague, and leave a review so more supervisors and trainees can find it. What supervision moment made you feel most supported.Alex’s BioDr. Alex Rowell is a practicing clinical psychologist in the United Stated and United Kingdom. He has a wide range of clinical and professional experiences that include working in various inpatient/outpatient hospitals, non-profit organizations, multiple college-counseling centers, the National Health Service (NHS), higher education, and currently works virtually in private practice. His areas of interests include clinical supervision/supervising, mood disorders, self-compassion, teaching, mindfulness, burnout, and gender awareness and education. Dr. Rowell has presented on peripartum mental health, multicultural awareness, clinical supervision, Psychodynamic psychotherapy, and personality disorders at various conferences. He practices mainly from an Attachment informed, Psychodynamic, and Humanistic/Existential lens; he is also RAPPS (Register of Applied Psychology Practice Supervisors) certified through the BPS (British Psychological Association). Links:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheSecureStartPodcastPodcast Blog Site: https://thesecurestartpodcast.com/Alex's Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralexrowell/Disclaimer: Information reported by guests of this podcast is assumed to be accurate as stated. Podcast owner Colby Pearce is not responsible for any error of facts presented by podcast guests. In addition, unless otherwise specified, opinions expressed by guests of this podcast may not reflect those of the podcast owner, Colby Pearce. Finally, all references to case examples are anonymised to the extent that the actual case could not be identified, or are fictional but based on real-life examples for illustrative purposes.Support the show