This year so far we’ve met twice online, on different days of the week, both from 10am-12.30pm, with about a dozen members attending on each occasion.
On 28th February, we had another “Sharing Experience and Learning from One Another” (following on from a similar session last year, which proved popular). We continue to have new members join us at each meeting, so after welcome and introducing ourselves, we broke into small groups to consider the two questions;
[1] What I’ve learned about pastoral supervision in the last year.
[2] What I want to learn about pastoral supervision this coming year.
After a halfway coffee break we addressed a topic which a number of newly qualified pastoral supervisors had raised; that of Developing a Pastoral Supervision Practice, where we identified challenges, pooled ideas and offered encouragement. Afterwards, I wrote notes from our discussions to circulate to those who’d expressed an interest on the topic but who were unable to be with us that morning. You can download them here.
On 10th May, Susan Osborne led us on the topic of Using Poetry in Pastoral Supervision. It was fascinating to hear how Susan has used her background as an English teacher with a particular love of poetry to shape her pastoral supervision practice. We may not wish or feel equipped to include poetry as systematically as she does, but it was a rich time together considering how poetry might be used as a creative tool in pastoral supervision, as well as reflecting on how our individual professional backgrounds might shape what we bring to our supervision work.
Our next meeting will be on Monday 11th September, 10.30am-3.30pm in person at St Philips’ Centre, Leicester LE5 5UB, (https://www.stphilipscentre.co.uk), courtesy of Revd Dr Tom Wilson, who is Director of the Centre. The topic will Group Supervision, led by Revd Dr Anne Holmes, a group analyst and psychotherapist with a particular interest in the benefit of the creative arts in enhancing well-being. The day will include some theory but will mainly be interactive and experiential, designed to be also relevant and useful to those not currently involved in supervising a group. There will be a small charge, depending on numbers attending, to contribute to the costs of the building. Hot drinks will be available but please bring a packed lunch.
We extend an invitation to APSE members beyond the Midlands Group to join us in this CPD event in Leicester. Please contact me to book your place. Gill Carding, Midlands Group co-ordinator gillcarding@btinternet.com) .
