Peer Supervision - Beyond the Basics

The spiritual direction supervision process was adapted from supervision in the psychological community. It helps a spiritual director uncover personal agendas, self-protective motives, or psychological and spiritual impediments to freedom in the spiritual director.

Supervision is vital for every spiritual director, new or experienced. It provides an opportunity for a spiritual director (some say companion) to perform a personal inventory, to prayerfully explore personality traits or issues that might interfere with direction, as well as moments of grace, and then use that information to grow and develop into a better person and in the process, become a better spiritual director.

It is important to note that supervision deals with the inner movements of the director, not the directed. During the process, the director and supervisor(s) contemplatively listen together to God and what has been going on inside the director (his or her affect) while he /she is listening to another. Both the supervised spiritual director and supervisors explore together where they noticed God in the direction session.

Effective supervision opens the director to self and his or her feelings, responses, or reactions, which might include almost any emotion including boredom, anger, fear, anxiety, distraction, as well as enthusiasm, joy, peace, and hope.

Supervision provides many benefits including:

• Opens the heart and soul more fully to God.
• Increases inner freedom, transparency and humility.
• Aligns human hearts with the work of the Holy Spirit.
• Helps a person hone the ability to be a spiritual director.
• Develops close relationships, trust, and respect among supervision group members.]

This book will help you begin or improve your spiritual direction through group supervision. It provides formats for recording direction sessions, supervision presentations, verbatim, and a supervision meeting agenda. And hopefully, it will help you grow toward Christ and deepen your prayer.