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- pastoral counselling or coaching, transformational guidance, creative expression though art and storytelling, group leadership or workshops
- shake up stagnant systems, disruptor, moving through life phases with depth and increasing energy in role
- not trying to fix others' problems without being authorised, healer and transformational catalyst by being, responding, feeling, influencing, and walking my authentic path
- provocateur who brings growth by challenging comfort zones, inspiring renewal, bringing a sense of order to chaos for powerful decision making with inventive communication
- my role isn’t to rescue, it's to awaken, offering wisdom through lived experience.
blog
## 250724 Peer Supervision Group
as presented in person at the Tavistock Community Annual Gathering 18 Jul 2025
The Peer Supervision Group project began in January this year, when I first raised a proposal at the Tavistock Community monthly online discussion. The group arose out of my perceived need for a regular space where Community members could come together and reflect on their professional lives, sharing case material from the workplace. It struck me how strange it was, that it had not been thought of before, or at least it hadn't been surfaced. In fact I had been sitting on the idea for quite a while, looking back now I can see roots in work around a Protocol back in 2020.
I graduated from the supervision course in 2017. Since then I have provided formal supervision, both structured and ad hoc support using supervision skills, while also still coaching to people both within and outside my organisation: all of which complements my spiritual focus and holistic or whole systems approach. My own supervision recently came into question, and in the process of re-contracting, I had the opportunity to consider a fresh approach. I felt that a part of that still needed to benefit from access to insight from systems psychodynamics, and this was one way of achieving that.
So this is how it came about, the aim and purpose still shaping up, in that January call [host] mentioned the similarity of this to role consultation where the issue presented is not yet resolved, nor is the aim to solve it. It runs in a format that reminded me of an action learning set session. This has provided a conceptual reference, and in posting after the call, I linked to a paper by Krantz and Maltz (1997) called ' A framework for consulting to organizational role'. In March I posted the initiative as a separate project in its own right with a fuller description and another reference, this time from my interfaith dialogue facilitation background, a book chapter by Clemens and Arao (2013) called 'From Safe Spaces to Brave Spaces'.
The format would be a small group (6-10) that convenes online once per month for 75-90 mins. We had four participants in our third session this month, so room still for growth. We seem to be settling on the first Friday of the month at 3pm UK time (BST at the moment) so the next session is on 1 August. We are using MS Teams (not Zoom).
After arrival at the beginning of the session the first task is to agree presenters and facilitator roles. There are up to three presentations with 15 minute slots each. That includes time to ask clarifying questions, responding and reflection. It needs a structured containment if it is to keep on track with its aim and purpose, so there's an emphasis on clarity, for example:
-- it remains a confidential discussion the contents of which aren't shared on Basecamp [online project management tool] or elsewhere
-- as an evolving or adaptive project, I think we may need to name the unthought or not-thought-yet areas if possible, explain further as shape emerges (for example should there be a requirement to join the call form a fixed /quiet location etc, and how to address it without being unnecessarily restrictive)
-- to paraphrase one member 'it sounds like supervision without feeling like supervision'.
So participants can take turns presenting, responding and facilitating. However if it is agreed to focus on one member's material for more time, that's fine too. So long as the material shared is from our own professions /day job.
The group is leaderless. I feel this has some relevance to the wider Community in its organisation.
There is a 'step up step down' approach. This means contributing, then making space for others to do so too. In this way presenters receive advice /support from the other participants, and that includes possible consensus or disagreement of the group as a whole. Above all, it needs to remain as a brave space for cultivating reflective practice.
So in its similarities to role consultation, as we develop, we can build a more conceptual framework. However one notable difference is application in a group format rather than usually one to one. In developing, we could explore for example what is the relationship in case material between 'role given' and 'role taken', or 'task systems' and 'sentient systems'.
I did suggest a simple primary task: the group is nourished through insight exchanged between peers. It's open to refinement though, of course. I think it aligns well with the Community primary task which can be thought of as continuing the learning together.
I would like to see it reach full capacity so 8-10 participants by the end of the year. If you are interested to join, please do ping me or message on the PSG project thread. If you are a new graduate that would be once you have access to Basecamp, however you could email me now if you wish.