Do You Know About Reflective Pastoral Supervision?
I had had a confusing, if not disturbing, conversation with a client. I was bothered by something they said, unhappy with the way we left it, and was thinking not only about what my next steps needed to be, but also about how I was being hooked by the conversation. There was something present for me about my client, the way the conversation flowed and landed, and there was also something about me. It wouldn’t leave my mind, which made me realize I needed to process it somewhere. We, of course, take client confidentiality very seriously, so I knew my spaces in which to process the situation were limited. It turned out I was to have a reflective supervision session later the next day. Perfect.
In helping professions like therapy and social work, it’s a regular practice to engage in clinical supervision. It’s a place to explore your practice, deal with confusing client situations, and process your own “stuff.” It has often confounded me that pastors don’t have the same requirement to engage in clinical supervision.
The British Methodist Church does require their pastors to be in what they call reflective pastoral supervision. They instituted this requirement following a highly successful research pilot (see the statistics below). Reflective Pastoral Supervision (RPS) is similar to the helping professions’ clinical supervision, except that in RPS, we recognize it is a sacred space in which the Holy Spirit is present and active. In 2019, LeaderWise joined with the United Methodist Church to bring RPS to the UMC in a pilot. RPS is now a regular offering at LeaderWise.
RPS is a spiritually-grounded and psychologically informed space that supports the well-being, development, and safe practice of clergy and other ministry workers both for their sake and the sake of those with whom they work (their church and the wider church). Paralleling reflective clinical supervision provided to those in the helping professions, pastoral supervision provides clergy with regular facilitated space to reflect on their practice of ministry and the impact their ministry is having on them and those they serve. Ministers meet with supervisors (often other ministers) who are trained and certified in the process of RPS. The pair covenant to meet for about 90 minutes every 6 to 8 weeks in a confidential, safe, and boundaried space. Supervision sessions can happen in person or on zoom. The sessions follow a particular process that leads the supervisee into deep and creative reflection on the questions they bring from their ministry. Supervisors host and facilitate the process, allowing the supervisee to find their own answers.
In broad research conducted by the British Methodist Church during their piloting, clergy reported significant benefits:
74% identified an improved their ability to notice unconscious dynamics
73% expressed improved clarification of roles and boundaries
71% experienced an improved sense of their own accountability
68% improved their ability to identify and manage risk
75% expressed improved connection with God and vocation
73% experienced reduced anxiety and stress
69% reported the ability to make better use of time
65% reported improvement in colleague relationships
Are you a pastor, chaplain, ministry worker, or clergy coach who might benefit from reflective pastoral supervision? Do you read this and wonder whether you have the gifts to become a reflective pastoral supervisor? Do you want to explore bringing RPS to your judicatory, group, or denomination? Please reach out to me (marykay@leaderwise.org)!
As I look back on the situation I described in the opening paragraph, I recognize that through my session with my pastoral supervisor, I learned a lot about who I am and about some assumptions I was making, and I devised my next steps with my client. Most importantly, I stopped ruminating on it and moved forward! Thank God for that!
