What is Professional Supervision?
A recommendation for ALL Christian ministers and for all in the helping professions (i.e. chaplains, youth workers, support workers, aged care workers etc). Professional Supervision is a professional contracted relationship between a trained supervisor and a supervisee. Supervision is an opportunity for the supervisee to reflect on their practice to gain a broader perspective, opening up a space in which to discover possibilities for personal and professional growth.
Professional Supervision is not line management or academic supervision. It does not involve any delegated authority over the supervisee. The Supervisor’s role is to support the supervisee to grow, and become better at what they do. It is a similar relationship to coaching, however whereas coaching generally focusses on one particular skillset and is for a pre-determined period, Professional Supervision can touch on all parts of the supervisee’s professional life and can carry on indefinitely (with regular re-contracting and assessment of the relationship).
It has been a requirement of some ‘helping professions’ (i.e. psychologists, counsellors etc) for their practitioners to receive professional supervision for decades, and the wider Christian church along with secular organisations are moving toward making it a compulsory requirement of their workers going forward.
What does a typical session involve?
Sessions can be conducted in person in Orange NSW, or via Zoom or Skype.
A typical session follows the following format:
1. Greetings and catch up
2. ‘Contracting’ – an agreement about what the focus of this session will be.
3. Listening and Exploration – the supervisee explains the issue they have brought for discussion, and the supervisor engages them with active listening, open questions to allow the supervisee to fully explore the topic.
4. Actions – the Supervisee and Supervisor discuss and work to put in place plans for any actions needed as a result of the exploration.
5. Review – a summary and agreement about the actions that have been agreed. The Supervisor encourages feedback on what was helpful, what was difficult and what they would like to be different for future supervision.
How often should we meet?
Check with your employer if they require you to have a minimum number of sessions per year. Aspire Supervision recommends a minimum of 6-8 sessions per year, with no sessions in December or January.
What is the cost?
Your first session is FREE!
It is an opportunity for us to get to know each other and to fully explain the process of Supervision, as well as expectations and responsibilities before committing to paying anything!
From the second session onward, Aspire charges on a per hour basis and all fees must be paid in advance – A standard session is 1 hour. We are able to set up recurring payments from your credit or debit card, and also offer significant discounts for paying for all contracted sessions in advance.
Our rates vary depending on if you are in paid ministry/employment and whether you are being supported by your employer to pay for supervision. Please use the Contact page to get the most up to date fee schedule.