The intent of this paper is to discuss the components that comprise the practice of supervision-administrative, educative, clinical-beginning with general considerations and then identifying situations specific to the alcoholism field. It is suggested that supervisors in the alcoholism treatment field are exposed to considerable external stress. They are often ill prepared for the supervisory tasks, have conflicting roles to perform, are isolated within the organization and have insufficient resources. In addition, it is felt that some of the most intense stressors derive not only from the system but from the very nature of the disease itself. In the clinical section, distinction between objective and subjective contertransference is made. The parallel between the therapist/client and supervisor/supervisee relationships is identified as the primary tool for helping the worker learn. Case examples are used throughout.