Marilyn Welch and the CAIRA team explain the purpose of supervision for those involved in pastoral work in churches and communities.

Supervision, particularly pastoral supervision, has great value for those in pastoral roles to assist them to reflect on how they are and what they do in their work role in order to improve their practice. Many faith communities, along with caring professions, now make it mandatory for those working on the front line to meet regularly with an external supervisor. This includes most people who are in roles contributing to well-being in our communities — those working with children, youth, pastoral care and social work, chaplains, lay ministers, priests, nurses and administrators — to promote their personal growth in pastoral care. Supervision is envisioned as a mutually respectful and supportive relationship where the supervisee is able to discuss their work, its impact on how they function in their role, as well as how it may be influencing their values.

The process of supervision can happen in face-to-face meetings, by telephone or other technology such as Skype or Zoom. These different options were especially helpful during the COVID-19 restrictions when many were under considerable stress and realised the benefits of being in supervision.

Purpose of Supervision

Pastoral supervision focuses on the interface between the person’s belief and practice. It is an action/reflection process encouraging future-facing thinking and reflection on spirituality in each particular context. By recognising the impact of our particular influence in terms of culture, relationality and experience on situations, supervisors can give new insights and understanding.

One group offering pastoral supervision is CAIRA, funded by the Anglican Church of Aotearoa NZ and Polynesia. The National Advisory Group (NAG) continues to ensure people from diverse cultural groups are available as supervisors including from our three tikanga of Māori, Pasifika and Pakeha as well as from ecumenical backgrounds.

CAIRA has five key principles — collegiality, accountablity, identity, responsibility and authority.

Collegiality is grounded in our experience of community. It is an acceptance of our relationships and partnership with each other as we hold faith and spirituality respectfully.

Accountability is rooted in our relationships. It is symbolised by codes of practice, boundaries, rules and regulations. It is also an internal state of being, of owning and practising these in an integrated way, holding ourselves to account in good faith.

Identity formation is a life-long development of knowing who we are, both as a person and practitioner. It is a key element in working with others.

Responsibility is grounded in our relationship with God who cares for us and calls us to care for others. It has a dual focus of being responsible and response-able and we need to attend to both.

Authority is often spoken of as leadership, power or autonomy. However, it especially says something about confidently owning the truth of our calling in relation to the caller, "the one who still leaves a calling card to invite us to become”.

Supervisors’ Perspective

Those offering supervision have reflected on their role in a number of ways. One counsellor explained: “Supervision gives an assurance of a safety net in a professional and pastoral arena for practitioners who have decided to stand up and be counted for owning their Christian faith. It has given a depth to how I approach areas of professional delivery and also to my view of other areas of church ministry.”

Support and encouragement are important to those who may not have a team around them all the time. As a hospital chaplain said: “Pastoral supervision for me means support and encouragement; a place to debrief concerns relating to my work in ministry, and chiefly, to allow the work to change and grow me as a person by paying attention to my own reactions. I choose to both be, and go to, a CAIRA supervisor because the practice examines our everyday reactions and challenges in relationships.”

A nursing supervisor said that as a supervisor she could “bring Christ into the discussion in the supervision room and provide a focus for all other thoughts, behaviours and questioning on which to be anchored. This provides a place to reflect, re-charge, care for yourself and rest. CAIRA also presents the challenging questions and holds the supervisee while they examine themselves under a supported Christian lens.”

Supervisees’ Perspective

There is no doubt that the supervision relationship is valued by practitioners. A community worker commented: “Supervision has helped me with professional development, case planning, support, personal mental health and encouragement to deal with issues as they arise with clients.”

“The supervision I have received has been very holistic including my working, family, personal and spiritual life,” a chaplain working in the rest home said. “ This has really helped me self-reflect and move forward in many aspects of life. I look forward to supervision and feel privileged with my supervisor’s wisdom, integrity and humour.”

Most of those involved in regular supervision recognise its value and importance in keeping them safe in their roles of caring for others and in their ministry to others. As in every relationship there are moments of tears and a lot of laughter.

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 250 July 2020: 18-19