Resources from Spiritual Care

Background to this page

Kenneth Pohly—Transforming the Rough Places: The Ministry of Supervision. Providence House Publishers, 2001

Kenneth Pohly has written an excellent introduction to the work of Pastoral Supervision. He writes from the perspective of a pastor, theological educator, college chaplain, and Director Emeritus of United Theological Seminary’s Supervised Ministry Program. The contents and concepts in this book are highly applicable to the work of SPE supervision. His work is informed by knowledge and experience from pastoral sources as well as reference to supervision in other professions. He presents supervision as relationship and ministry which is intended to be a positive, transformative experience. Pohly does a good job of integrating theology with his understanding of supervision. Especially helpful are the section on narrative theology and the extensive bibliography of supervisory materials at the end of the book.

ISBN- 1-57736-231

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Reviewed in: Journal of Pastoral Care, Vol.48, No.4, Winter 1994, pp.418-419

 The Supervision of Pastoral Care . Edited by David A. Steere. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2002, © 1989

The Supervision of Pastoral Care is a practical introduction to the supervisory experience appropriate for beginner and experienced supervisors. This volume is edited by David A. Steere who is a professor of Pastoral Care and Counselling at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and a certified supervisor with the ACPE. It contains perspectives and resources from an array of professional disciplines. Some of the topics covered are working with clinical materials, narrative theology, the self and relationship in supervision, group supervision, transference and counter transference, and gender issues. It is organized around a practical and broadly applicable supervisory model from clinical programs at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

ISBN- 13: 978-1592440283

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Reviewed in: Journal of Pastoral Care Vol. 44, No. 3, Fall 1990, pp.292-295.

Thomas St. James O’Connor— Supervision and the Theology of Charles Gerkin. Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1998

Thomas St. James O’Connor provides a focused discussion about the theological foundations and praxis of clinical pastoral supervision. He writes from the perspective of a Roman Catholic pastoral theologian, chaplain, supervisor, and family therapist. Drawing on the pastoral wisdom and incarnational theology of CPE supervisor and pastoral psychotherapist Charles Gerkin, O’Connor uses theology to help indicate the unique role and function the clinical pastoral supervisor plays in relation to the supervision of other disciplines. Clinical examples of this role are included.

ISBN- 13: 978-0889203105

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Table of Contents available from publisher’s page

Reviewed in: Journal of Pastoral Care, Vol.53, No.1, Spring 1999, pp.117-118

Rev. Gerald R. Niklas — The Making of a Pastoral Person. Alba House / St. Paul’s, 1981

This book is a helpful resource for supervisors of SPE and students alike. It contains a model of pastoral formation that emphasizes the important role spirituality plays in the supervisory identity and relationship. It takes into account the role played by sexuality, power, and authority. Writing as one who has had extensive experience in Catholic chaplaincy, supervision, and supervision leadership in Cincinnati, Niklas draws on his own experience and insights from psychology and pastoral practice to address topics such as screening interviews, individual supervision, learning contracts, and individual pastoral identity, most if not all of which are relevant to clinical pastoral education supervision.

ISBN-13: 978-0818907616

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John Foskett and David Lyall— Helping the Helpers: Supervision and Pastoral Care. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1988

This small book is an excellent introduction to the field of pastoral supervision. It gives an overview of critical theories that have influenced the supervisory enterprise. It explores topics such as the dynamics of learning, the power of experience for learning, the relationship between theology and learning, and learning in community. The book is packed with theory that is well illustrated by case examples. There is much help here for understanding and making healthy the relationship between the supervisor and the learner. There are also many practical tools and suggestions for supervisors, both novice and master. The book was written by a hospital chaplain and pastoral supervisor, and a teacher at a theological college.

ISBN-13: 978-0281043866

Reviewed in: Journal of Supervision and Training in Ministry, Vol. 11, 1989, pp. 258-260

The Art of Clinical Supervision: A Pastoral Counseling Perspective. Edited by Barry Estadt, John Compton, and Melvin C. Blanchette. Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2005, © 1987

The Art of Clinical Supervision emphasizes the structural aspects of the supervisory task. The book is organized into four sections. The first discusses the supervisory alliance. The second provides material on the supervisory process, including learning contracts, evaluation, resistance, and transference and countertransferrence. The third section describes supervision in a variety of clinical settings. The fourth discusses special issues in supervision such as religion, gender, ethics, and theological and ethical integration. Its editors and contributors are all faculty members at Loyola College in Maryland and come from Lutheran and Roman Catholic backgrounds.

ISBN-13: 978-1597521475

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The Formation of Pastoral Counselors: Challenges and Opportunities. Edited by Duane R. Bidwell and Joretta Marshall. The Haworth Press, Inc., 2006

This collection of essays explores formation, the process of shaping professional identity. It emphasizes defining and understanding the pastoral identity of the counsellor in relation to other disciplines in a way that is also relevant for chaplains. The contributors present the formation of professional identity in a way that is specific, contextual, and relational. The book is divided into two sections. The first is dedicated to context and content. It deals with contemporary issues and insights that can be helpful to the work of chaplaincy. The second addresses models and practices. It looks specifically at Claremont and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care and at a form of supervision which integrates narrative approaches to identify formation and the spirituality of the clinician. Though this volume is not dedicated to SPE supervision, it contains a number of helpful tools for conceiving of the unique aspects of this task.

ISBN-13: 978-0789032959

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Reflective Practice: Supervision and Formation in Ministry, formerly The Journal of Supervision and Training in Ministry. The Journal of Pastoral Care Publications

Reflective Practice: Formation and Supervision in Ministry has a new title and format from its predecessor, The Journal of Supervision and Training in Ministry. The older journal provided for many years a rich resource for discussion of supervisory issues from a pastoral perspective. The back issues are still worth consulting as one learns about pastoral supervision. The new journal continues that tradition with the purposes of promoting theoretical and reflective learning in supervision and formation. It attempts to be pluralistic and multi-faith in scope. The journal is published annually with contributions from Spiritual Directors, CPE Supervisors, theological field educators, and others.

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Supervision of Spiritual Directors: Engaging in Holy Mystery. Edited by Mary Rose Bumpus and Rebecca Bradburn Langer. Morehouse Publishing, 2005

This collection of essays about the supervision of spiritual directors explores contemporary issues such as gender, sexuality, and working with diverse racial and ethnic constituents. These can be used to complement contemporary resources specific to supervision of pastoral education. This book is written by experienced spiritual direction supervisors from a range of Christian traditions, primarily from spiritual direction and training programs in California. Couched in spiritual rather than clinical terms, it provides spiritual understandings of the supervisory task which balance clinical emphases. Like Thomas St. James O’Connor’s work on Charles Gerkin, it grounds supervision in an incarnational reality.

ISBN 13: 978-0819219947

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Maureen Conroy— Looking Into the Well: Supervision of Spiritual Directors. Loyola Press, 1995

Looking Into the Well is an experientially based treatment of the supervision and development of spiritual directors written from a background of Ignatian spirituality. Though not directly dedicated to chaplaincy, it contains a fair bit of material relevant for the education of SPE supervisors. Like Supervision of Spiritual Directors, it is helpful for developing sensitivity and discernment about the uniquely spiritual elements of supervision. Its strength is found in its concrete, personal reflections, and in its numerous case studies, verbatims, appendices, checklist, outlines, and charts.

ISBN-13: 978-0829408270

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Experiencing Ministry Supervision: A Field Based Approach. Edited by William T Pyle and Mary Alice Seals. B&H Publishing Group, 1994

 Experiencing Ministry Supervision is intended to introduce ministry students to field-based education. In describing the supervision process to the student it simultaneously describes the supervisory role. Relevant topics include: choice of supervisor, vocational discernment, learning covenant, supervisory conference, verbatim reports, and engaging in theological reflection. This book is written by eight Southern Baptist seminary professors from a range of academic disciplines and ministry experience.

ISBN-13: 978-0805411638

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Regina Coll— Supervision of Ministry Students. Liturgical Press, 1992

This well-written, accessible book provides instruction about components that enrich the supervisory relationship. Regina Coll presents supervision as both ministry and practical education. Discussing a number of models of relationship she advocates non-hierarchical models which put the burden of responsibility on the student. She places theological reflection and making connections at the heart of the supervisory relationship. A variety of models and modes of reflection are included. These are dedicated in great part to women. Regina Coll is a Sister of St. Joseph Brentwood, New York, and is the Director of Field Education in the Theology Department at the University of Notre Dame.

ISBN-13: 978-0814620403

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Pamela Cooper-White— Shared Wisdom: use of the self in pastoral care and counseling. Augsburg Fortress, 2004

In this work Pamela Cooper-White has provided an in-depth look at the relationship between helper and helpee. She develops modern understandings of transference and counter-transference and how these influence, inform and affect the helping relationship. Although this book is written primarily for pastoral caregivers and counselors, it should be considered a must read for CPE Supervisors who also need a sophisticated understanding of the intersubjective dimensions of the supervisor-supervisee relationship. Cooper-White begins with historical and current understandings of countertransference, both in general and in pastoral care and counseling. Then she discusses the relational paradigm in pastoral assessment and theological reflection, in pastoral care, and finally in pastoral psychotherapy. The final chapter looks at the development of a relational theology. Pamela Cooper-White teaches pastoral theology at the Lutheran theological Seminary in Philadelphia.

ISBN: 0-8006-3454-3

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Spiritual caregivers in the hospital: Windows to chaplaincy ministry. Edited by Leah Dawn Bueckert and Daniel S. Schipani. Pandora Press, 2006

This is a recent release written by chaplains of the Mennonite tradition in hospitals in Canada and the U.S. The work is a general treatment of spiritual care and chaplaincy. Topics covered include a chaplain’s vocational journey, competency, and stragegies in interfaith and interdisciplinary spiritual care. There are also a number of chapters focusing on chaplaincy in specific settings such as emergency rooms and palliative care. There is specific value for the SPE Supervisor in the material on the competency of Chaplains such as Marvin Shanks’ chapter entitled, “Becoming a Competent Chaplain.” It also portrays chaplains at work in a variety of settings, suggesting competencies and skills that need to be developed through the educational process. Another virtue of the volume is its spiritual and theological reflection throughout. Leah Dawn Bueckert is a chaplain. Daniel Schipani teaches in pastoral care and counseling at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Indiana.

ISBN: 1894710657

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Reviewed in Journal of Pastoral Care and Counselling, Vol. 61, Nos. 1-2, Spring Summer 2007, pp. 154-155