YEAR ONE & TWO

SCHOOLS OF SPIRITUAL DIRECTION

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year one

OVERVIEW

The School of Spiritual Direction training is a 2-year certificate program that prepares you to be a spiritual director. We are a U.K.-based Charity in Northern Ireland with cohorts in Europe and the U.K. We have plans to go elsewhere where we are invited, particularly in Asia and Africa. Our sister organisation is based in the U.S. Together our goal is to make spiritual direction a normal and widely available form of pastoral care inside and outside churches.

Year 1 MODULE THEMES

FIVE FACE-TO-FACE RETREATS

Here is a brief thematic overview of each module’s focus, as well as a general description below of the overall work involved for Year 1. Our five face-to-face meetings normally occur every other month over the course of two days. These typically meet from 9am-5pm (with 90 min for lunch). We meet in hospitable homes, churches and retreat spaces.

  1. Introduction to Spiritual Direction

  2. Spiritual Direction Foundations

  3. Self-Awareness & the Enneagram

  4. Discernment & Group Direction

  5. The Journey of Faith

WHAT’s included

COURSE CONTENT

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  • There are 11 books to read: about 2 for each of the 5 modules, creating a reading pace of about 1 book per month. In our present culture we have a nasty habit of confusing information with wisdom. We do our best to not inundate you with reading in order to maintain a reflective, curious posture. Think formation versus information.

  • Participants meet monthly with their own spiritual director. We’d prefer you find one who has been trained in the School of Spiritual Direction so that you can experience it in the way we teach it, but this isn’t a requirement. If you need help finding one, we are happy to help!

    Participants agree to offer spiritual direction to two people, meeting a minimum requirement of 10 practice sessions over the course of Year 1. Meeting with directees from the outset isn’t premature. The simultaneous combination of offering direction, receiving direction, reading on the topic, and group interaction accelerates learning. (During Module 1 we’ll discuss ways to get the word out and find directees.)

  • Our development as directors is tightly knit to our own spiritual formation. Consequently, we introduce a particular spiritual exercise each time we’re together, encouraging you to continue in the practice while we’re apart. This shared practice will make for richer conversations when we’re together again.

  • Summary Reflection is a simple 1-2 page reflective paper in which you briefly recap your experience of the following:
    + receiving direction
    + offering direction
    + engaging in the given spiritual practice
    + present reflection on reading
    + any pertinent life experiences you want to share with the cohort
    + questions you may want addressed during the next cohort gathering

  • Supervision, individual or in small groups, is a way of going deeper with our spiritual direction practice by examining, in a reflective way and with the help of others, a portion of a particular direction session where you experienced some form of interior reaction or turbulence. To help you, we have a Contemplative Reflection Form that you’ll fill out with a portion of your spiritual direction conversation. Supervision is a part of good practice for any spiritual director.

    During Year 1, you’ll have the added feedback tool of recording your practice sessions. (You’ll need written or oral permission, of course; additionally, let directee’s know we’ll protect their anonymity and only your teacher will listen.) The added benefit of recording all your sessions is that you can go back and listen to yourself as a director, noticing things that escaped you during live sessions. When you choose a particular session for a Supervision Form (see above), upload the recording on which it’s based. Your teacher will listen to these and give constructive feedback.

  • 1. Complete the SSD Application Form

    2. Meet with a Teacher to discern if it’s a fit

    3. Reserve your spot with a Deposit

YEAR 1 LOCATIONS/DATES AND COST

YEAR 1 LOCATIONS in the UK and Europe beginning Autumn 2024. Official enrolment has just begun!

contact us if you want to join or ENQUIRE.

U.K.

Northern Ireland Year 1 (final module TBC):
Sara carlisle
6-7 December
31 Jan-1 Feb
4-5 April
6-7 June

England Year 1:
joanna allen & duncan house
27-28 September
22-23 November
24-25 January
21-22 March
16-17 May

Scotland Year 1:
Dates TBC

Europe

Netherlands Year 1:
helen vince
11-12 October
29-30 November
31 Jan-1 February
4-5 April
27-28 June

France Year 1 (for Member Care Workers):
Susan & Mark powell
4-5 OctobeR
29-30 November
24-25 JanuarY
21-22 March
23-24 May

COST:

The cost for Year 1 is £2000 (£1800 in Northern Ireland). Once you’ve submitted your application and had a conversation with your teacher (who gives the green light), you can reserve your spot with a £400 non-refundable deposit. You can pay the entire cost up front if it’s affordable and more convenient. If not, you can elect to pay the balance of £1600 in 9 consecutive monthly payments of about £178 at the beginning of each month. The deposit is due the month before your cohort begins and your first payment is due prior to your cohort’s first meeting at the beginning of that month. We will begin accepting applications soon!

Other cost information:

Books, Spiritual Direction, transportation, lodging and food are not included. Each cohort will receive lodging and food information for their particular site from their teacher.

year TWO

OVERVIEW

In Year 2, our desire is to deepen the formation and spiritual direction training that began in Year 1. Most people go directly into Year 2 after their first Year, but this is not a requirement. This second year we deepen our experience, skill, and practice of individual and group spiritual direction, we deepen self-awareness via the Enneagram and Ignatian Discernment, we broaden our exploration in Supervision, and we expand our understanding of theology and neuroscience and how they undergird our work. Each module has specific objectives, but three meta-objectives for all modules are: 1) acquire a Trinitarian theological foundation for the ministry of spiritual direction; 2) deepen our own spiritual formation through contemplative practices; 3) grow in skills needed for spiritual direction.

Year 2 MODULE THEMES

Here is a brief thematic overview of each module’s focus, as well as a general description below of the overall work involved for Year 2. Our 5 face-to-face meetings normally occur every other month over the course of 2 days. These typically meet from 9am-5pm (with 90 min for lunch). We meet in hospitable homes, churches and retreat spaces.

  1. Introduction to Spiritual Direction

  2. Spiritual Direction Foundations

  3. Self-Awareness & the Enneagram

  4. Discernment & Group Direction

  5. The Journey of Faith

What’s included

COURSE CONTENT

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  • Similar to Year 1, we aim to read for formation, not information. There are currently 7 required books to read and 2 that we revisit from Year 1.

  • Generally recognized international standards for spiritual direction training programs require 20 sessions of offering direction over two years of training. This, however, is a minimum requirement. Our expectation and hope is that you’ll offer direction to 2-3 practice directees per month over the course of Year 2. Time in the trenches is critical to your development.

    You agree to continue meeting monthly with your own spiritual director. The only detour occurs when you begin the Ignatian Journey (explained below).

  • In the month prior to beginning the Ignatian Exercises, you’ll be assigned to a small journey group of 3-4 members from your cohort. You’ll also be introduced to the spiritual director who will accompany you through the 18th Annotation, which is an abbreviated version of the full exercises. After an introductory gathering with your Ignatian Director, your group will meet online on a weekly basis with the director for 10 weeks to explore your experiences. Meetings are kept to about 1 hour. Because you’re receiving spiritual direction during these group meetings, because you meet weekly over the course of 13 weeks, and because we want to preserve the focus of the Exercises, we ask you to temporarily suspend direction with your normal director. You’ll only miss 3 meetings.

  • It’s common practice for each student to upload for the teacher and other cohort members a 1-2 page reflection on the various aspects of our common work in the month between Modules. Summary Reflections generally take under 1 hour to complete. In Year 2, we also reflect on our experience in the Ignatian Exercises.

  • The standard requirement is to receive 10 supervised sessions over the course of two years, and this is a primary feature of our Year 2 experience. Our approach to Supervision is contemplative in nature, as we pay special attention to interior movements that hinder us in spiritual direction and interior movements that are important for listening to and discerning God’s voice within. Students are always surprised by how much they enjoy Supervision.

  • 1. Complete the SSD Application Form

    2. Meet with a Teacher to discern if it’s a fit

    3. Reserve your spot with a Deposit

YEAR 2 LOCATIONS / DATES / COSTS

YEAR 2 LOCATIONS in the UK and Europe beginning this Autumn. Official enrolment has begun!

Please contact us if you want to join or ENQUIRE..

U.K.

Northern Ireland Year 2:
Sara Carlisle
27-28 September
15-16 November
17-18 January
21-22 March
16-17 May

England Year 2:
Joanna Allen
18-19 October
6-7 December
14-15 February
25-26 April
27-28 June

Scotland Year 2:
Sara Carlisle
18-19 October
13-14 December
14-15 February
11-12 April
13-14 June

Europe

Netherlands Year 2:
Helen Vince
8-9 November
10-11 January
7-8 March
16-17 May
4-5 July

COST:

The cost for Year 2 is £2000 (£1800 in Northern Ireland). Once you’ve submitted your application and had a conversation with your teacher (who gives the green light), you can reserve your spot with a £400 non-refundable deposit. You can pay the entire cost up front if it’s affordable and more convenient. If not, you can elect to pay the balance of £1600 in 9 consecutive monthly payments of about £178 at the beginning of each month. The deposit is due the month before your cohort begins and your first payment is due prior to your cohort’s first meeting at the beginning of that month.. We will begin accepting applications soon!

Other cost information:

Books, Spiritual Direction, transportation, lodging and food are not included. Each cohort will receive lodging and food information for their particular site from their teacher..

OUR TEACHERS

  • Sara Carlisle, Teacher, Northern Ireland & Scotland

  • Joanna Allen, Teacher, England

  • Duncan House, Teacher, England

  • Roanna Quirke, Teacher, England

  • Helen Vince, Teacher, the Netherlands

  • Susan Powell, Teacher, France

  • Mark Powell, Teacher, France

  • Thomas Husbands, Teacher