After a long time in the making, The 3 Day National Supervision conference held at IFT in  May 2023, and hosted by Karen Burgess,  was a very special experience for all involved. Just as we had hoped feedback was overwhelmingly positive with participants describing it as well organised, well executed and powerfully experiential.  To highlight just a fraction of the feedback;

‘I am thankful to be able to attend conferences with such a diverse group of thinkers.’

‘The treatment of the topic was excellent as it gave space to explore feelings and new ideas in a non-judgemental and creative space.’

‘It was a joy to see so many females and presenters from the global majority. The tribal and kinship space was invaluable.’

‘Use of clips, drama and music were powerful and very moving. Thank you.’

One of the many successes of the conference was the range of speakers, which included presenters from around the country including Glasgow, Exeter, Birmingham and London. The focus throughout the conference on issues of power and difference was reflected in the range of presentations ranging from decolonising the curriculum to drawing links between Sikhism and supervision., as well as in the structured small group discussion spaces, notably, and thanks to Jessica Anglin d’Christian’s developing work around ‘tribes and kinsfolk groups’. Many participants appreciated the specific practice based sessions around working in different contexts and described taking away new and creative supervision tools.

This conference will now run annually, and in the sprit of collaboration it will be hosted by a partner organisation next year. We think you will agree with us that this has been a tremendous start to the event and like the endeavour of supervision itself it has shown the power and usefulness of ideas coming together in the context of mutual respect, reflexivity and creativity.

We wish to extend a huge thank you to all those who took part.