Focusing on the interaction between supervisor and supervisee in the agency context, this book explores the interdependence of task and process in supervision. Numerous examples of supervisory dilemmas in the current turbulent environment of health and welfare services are discussed, applying a range of theoretical ideas mainly from open systems and psychoanalytic thinking.

The authors conclude that effective service-delivery continues to depend on agencies providing the "thinking space" that supervision represents, and challenge supervisors and supervisees to explore their own thinking and practice.

The authors were both until recently senior staff members at the Tavistock Marital Studies Institute and worked on its staff supervision training programmes; they were formerly practitioners, supervisors and managers in social work and probation.