Tūmanako
Pastoral Supervision
Te Whanganui-a-Tara- Wellington, Aotearoa- New Zealand
Providing professional supervision to pastoral care workers, youth workers, pastors and ministers.
Professional supervision is increasingly becoming a requirement for pastoral workers. If you are looking for a safe place to reflect on your pastoral care role, scroll down to find out what I offer.
Amber Smith ‘Tumanako/ Hope’. https://ambersmith.nz.
Used with permission.
My Supervision Approach
This beautiful image, by Nelson artist Amber Smith, helps visualise my supervision approach. The underlying value of my supervision practice is tūmanako, hope. Hope that change is possible, and that learning, competence, expertise and fulfilment are realistic expectations.
The birds portrayed in the image are tui, the talkative birds. Kōrero is the basis of supervision. The three birds can be seen to represent the supervisor, the supervisee and the work context or agency of the supervisee. At a spiritual level, the three birds may also represent the supervisor, the supervisee, and wairua tapu, based on the understanding that there is a spiritual or sacred component to kōrero that focuses on personal or social transformation.
The maunga, awa and whenua (mountains, river and land) represent the supervision setting. I aspire to provide a welcoming, safe, and familiar environment where perspective is gained, and restoration occurs.
The whakatauki speaks of new beginnings, of change and growth and I hope that supervision I provide facilitates these processes for supervisees.
About Supervision
Supervision is an intentional, collaborative and contractual relationship in which the supervisor and supervisee reflect on the supervisees’ work context and role. Supervision focuses on events, issues, relationships, knowledge of self, and well-being in the role.
Supervision is not mentoring or coaching, it’s not about getting advice or simply drawing on the experience of the supervisor. My supervision model is based on reflective learning theory which encourages collaborative exploration of an event or issue. In a supervision session, we’ll focus on your agenda, seeking understanding of the impact of an event or issue, and identifying possible solutions and knowledge gained.
About Me
My professional background is in speech & language therapy and pastoral ministry. As a speech-language therapist (SLT), I worked in education and health settings in New Zealand and the UK. In addition to specialising in head and neck cancer rehabilitation and voice disorders, I had service leadership roles in acute hospital settings, a visiting lecturer position in the SLT school at University of Canterbury, worked in private practice and provided clinical supervision to SLT’s.
After returning from the UK in 2005, I studied applied theology and completed pastoral training at Carey Baptist College. I was appointed as lead pastor at Wellington Central Baptist in 2009, and after two years transitioned to a co-pastor model. I finished in my role at Central at the beginning of 2020. Since this time I have been a homemaker, supervisor and student, completing a Post-Graduate Diploma in Social Services Supervision with distinction through Massey University. I started a supervision practice in 2021, and also work for an EAP organisation providing onsite support to a local business.
Most of my childhood was in the United Kingdom, my family lived in New York for five years before arriving in Aotearoa New Zealand in 1980. I’m married to Louise, and we have two teenage children and live in Johnsonville, Wellington.
What I offer
I offer one to one supervision at my Johnsonville home office, or online via various platforms. Frequency and duration of supervision sessions is negotiated, usually one hour every 4-6 weeks.
I offer group supervision to teams onsite or online. I’m also available for one-off sessions to facilitate reflection on a specific event or issue.