Training provided by liaison psychiatry has been considerably developed over the last decades. This article describes how " communication skills" training in oncology evolved to now address interpersonal dimensions of the medical encounter, the clinician's "inner" world and the context. We further present a so-called clinician-centered supervision, which aims to address the intra psychic issues of the clinician; the opportunities and precautions with this specific type of supervision are discussed. Focusing on the clinician facilitates and enriches the clinical encounter and improves medical care.