Pastoral Supervision
Refreshing Conversations for Your Calling
Introduction.
Ministry is demanding work.
It often means serving at the "coalface of personal distress, disease, and fragmentation," and carrying the stories of others. But you don't have to carry them alone.
Pastoral Supervision offers a regular, intentional, and boundaried space to process the challenges and triumphs of your vocation. It’s the essential ‘pit-head time’—the right to wash off the grime of the work before you take it home, ensuring you can serve sustainably and avoid burnout.
What is Pastoral Supervision?
Pastoral Supervision is a reflective practice situated within a relationship built on trust, respect, and confidentiality. It is a one-to-one or group partnership where you can safely explore your professional practice with the aim of continually growing in your work. My role is not to provide answers, but to act as a companion on the way, helping you uncover your own insights through a structured, supportive process.
Is This for You?
This confidential space is designed for ministers, chaplains, and anyone in a pastoral role. Supervision is particularly helpful if you:
Find yourself carrying other people’s stories and troubles for too long.
Feel your own "buttons pressed" when dealing with a particular issue or person.
Are encountering resistance or conflict, within yourself or with others.
Feel stuck, uneasy, or are struggling with your perspective.
Are aware you might be close to (or have crossed) professional boundaries.
Have had a difficult encounter and want to learn from it for the future.
Have done something well and wish to capture the experience and learning.
My Approach: The Three Movements of Supervision
Our work together will be centred on a rhythm of refreshing, reflecting, and revisioning.
1. Refreshing: The Space to be ‘Cleansed’ This is the foundational element—a chance to decompress and unburden yourself in a safe, non-judgmental environment. Research has shown that this process increases clergy wellbeing, reduces anxiety, and builds trust within the life of the church.
2. Reflecting: What Went Well? What Would You Do Differently? Based on a foundation of trust, we will look at your experiences in a theologically informed and practice-based way. We’ll explore events, feelings, and decisions, not to 'fix' them, but to understand them and help you grow in your skills and understanding.
3. Revisioning: What's Next? How Do We Move Forward? Flowing from our reflection, we look to the future. We will identify practical steps and new perspectives that help you grow in your theological reflection and professional practice, equipping you to move forward with renewed confidence and purpose.
What to Expect
A Safe & Confidential Space: Everything that happens in our sessions is confidential, except where a safeguarding issue requires reporting. We will establish a clear Covenant Agreement to ground our work together.
Session Structure: Sessions are typically 60 minutes online or up to 90 minutes in person. We will agree on a frequency and number of sessions that best suit your needs.
What It Is Not: It's important to clarify that Pastoral Supervision is distinct from other practices. It is not Spiritual Direction (I don't set the agenda), Spiritual Coaching (the focus is on understanding, not just outcomes), Counselling (we explore events, but not from a therapeutic perspective), or Mentoring (I am not seeking to make you into a version of me).
Your First Step: A Discovery Session
The journey begins with a complimentary discovery session. This is a crucial opportunity for us to get to know each other and for me to understand your context, calling, and what you hope to gain from supervision.
To make this first conversation as fruitful as possible, please come ready to share a little about your passions in ministry, any concerns you have, and your hopes and expectations for this process.
