Revisiting Supervision
The Changing Face of Compassionate Supervision Across the Life of Spiritual Direction Ministry
Thursday, May 11, 2023
At its most effective, the ministry of supervision offers both compassion and flexibility to accommodate the needs of supervisees across the life of their ministries, from students in training to seasoned spiritual directors.
This program explored the changing face of supervision across the life of spiritual direction ministry and emphasized the role of compassion in the supervision process.
Designed to support supervisors while offering ongoing formation, participants identified areas of growth in their supervision practice and skills they had gained. Participants grew in their understanding of supervision through the input of the program presenter, who has designed supervision training programs nationally and internationally.
The format included input, reflection, and small and large group conversation with ample opportunity to articulate needs for ongoing supervision formation and support.
Download resources below:
“Do No Harm,” article about boundaries written by the presenter, Maria Tattu Bowen.
A list of resources to support you in your supervision ministry.
An edited version of the chat from the live program.
About the Presenter
Maria Tattu Bowen, PhD, earned a Ph.D. in Christian Spirituality with additional work in Biblical Studies and the History of Christian Spirituality, poetry and philosophy, Judaism, Bakhti Hinduism, and Buddhist Vipassana. She has taught spirituality at the university and graduate levels and world religions at the undergraduate level. Her experience includes collaborating in a cross-cultural, ecumenical community through more than two decades of teaching in the Spiritual Direction Program at San Francisco Theological Seminary (Presbyterian). She has formed spiritual directors from the US, Canada, Latin America, and Asia and trained supervisors from across North America, Europe and Asia.
Maria joyfully collaborates with Fordham University’s Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education in its Advanced Certificate in Supervision program and considers it the place where she has come full circle. She was formed as a spiritual director at the University of San Francisco; received her Ph.D. in Christian Spirituality at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley while affiliated with the Jesuit School of Theology; and has trained supervisors under the auspices of the Irish Jesuits.
Maria’s spirituality is rooted in a deep relationship with the natural world that grounds and informs her work. The Ignatian sense of finding God in all things accords with her experience and the fruits of her 30-day silent Ignatian retreat remain with her to this day.
She maintains a private ministry in spiritual direction and supervision with people in Christian, Jewish, and spiritual-but-not-religious contexts. She embraces writing as a beloved aspect of ministry and has contributed to books on spiritual direction formation and supervision as well as an article about boundaries in Presence. She is currently writing a book about the Together in the Mystery model of supervision.