The Person of the Supervisor training model prepares supervisors to actively and purposefully use their unique personal and professional selves in all aspects of the supervisory process—relationship-building, assessment, and intervention. This approach encourages a conscious, intentional integration of the supervisor’s race, gender, culture, values, life experiences, and particularly their personal vulnerabilities and struggles, into how they guide and support future therapists.

In supervision, we focus on helping supervisors-in-training understand how to use themselves as a therapeutic tool, recognizing both their intuition and  strengths in the moment. This model teaches that it’s not only technical interventions that matter but also the dynamic, real-time presence of the supervisor as a whole person. This approach emphasizes the transformative power of authentic self-utilization in supervision, helping both the supervisor and their supervisees foster more meaningful, connected therapeutic relationships. By integrating this method, supervisors learn how to encourage their supervisees to embrace their own identities, vulnerabilities, and strengths, creating a space for richer, deeper, and more effective client interventions.

When supervising future supervisors, it’s essential to equip them with the tools of intersectionality, equity, diversity, and inclusion—not just as abstract concepts but as vital, actionable elements in their supervisory practice. Supervising the supervisor requires an understanding of how multiple forms of inequality, such as race, gender, culture, socioeconomic status, and sexual identity, compound to create unique barriers for clients and clinicians alike. Conventional approaches often miss these nuances, but as supervisors, we must lead by example in addressing these complexities head-on.

Intersectionality is key in helping supervisors-in-training recognize and address the layered identities and struggles of their supervisees and clients. Inclusion is critical to creating an environment where sexual minorities, marginalized folx, non-English speakers, and those from diverse cultures can feel safe, supported, and seen. Supervisors must learn how to foster a supervisory culture that mirrors this inclusivity, allowing future sex therapists to confidently embody their full selves while guiding their clients.

Equality ensures that everyone seeking mental and sexual health services is treated with fairness and respect, but equity is even more crucial—supervisors need to understand how to help their supervisees work towards equal outcomes for clients, regardless of the systemic barriers that clients may face.

Incorporating diversity into supervision means encouraging supervisors to not only acknowledge the myriad ways people differ but to actively integrate this awareness into their supervisory work. This includes an understanding of the significance of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, language, and more. By doing so, supervisors create a space where all therapists—and their clients—can thrive authentically.

Inclusion, then, becomes the heart of supervision. It’s about creating a culture where the diversity of people can feel comfortable being their true selves. Supervisors need to be intentional in making space for therapists from underrepresented groups, ensuring that the profession of sex therapy becomes more reflective of the populations it serves.

Finally, a decolonizing perspective is essential for fostering social change and validating the lived experiences of indigenous populations, people of color, and economically disadvantaged groups. Supervising future supervisors through this lens empowers them to move beyond Western, conventional definitions of health and normalcy, and instead honor the richness and diversity of human experience. This approach equips them with the understanding necessary to challenge systemic barriers and offer truly transformative, inclusive care.

As supervisors, we are entrusted with the sanctity of guiding others on their path to becoming transformational leaders in the field of sex therapy. This role is not simply about teaching techniques or clinical tools—it is a profound responsibility to cultivate the next generation of healers who will approach their work with integrity, compassion, and holistic awareness. I teach my supervisees the importance of addressing the whole person, not just the presenting problem. This means looking beyond the symptoms or behaviors and embracing the entirety of a person’s physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual well-being.

By focusing on the body-mind-heart-spirit connection, we unlock the potential for deeper healing, allowing clients to discover the healthiest, most authentic versions of themselves. This approach goes beyond focusing solely on performance and function; it encourages clients to see the wholeness  of their sex and sexuality narrative. By supporting our supervisees in this way, we move from symptom management to empowerment and transformation. Supervising in this holistic, reverent way allows both the therapist and the client to reclaim their stories and integrate all facets of their humanity, which is essential for true healing and growth.

Embodiment and a body-focused approach are essential tools in the supervision of future supervisors, especially in the realm of sex therapy, where the body and its experiences are central to healing. As supervisors, we must help those in training learn how to guide their supervisees—and ultimately their clients—back into their bodies, moving beyond just talking about thoughts and feelings. This is particularly crucial for sex therapy, where disconnection from the body can often be at the core of many issues.

I have presented at various AASECT Conferences about the profound impact of embodiment techniques, emphasizing the importance of creating space for clients to experience rather than just intellectualize their challenges. By guiding supervisees through body-focused processes, we help them not only become more attuned to their own physical selves but also develop the capacity to support their clients in doing the same.

For supervisors-in-training, learning to engage in these techniques allows them to shift their focus from traditional talk therapy to approaches that invite the whole person—mind, body, and spirit—into the therapeutic process. Embodiment encourages supervisees to work with the body’s wisdom, helping clients create new, transformative experiences in the moment rather than remaining stuck in patterns of disconnection.

Supervising with an embodiment-focused lens also invites future supervisors to practice greater presence, self-awareness, and attunement, which are essential to holding space for supervisees as they encounter challenging emotions, countertransference, and their own growth. By integrating embodiment into supervision, we cultivate a richer, more holistic way of working, one that is grounded in the body and its capacity for healing.