Those seeking certification and the title of Certified Spiritual Director (CSD) shall give the CCPC with information on their education, supervised experience, and specific training in the subject of Christian Spiritual Direction. Copies of all of the aforementioned papers are required and will be kept on file at the CCPC; they will not be returned.
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An Evaluator will screen the application and evidence for certification eligibility, and then the CCPC Board of Examiners will review it. The Board of Examiners' decision will be communicated to the applicant in writing. Denial of an application will be accompanied by a written explanation and recommendations for obtaining the necessary training or education.
How do you become a certified spiritual director?
For the Education portion of the certification process, the CCPC has established the following requirements.
Formal classroom education in the field of spiritual direction is described as the required education. The foundation of information and skills connected with the basic functions must be addressed through education. Every aspect of your schooling must be documented.
A master's degree from a recognized accredited university with an emphasis in biblical, theological studies and a minimum of six courses in spirituality is required for accreditation. Individuals holding a baccalaureate degree in spirituality may be eligible in exceptional situations if they meet all other qualifications.
Who can be a spiritual director?
Could Spiritual Direction be a further step for you in your spiritual journey as you consider ways to embrace our Church's mandate to Intentional Discipleship?
Spiritual guidance is a Christian tradition of holy listening that dates back to the first century. A directee (seeker) in spiritual direction studies their spiritual path with the guidance of a skilled director in order to find God's movement and action in their lives.
A professional spiritual director walks alongside a directee, i.e. an adult seeker, on his or her spiritual path in spiritual direction. The director and the directee meet in sacred discourse to listen to the Holy Spirit's promptings. Spiritual direction necessitates the ability to discern God's will in one's life. This exercise can also take place in a group setting, such as in group spiritual guidance.
People seek spiritual guidance in order to deepen their relationship with God and to learn more about how God is working in and leading their lives.
Spiritual directors are trained professionals who follow directees on their faith journeys in order to assist them in spiritual growth. Spiritual directors are trained in a variety of spiritual activities and assist directees in entering a state of prayerful presence. A spiritual director might be either a formally trained religious or a formally trained layperson. Directors get spiritual guidance and are supervised by a certified supervisor on a regular basis.
Spiritual Directors at St. Thomas More and Newman assess and approve directors who participate in the ministry. The SDI (Spiritual Directors International) Code of Ethics is followed by directors.
The coordinator handles spiritual direction requests and connects directees with possible directors. The directees then have an initial conversation with one or more directors in order to determine which director is the best fit for them.
Spiritual guidance is available to adults aged 18 and up. Directees come from a wide range of religious backgrounds and can be found anywhere on the planet.
Spiritual direction takes place in dedicated rooms on the campuses of St Thomas More Church, at Newman at UNC facilities, and in various other area church meeting locations, as well as via Zoom.
When it comes to spiritual direction, psychotherapy, and pastoral counseling, what's the difference?
Spirituality and psychology are intertwined yet different disciplines. Spiritual guidance focuses on how God interacts with and communicates with a person's life in order to help them grow spiritually healthy. Psychotherapy or psychological counseling is used to assist a person function and attain well-being by addressing mental and emotional disorders. Spiritual direction and psychotherapy are both possible for a directee. Pastoral counseling is advice given to individuals, couples, families, and organizations on matters of faith, theology, and religion by a priest, deacon, or parish pastoral associate.
For spiritual direction sessions, directors ask for a gift or a stipend. The hourly rate in the area is between $45 and $100. Some directors use donations to promote faith and spiritual direction institutions that are linked with them. Stipends are used by certain directors to aid with director expenses, ongoing education, supervision costs, and the use of professional space.
Initially, a directee and his or her director may meet regularly (once a week or every other week). Following that, spiritual direction sessions are usually held once a month for roughly an hour.
What is spiritual direction certificate?
CSD is a non-credit continuing education program that aims to teach individuals how to accompany and guide others on their spiritual paths. Over the course of three years, eight weekend training sessions will be held in April, August, and December. (Only new cohorts start between April and August.) After successfully completing all needed courses and training, participants will get a certificate of completion.
What does a spiritual director do?
Spiritual direction has its origins in the early Christian church. According to the gospels, Jesus acted as a mentor to his disciples. In addition, Ananias is described in Acts of the Apostles Chapter 9 as assisting Paul of Tarsus in growing in his newfound faith. Similarly, Paul is described as mentoring Timothy and Titus, among others, in various Pauline epistles. Polycarp, the 2nd-century bishop of Smyrna, is said to have been instructed by John the Evangelist.
John Cassian, a fourth-century theologian, wrote some of the first known principles on the Christian practice of spiritual direction.
In the monasteries, he established mentoring. Each novice was assigned to an elder monk for supervision. Cassian's precepts were incorporated into what is now known as the Rule of Saint Benedict by Benedict of Nursia.
Spiritual direction is common in the Catholic tradition: a wise and spiritually discerned person, generally but not always a priest or a consecrated person in general, counsels a person who aspires to embark on a journey of faith and discover God's will in his life. The spiritual guide's goal is to identify and grasp what the Holy Spirit is telling the person accompanied via life events, spiritual insights gained through prayer, reading, and meditation on the Bible. The spiritual father or spiritual director may give advise, give life and prayer hints, and resolve doubts in areas of faith and morals without taking the place of the accompanying person's choices and judgments.
What is the difference between spiritual direction and Counselling?
Spiritual direction is usually ongoing and is part of one's inner desire to figure out “Where is God in this experience?” Counseling, on the other hand, is frequently brief and focused on a single topic. Unlike therapy, spiritual direction takes place in the context of prayer and a sense of God's presence.
Can you make a living as a spiritual director?
Teresa Blythe is one of the presenters in the Making a Living as a Spiritual Director webinar series, which is now available in online recordings. The Making a Living as a Spiritual Companion 2 webinar series from this year is also available online. Take a peek at these new additions as well: Spiritual directors and spiritual companions will benefit from the books Follow Your Calling Without Quitting Your Job and Consciously Change Your Money Relationship.
“Can you make a living as a spiritual director?” I'm frequently asked. The answer is complicated since it relies on the individual, the market, and the philosophy. Spiritual Directors International has two webinars on the subject (one of which I participated to), and if you watch both of them, which I hope you do, you will receive the long answer to your question.
Can it be done?
Yes. However, developing a spiritual direction practice to the point where you can earn a middle-class wage may take years. You may receive a few inquiries after you start promoting, but your practice will really take off once people who have come to you for advice start referring their friends. Your most effective marketing weapon will always be word of mouth, and it will take time.
But I heard about this one person who is making good money at it!
Contact him or her immediately to learn how they achieved it and how long it took them to reach to the point where they could support themselves only through spiritual direction.
The majority of spiritual directors I know who make a living at it do one of three things:
- Working a second or third job to supplement your income. (And, full transparency, I have a working spouse and we are a two-income family with no children.) As a result, I'm not going into this without a safety net.) In addition to seeing roughly 25 people in one-on-one spiritual direction, I also manage the Hesychia School, a spiritual direction training program, and I take on contract work from churches that ask me to assist them with discernment. A full-time spiritual director friend of mine formerly rented a big multi-room space and sublet it to other spiritual directors and healing arts practitioners for sessions, retreats, and workshops. (Her name is Amanda Petersen, and she appears in part 2 of SDI's webinar series on the topic.) You'll like hearing about her adventures!)
- Session fees are being charged at a higher rate than usual. There will be no condemnation here! However, if you want to make a living seeing individuals once a month (the standard frequency), you'll need a large number of directees or charge them upwards of $150 per session. Spiritual direction sessions in Phoenix, where I live, cost $60-80 per session. I've decided to charge the market rate. Even with a sliding scale, I believe that if I went for the upper end, I would price myself out of the medium and lower middle-class market.
- Individuals are being seen more frequently than once a month. To put it another way, we spiritual directors build a practice in the same manner that a therapist or life coach does. They see folks on a more regular basis than once a month. As a result, if you start meeting them every two weeks, you'll be able to earn more money. Unless the directee insists on visiting more frequently, I've decided to keep appointments at around once a month (which is not usual in my case). Most directees need around 30 days of living and completing their spiritual practices before they are ready to spend one hour in direction, according to my experience. This is not the case for all filmmakers. You might try to reach out to some spiritual directors who visit individuals more frequently than once a month and ask them why they do it and how it's going for them.
It's a matter of discernment
Spend a lot of time in prayer, thought, and discernment before quitting your day job and starting a spiritual direction practice.
Spend time with the Divine, asking questions and listening for responses from the depths of your being.
- How many clients do I need at my target price point to pay my bills and live a life that is sustainable?
- What is the pricing range that I am looking for? What are the advantages and disadvantages of pricing my product lower or higher than the market rate?
- What kind of employment will afford me the independence and provide me with enough energy to see customers if I take on a job to anchor and support this practice?
Pay attention to your gut instincts. “Why am I seeking spiritual direction in this manner?” you might wonder.
Make a test run. Let's see what happens if you start marketing yourself. It's a good indication if you're inundated with people seeking spiritual guidance. It's not only fine if it takes a while; it's the standard. The majority of spiritual directors I know had to wait for the practice to mature.
Is it possible to make a living as a spiritual advisor? I hope you are able to do so. One of the reasons I do what I do is to show people that spiritual direction can be a significant component of what you do professionally. It doesn't have to be a second job any more!
How much should I pay my spiritual director?
What is the expense of spiritual direction? An hour of spiritual direction costs roughly 50-70 dollars on average. If the expense is onerous, many spiritual directors may make exceptions.
Do you pay spiritual directors?
Spiritual direction fees are usually on a sliding basis, ranging from $50 to $150 each 50-minute appointment. For those who cannot afford to pay, some directors provide pro gratis services.
How do I become a spiritual advisor?
To become a spiritual counselor, you will need to complete a lengthy education program. This entails earning a Bachelor's degree, followed by a Master's degree, and lastly a Doctorate or PhD program. Request information from programs available to you here if you are serious about entering this field of study.
Can a deacon be a spiritual director?
In response to a desire from both laity and consecrated members of the Catholic Church, Franciscan University of Steubenville piloted a new School of Spiritual Direction a little over three years ago. This demand conveyed a desire to be guided further into the Faith through means other than weekly adoration and Mass attendance. It was a longing to be led into the inner workings of the heart, the depths of the soul, and the complexities of the Holy Spirit's action. In a nutshell, it was a desire to have one's spiritual life guided.
What Is Spiritual Direction?
In their book “The Practice of Spiritual Direction” (HarperOne, $16.99), William A. Barry and William J. Connolly define spiritual direction as “a help given by one believer to another that enables the latter to pay attention to God's personal communication to him or her, to respond to this personally communicating God, to grow in intimacy with this God, and to live out the consequences of the relationship.”
Anyone attempting to live out their Catholic faith knows that distinguishing the voice of the Lord from the cacophony of the outside world, much alone the noise within our own thoughts, may be a near-impossible undertaking at times. How can we be sure it's the Lord's voice? Is there a specific symptom to look for? Is this something else, or am I actually developing in connection with God?
Doubt and uncertainty might come in when one is aggressively attempting to sail the straight and narrow on their own. Temptations to second-guess oneself may keep you stuck in one place for longer than necessary. Our minds are magnificent and wonderful things, but without adequate guidance and training, they can be a minefield of deception.
A spiritual director, who acts as a guide on your road to intimacy and relationship with God, can help you with this. A qualified spiritual director, like a counselor, works with clients to offer them advice, new views, and alternative thinking patterns on the road to recovery.
Who Can Be a Spiritual Director?
The School of Spiritual Direction at Franciscan University gives lay people, priests, deacons, religious, formators, and catechists from all walks of life the chance to become spiritual directors. Each person a spiritual director meets has their own set of tales, experiences, joys, and sorrows. As a result, with sufficient training, devout Catholics of any vocation or background can become spiritual directors.
While many people can contribute something special to the function of spiritual director, I'd want to focus on how deacons in particular qualify as good candidates.
Role of the Deacon
The deacon's ministry is not to be taken lightly. They serve as ministers of the Word (by proclaiming the Gospel) and ministers of the Sacrament (by administering the sacrament) (witnessing marriages, baptizing and conducting funeral services). In addition, they are charitable ministers. Deacons are “leaders in identifying the needs of others, then marshaling the Church's resources to address those needs” as “servants in a servant-Church” (USCCB). Identifying and satisfying the needs of the faithful is a difficult mission, especially in a time when instability and upheaval dominate the narrative of modern society.
Keep in mind that deacons, like other consecrated members of the Church, are persons. They still have to fight the world's temptations with their spirits and brains. As a result, it's just as crucial, if not more so, to provide them with encouragement and resources to help them resist and overcome the flesh's temptations. After all, it is to them that the lay faithful turn for guidance. But how can we expect them to assist us if they are lost or conflicted themselves?
A Cohesive Whole
Deacons get rigorous seminary preparation, which is not disregarded; rather, it is supplemented with spiritual direction training. Seminary time is spent focusing on the spiritual, human, intellectual, and pastoral (SHIP) aspects of a deacon's ministry. Acting as a spiritual director not only touches on each of these themes, but spiritual direction training allows deacons to expand their personal grasp of each concept and put this spiritual, human, intellectual, and pastoral ministry into practice.
Furthermore, the tripartite role of a deacon (minister of word, sacrament, and charity) is taken into account. Spiritual direction helps them to delve deeper into the sacred liturgy and sacraments for their own spiritual growth as well as to witness their directee's spiritual growth. Furthermore, giving up their time to spiritually guide one or more persons relates to their vocation as a charitable minister.
Knowing how many spiritual directors come from a consecrated life vocation, we don't want to reinvent the wheel. Rather, the curriculum honors the wisdom learned in seminary and aims to not only deepen this training but also to provide a pathway for these vocations to achieve their goals.
If a doctor is suffering from a fever, he will be less successful in caring for his patients. Similarly, if a deacon's own needs aren't being fulfilled, he won't be able to adequately serve the needs of the Church's members. This is where a school of spiritual direction's program design comes into play. The effectiveness of a spiritual director is limited by his or her own relationship with God. How will that person be able to firmly accompany someone on their spiritual journey if that relationship is in trouble?
Our program's participants will be able to care for the spiritual needs of their future directees by attending to their spiritual needs. Our deacons, in particular, will be able to not only serve the Church's need for spiritual directors, thereby serving the needs of the people, but they will also get guidance for their own lives through Ignatian spirituality and their reliance on a deep and personal relationship with God.