17/08/2025
The Parallel Realities Model is at the heart of Deep Mind Psychodynamic Training.
Combining the core principles of psychodynamic psychotherapy and relational psychotherapy, we discover that becoming a psychologist is not just about acquiring knowledge—it is a layered, reflective, and deeply relational process. This image captures the symbolic stages of that journey:
🪺 The Nest with Eggs – Supervision provides the safe, holding environment where emerging skills and insights can develop. This is the birthplace of professional identity.
🧠 The Mirror and Notebook – Reflection is central to growth. Writing, processing, and looking inward allows therapists to explore their own responses, biases, and emotions—an essential part of psychodynamic and relational practice.
🔍 The Magnifying Glass – Training sharpens the clinical lens, enabling psychologists to see beyond surface behaviours and attune to unconscious processes, relational dynamics, and the deeper meaning of what emerges in the room.
🗣️ The Dialogue with Roots Beneath – At the heart of therapy lies the relationship. Healing grows from authentic connection, trust, and the deep “roots” of relational safety.
🌱 Integration – These layers remind us that becoming a therapist is an ongoing process of learning, unlearning, and evolving.
As a clinical supervisor, I hold this same parallel process with my supervisees. The containment, reflection, and insight we cultivate together directly translates into their capacity in the therapy room. In other words, the way they are supported and encouraged to grow in supervision becomes the very foundation of how they manage to hold, contain and heal their clients’ inner wounds.
Do you feel safe to discover your emotional limitations in supervision and psychotherapy training programs?
