Professional Supervision & Mentoring

“We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.”

– Marcel Proust –

What is Professional Supervision?

Professional supervision is a formal process that supports the professional development, well-being, and accountability of individuals working in people-focused care professions, such as healthcare, social work, counselling, ministry, or education.

It involves a collaborative relationship between a supervisor and a supervisee, with the aim of enhancing the quality of service provided and ensuring the professional’s competence and ethical practice.

Why is Professional Supervision so Valuable?

The primary purpose of professional supervision is to provide you, the supervisee, with a safe and supportive environment for you to reflect on your work, explore challenges, and receive guidance and feedback from an experienced and qualified supervisor.

It affords you the opportunity to discuss your experiences, emotions, and dilemmas related to your role, and to seek guidance in making informed decisions.

As such, professional supervision provides you with a safe and sacred space for courageous conversations about the work you do and, more importantly, how and why you do it.

How will Supervision help you?

Our relationship will help:

• Ensure alignment between your role, soul, and context. 
• Identify ways to maximise the utilisation of your strengths.
• Develop strategies to mitigate the impact of your weaknesses.
• Explore who you really are and what matters most to you. 
• Uncover wisdom to navigate difficult transitions and conflicts. 
• Develop a self-leadership plan to ensure lifelong continuous learning and growth. 

My Role as Supervisor

As a professional supervisor, it is my role to accompany you on a rich exploration of your experiences in the service of others.

My goal is to support you as you reflect on your work in the past, while in the present, for the sake of the future, and encourage you to find meaning and purpose in what you discover.

The primary context in which I serve as a supervisor is Christian ministry. However, the process of supervision is not limited to that context.

Any work motivated and inspired by the soul’s deepest passions and convictions is worthy of the valuable process of supervised pastoral reflection.

If you see the work you do as valuable to others, then that work is deserving of your best attention, as are those impacted by your work, including you.

The Supervisory Process

As a supervisor, I employ a process model developed by Hawkins & Shohet (The Seven Eyed Supervision Model), which enables:

• Reflection on the content of the issue being explored.
• Exploration of the responses, strategies, and interventions used by the supervisee.
• Investigation of the process and relationships relating to the issue.
• Focus on the Supervisee’s process.
• Focus on the Supervisory relationship.
• Focus on the Supervisor’s process.
• Consideration of the broader (relational or organisational) context.

This approach is supported by a Narrative Consultation model, which employs principles of Narrative Therapy to draw out understanding and meaning from the stories we tell about the work we do and its impact on both us and others.

What I Prioritise in My Approach

Listening to understand you – I know the power of being heard and deeply understood. We all need spaces in which we can say what we want to say without fear of judgement. Being heard by someone who truly cares about you is a powerfully healing and liberating experience. 

Helping you discover the wisdom you need – We tend to hold onto the things we learn by discovery far more deeply than the things others tell us. I’m here to accompany you on the journey of meaningful reflection that leads to wisdom and understanding. 

Offering alternative ways of thinking about your situation – This helps reframe the story you are telling yourself about your life, work, and circumstance. The stories we tell ourselves about the experiences we have are deeply formative. Rethinking and reframing the narrative helps us derive new meaning from the experiences that have most impacted our lives. 

The Supervisory Relationship

Establishing the relationship between supervisor and supervisee is an ongoing collaborative effort guided by principles of best supervisory practice, your unique needs and expectations as a supervisee, and an agreed-upon Supervisory Contract.

This simple document serves as a helpful compass as we navigate our way through our shared exploration of your story and seek clarification, realisation, and action.

Our relationship will be characterised by mutual trust and respect and will be enriched by a shared commitment to honesty, transparency, and accountability.

The relationship is also protected by a deep commitment on my part to the highest standards of ethical practice as determined by the Australasian Association of Supervision and by a willingness to honour confidentiality.

Professional supervision becomes a profoundly transformative learning experience for both the supervisor and the supervisee when both are open to the risk and reward of brave, exploratory conversations.

It would be a pleasure and a privilege to embark on such an experience with you, so reach out and let’s talk about what might be possible together.

“The people closest to me determine my level of success or failure. The better they are, the better I am. And if I want to go to the highest level, I can do it only with the help of other people. We have to take each other higher.”

– John C. Maxwell –

Mentoring

Mentoring is a different kind of supporting relationship to Professional Supervision in that mentoring is concerned with all of life and the whole of self.

Unlike Coaching, which tends to focus on the short-to-medium term development of specific skills (leading, speaking, managing, business-building, financial planning, etc.), Mentoring is a longer-term relationship that takes into consideration the full-range of human experience, including relationships, calling, stages of life, transitions, self-care, faith, and working toward the future.

In Mentoring we will focus on vital aspects of your life including:

• Clarifying your calling and purpose.
• Understanding your unique orientation to life.
• Formulating a Personal Mission Statement.
• Developing habits of personal effectiveness.
• Addressing mental roadblocks to growth and performance.
• Building life-giving relationships at home and at work.
• Defining success and significance.

I have spent almost three decades mentoring people at various stages of life and leadership and have discovered that one of the most rewarding and enriching experiences we can have as human beings is getting to witness the beauty and the mystery of someone else’s story.

If you are interested in having me accompany you through yours, I would love to hear from you.

About me

I currently serve on the faculty of Alphacrucis University College, an Australian-based higher education institution where I lecture in Theology and Ministry.

Prior to my role with AUC, I served for fifteen years on the full-time staff of Riverview Church, a large non-denominational congregation in Perth, Western Australia.

My time there involved a variety of roles including five years as an Executive Minister and three-and-a-half years as the Senior Minister.

Over twenty-nine years of full-time ministry, I have had the privilege of pastoring two churches and have extensive experience in leading, preaching, teaching, pastoring, and mentoring.

Besides my passion for ministers and their ministries, I have a deep love for nature and a particular interest in African wildlife photography.

I am married to Liezl, and we have two beautiful teenage children, Nathan and Rachael.

Education

• Master of Theology (University of Bangor, Wales)
• Bachelor of Theology (University of Johannesburg)
• Graduate Certificate in Professional Supervision (Alphacrucis University College)

Memberships

• Associate Member of Australasian Association of Supervisors (AAOS)
• Member of Australian Christian Mentoring Network (ACMN)
• Member of The ROCKS Church, Perth, WA (non-denominational)

Services offered

• Professional Supervision
• Mentoring
• Ministry Coaching
• Public Speaking Coaching
• Group Presentation Coaching
• Preaching and Teaching
• Event Speaking
• Workshop Facilitation

Experience areas

• Church Leadership
• Organisational Leadership
• Pastoral Ministry
• Higher Education
• Professional Supervision
• Coaching and Mentoring
• Training and Facilitation
• Theology and Doctrine
• Preaching and Teaching

Specialty areas

• General Professional Supervision (including pastoral and professional reflection)
• Mentoring and Ministry Coaching
• Public Speaking (including but not limited to Preaching and Teaching)

Supervision and Mentoring Fees

Individual Supervision: $150 per hour ($85 concession holders).

Group Supervision: $40 per person per hour (minimum cost $150 per hour).

Supervision sessions can take place in-person (Perth Metro area) or Online (via Zoom). I currently supervise and mentor people in various parts of the world as well as my home nation of Australia.

Endorsements