Compassionate Listening
Spiritual Direction

Spiritual direction is a contemplative practice of deep listening and sacred conversation. Sometimes called compassionate listening, spiritual companioning, or spiritual accompaniment, it creates space to pay attention to the movements of the Spirit, the wisdom of your own life, and the questions, longings, and experiences that shape your journey.

Unlike counseling, coaching, or advice-giving, spiritual direction is not focused on fixing problems or providing answers. Instead, it is an invitation to slow down, reflect, and notice where meaning, presence, grace, and transformation may already be unfolding in your life.

In a spiritual direction session, a trained spiritual director serves as a compassionate companion who listens deeply alongside you. Together, you explore your experiences, relationships, questions, spiritual practices, joys, challenges, and sense of calling. The director's role is not to direct your life, but to help you listen more attentively to the sacred presence already at work within and around you.

People seek spiritual direction for many reasons:

  • Navigating life transitions and discernment

  • Deepening their spiritual practice

  • Exploring questions of faith and meaning

  • Processing grief, loss, or change

  • Cultivating greater awareness and presence

  • Seeking support for personal or spiritual growth

  • Exploring a sense of vocation, purpose, or calling

Retreat House is home to a diverse network of trained and experienced spiritual directors who meet with individuals, couples, and small groups by appointment. Each director brings their own background, experience, and approach while sharing a commitment to compassionate listening, hospitality, and spiritual companioning.

Our spiritual directors are independent practitioners. Appointments, fees, and agreements are arranged directly with each director. We invite you to explore our directory and connect with a director whose presence and experience resonate with your needs and interests. If you are seeking a spiritual director, Spiritual Directors International has a good list of questions to help you with this new relationship. Please spend time looking through the Retreat House Spiritual Directors Page.

Finding a Spiritual Director

Choosing a spiritual director is an important and personal decision. We encourage you to spend time exploring the profiles of the Retreat House spiritual directors to learn about their backgrounds, approaches, and areas of experience. Spiritual Directors International also offers helpful guidance and questions to consider as you begin a spiritual direction relationship.

Additional information about many of our directors can be found through the Spiritual Directors International (SDI) Seek and Find Guide (click here).

spiritual direction supervisors

Spiritual direction supervision offers a supportive and reflective space for spiritual directors to deepen their practice, attend to their own growth, and explore their work with directees in a confidential and professionally guided setting.

Often described through the image of a three-way relationship between director, directee, and the Holy, supervision helps directors cultivate greater awareness, presence, ethical practice, and spiritual attentiveness.

Individual supervision is available through several experienced supervisors within the Retreat House community.