Ministering Well: Attending to your wellbeing for those in pastoral ministry Online Workshop Series

A series of free workshops for those in pastoral ministry

Why I am offering these free workshops

This series of workshop is a response to the common saying "Who ministers to the those in ministry?" Having worked closely with people in ministry both here and overseas, I am very conscious of the demands of ministry and its impact on people's wellbeing.  I am seeing much more exhaustion, burn-out and higher levels of despondency. Being aware of the trends overseas of increased of suicidality among clergy, I wanted to offer the insights I have gained in 36 years of working in the fields of suicide prevention and mental wellbeing promotion as well as my insights on the intersection of faith, spirituality and wellbeing.

Since my return to Aotearoa-New Zealand, I have become very conscious of the increasing demand on school counsellors, the complexity of the issues that students are presenting with and the challenges in being able to refer on students. COVID-19 and recent adverse weather events has had significant impact on counsellors as they try to meet the increased caseloads.

As I travel around the country delivering workshops I come into contact with counsellors who are committed and passionate in their work with students. However, taking a step back and reflecting on the many conversations I have had with counsellors I would suggest that there is an increasingly despondent and over-worked school counsellor workforce.

Being passionate about mental wellbeing and very cognisant of what it is to be unwell, my intention in offering these workshops is to be supportive of School Counsellors in their roles and to share my learnings and insights. I have developed this series of wellbeing workshops specifically designed for school counsellors and the school counselling context.  I want to provide an opportunity for counsellors to pause and reflect on your roles and the impact that it has on your wellbeing. To explore how to function in your role in ways that sustain and nurture and protects against that which drains or burdens.

in recognition of you and the important roles you undertake in supporting rangatahi, the workshops are free as my contribution to being a supportive ally to school counsellors

Each workshop covers a topic area with some input about the topic using a wellbeing perspective and then an opportunity to reflect on and share with your peers their experience and perspective. By the end of the workshops participants will have in their Kete some practical tools that to sustain your wellbeing and nurture your resilient wairua.

Workshops cover:

• the theory and the practice of wellbeing
• the opportunity for you in ministry to jointly develop a wellbeing outcomes framework for your roles.
• wellbeing topics relevant to your ministry as well as topics that participants have identified for discussion.
• an end of year reflection on the year, a stocktake on how your ministry has impacted on your wellbeing, identify things to change or work on in 2026 and some useful strategies to refresh and sustain yourself for the next year.

Workshop Descriptions

Workshop 1: Thursday 6 March

Workshop 2: Thursday 10 April

Theoretical foundations of mental wellbeing

Different outcomes for different purposes - the difference between welfare, wellness and wellbeing approaches

Yes but what actually do you do? -Working often with complex issues and having to function in a role that has a wide range of outputs / tasks that may not be clearly defined.

Social and cultural determinants of wellbeing

Workshop 3:  Thursday 19 June

Conceptual models of wellbeing: The Wheel of Wellbeing and Te Whare Tapa Whā 

Reflective practice - a model for celebrating achievements and on-going learning and adapting

Embedding of wellbeing thinking in the professional supervision process

A wellbeing framework for those in pastoral ministry

Workshop 4: Thursday 14 August

The rollercoaster of the highs and lows of being a school counsellor

Yes but.. setting boundaries and limits

Tired and feeling flat: The tell-tale signs of despondency, exhaustion or burnout and what can be done about it

Hearing the pain but not owning the pain - Protecting your wairua while engaging in ministry with people in distress and understanding vicarious trauma

Workshop 5: Thursday 9 October

Facilitators of change and working collaboratively - engaging others to come onboard your waka to join you in your mahi

I have pushed and I have pulled but I can't get traction - facing exasperation and disillusionment

Clinical safety - working in risk adverse environments

Workshop 6: Thursday 4 December

Sprinting or crawling to the end of the year? Taking stock at the end of the year

Having a break -The role of intentional recreation

Where to from here?
In addition to the workshops I offer one on one supervision, mentoring and debriefing, or one-off or longer term consultations on project design, implementation and evaluation

Workshop Format

Presentation on wellbeing theory and outcomes to frame and contextualise the group activities
Small group work to brainstorm how to translate the outcomes into practical wellbeing action
Large group discussion to synthesise the small group discussion

The principal outcome will be that by the end of the six workshops there would be a school counsellor wellbeing action plan that has collectively been developed by you, the school counsellors.

​Group Activities
If there is more than one counsellor at a school attending the workshops then participants are encouraged to view the workshop as a group as they're a numerous group activities.  For school counsellors who are sole counsellors in a school, you are encouraged if possible to join up in-person with other school counsellors.  School counsellors in rural areas who cannot join up in person with other counsellors will participate in online breakout groups.

Workshop Recordings:
Recognising that due to timetabling and counselling demands school counsellors may be able to attend all the workshops. Workshops are also recorded and are available to be viewed for a month after the workshop date.

An opportunity for learning with internationally respected and award winning mental wellbeing practitioner and suicidologist, Barry Taylor

Barry has worked in mental wellbeing promotion and suicide prevention/postvention for 35 years at the local, national and international levels.  His extensive experience includes sitting on state and national government advisory committees; designing, implementing and evaluating suicide prevention programs; writing suicide prevention guidelines, training packages and community resources; providing technical advice to community based and national mental wellbeing and suicide prevention programs. He developed the first guidelines for schools in responding to youth suicide and was involved in the review of the current national guidelines.

He has led multiple ‘firsts’ in mental wellbeing promotion initiaitives both in Aotearoa-New Zealand and overseas.  In recognition of his leadership and outstanding contribution and leadership to mental wellbeing and suicide prevention, he was awarded in 2016 the NSW Mental Health Commissioner's Community Champion Award.  He currently sits on the Health and Disability Ethics Committee.

Barry has lectured on wellbeing both nationally and internationally and been appointed to numerous government advisory committees on mental wellbeing and suicide prevention.  He brings to this workshop extensive experience in advising communities and government on post-disaster recovery in terms of both mental wellbeing promotion / community resiliency and suicide prevention. 

As a Health Sociologist and Public Health practitioner, he takes a broad approach to what shapes and influences our wellbeing, in particular the social and cultural determinants. He uses a population health and systems change approach, drawing on transformational change theory and collective impact.  Underpinning his wellbeing framework  is an holistic understanding of wellbeing which includes the role that 'spirituality' and ecology contributes to a person's wellbeing.

After a number of years overseas, he is  living back here and is passionate about  promoting well and thriving individuals, whānau, workplaces and communities and supporting those working in counselling roles.

Online workshop delivery

The online workshop format for TaylorMade workshops is delivered in weekly 2.5 hour modules

The five workshops will be delivered 9.30am - 12.00pm on:

Workshop 1:   Wednesday 30 May
Workshop 2:   Thursday 27 June
Workshop 3:   Thursday 29 August
Workshop 4:   Thursday 17 October
Workshop 5:   Thursday 28 November

The workshops will be delivered via Zoom.  Connection details and workshop notes shall be emailed to you the days before each workshop. 

In-Person Workshops:
This workshop can also be delivered in-person as a one day workshop.  Ideal for a counsellors network to come together to work on wellbeing strategies for themselves.  Contact me to discuss.

WORKSHOP DETAILS

WORKSHOP PLACES ARE LIMITED. REGISTER EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT

Places in the workshop are limited. If the workshop is full please register your name on the waitlist

Cancellation
Workshops can fill quickly. If you are no longer able to attend the workshop please cancel your registration as soon as possible.

Disclaimer: The information and professional advice delivered in the workshop and the associated printed material is provided solely on the basis that before relying on this material, participants should obtain appropriate advice relevant to their particular circumstance to evaluate its accuracy, currency, completeness and relevance for their purposes. TaylorMade Training and Consulting will not be liable for any damages of any kind to any person or entity arising from the use of this information. Your attendance at this workshop reflects your acceptance of this statement.

Organiser Contact Details

Barry Taylor
Principal Consultant |  TaylorMade Training and Consulting
Office:  04 280 0146                           Mobile:  022 397 9294
Email:  registration@4wellbeing.nz   Website:  www.4wellbeing.nz