Spiritual Companionship

Enhance Your Spiritual Health

Discover how journeying with a spiritual companion fosters healing and growth. Transform your life from the inside out.

Spiritual Companioning involves a journey that a seeker embarks on with a person trained in Spiritual Direction. Just as we are all spiritual beings, we are also seekers, searching for moral, ethical, and spiritual significance in our life. What makes our search a spiritual journey is the intentionality we bring to the process. The goal as we travel is not to reach a particular destination. Instead, it is to be fully engaged with everything we experience along the way. A 60-minute session happens however you need and want it to be.

When you meet with a spiritual companion (spiritual coach, some might call it), you bring yourself to the session and I listen and reflect back to you what is inside you, sometimes hidden, sometimes ready to emerge. You will not be judged, given directions, or told to believe in anything that isn’t aligned with who you are. Sessions are confidential, always. Spiritual Companioning involves a journey that a seeker embarks on with a person trained in Spiritual Direction. Just as we are all spiritual beings, we are also seekers, searching for moral, ethical, and spiritual significance in our life. What makes our search a spiritual journey is the intentionality we bring to the process. The goal as we travel is not to reach a particular destination. Instead, it is to be fully engaged with everything we experience along the way. A 60-minute session happens however you need and want it to be. You bring yourself to the session and I listen and reflect back to you what is inside you, sometimes hidden, sometimes ready to emerge. You will not be judged, given directions, or told to believe in anything that isn’t aligned with who you are. Sessions are confidential, always.

FAQ

Is spiritual direction/companionship like religious therapy?

Definitely not! Spiritual Direction, or more accurately, Spiritual Companioning, is premised on the idea that those seeking connection–to Spirit, God, the Divine, Source, Nature, and so on–are accompanied on their journey by someone trained in this field. Our training is first and foremost about deep listening and reflecting back to the Seeker what the Seeker has said or implied, sometimes something the Seeker does not even know is there. The Seeker, not the Companion, finds that the answers to questions lie within themselves. As Spiritual Companions, we do not give advice, “coach,” or preach a certain set of religious values or tenets. Rather, we allow the Seeker to define those values. That said, if a Seeker is a Roman Catholic, for example, and wants to explore this faith tradition, or consider whether it’s right for them, the conversation can center on that. The same goes for someone who is a member of any faith (and no-faith) tradition. Some Seekers come to deepen their faith and explore its dimensions in more depth. Some Seekers are not religious or spiritual but they have questions, seek connection, and simply want a Companion to walk with them along a journey that is filled with all the beauties, joys, and challenges that life has to offer. In short, Spiritual Direction/Companionship is about the journey.

What kind of training do spiritual directors/companions have?

Spiritual Companions, like myself, undergo a two-year intensive training program with Spiritual Directors/Companions who not only have the training in Spiritual Direction but also dedicated training in training others to become Spiritual Companions. Make sense? In other words, we take this "seeking" work seriously and spend two years delving into the mysteries that make us human, mysteries that make us want to connect. We study trauma-informed spiritual care, grief, suffering, body-oriented spirituality, quantum spirituality, social justice and spirituality, dream interpretation, and so much more. Many Spiritual Companions, like myself, have other experience as hospital and/or university chaplains, and many of us have earned graduate degrees in theology or divinity. I earned my Master of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School and worked as both a hospital and university chaplain before training in spiritual direction. All Spiritual Companions work with a Spiritual Companion and during our training we work with a Spiritual Direction Supervisor. Once the two-year program is complete, we participate in group or peer supervision. We are always learning and growing in our own spiritual journey.

Are spiritual directors/companions religious?

This is not a yes or no question, though it’s certainly a good one to ask Some Spiritual Companions are religious, some are not. Most would say they are spiritual but that carries a host of meanings that are unique to each person. Some Spiritual Companions belong to a religious denomination, such as Roman Catholic or Protestant, Jewish or Muslim, Buddhist or Hindu, others do not. As for myself, I was born and raised in the Roman Catholic church, converted to Episcopalian, and now consider myself interspiritual, which means simply that I believe there is no one religious or spiritual tradition with the answer. I have worked with people of several faith traditions as a chaplain as well as those who do not identify with any tradition.

Do you have to believe in God to receive spiritual direction?

No, you don't. Some Seekers might consider themselves spiritual and use other names for what they consider to be the Divine, whether it's Gaia, Nature, Spirit, or another name that is meaningful to them. There may be Seekers who identify as agnostic or atheist, but generally they seek Spiritual Companionship to explore themselves in relationship to all that is.

How often do the director and seeker typically meet?

Usually the Seeker and Companion meet monthly, though there may be some instances where a Seeker wants to meet more or less frequently. Monthly is the norm. Relationships between Seeker and Companion may last a year, ten years, or even more. The relationship is not built in a day, so it may take several meetings/months to begin to experience a deep relationship built on trust and respect.

Where can I find out more about spiritual direction?

You may visit the website for Spiritual Directors International (I am a member of SDI) at https://www.sdicompanions.org/. There are many independent and faith-specific spiritual direction programs as well, which you can find simply by Googling “Spiritual Direction.” I am affiliated with the Spiritual Life Center of Hartford, CT, which has been training Spiritual Companions since 1983. You can visit the SLC at https://www.spiritlifectr.org/. To work with me as your Spiritual Companion you will need to complete an questionnaire linked here. This helps me to understand your needs and desires and get to know you before we meet.