What Does a Spiritual Director Do?
- Feb 1
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 10
A Catholic spiritual director helps the directee/retreatant to notice the presence and call of God in the circumstances of their everyday life and to help find the words for talking about those encounters, which helps to deepen the experience of being in a relationship with one’s Creator. The director also guides one in sorting out the various interior ‘voices’ within and around them to discern God’s will. This process called discernment is deciding with prayerful attention to the heart, head, and hands on what will lead to and bring an increase of faith, hope, and love.
What is the Role of a Spiritual Director?
Instructive
Directive
Contemplative
It is to:
help one notice areas in their prayer life they may have overlooked
share different methods of engaging in prayer from the Church’s tradition
offer practical considerations such as helping one organize time
teach about the discerning of spirits
help on how to listen for those prompts, where they are coming from (Holy Spirit, self, or the ‘enemy or bad spirits’)
support one to notice and sort out distractions or attachments
affirm how one is proceeding
At times, spiritual direction sessions may enter into the other forms of spiritual companionship to assist the directee in finding God’s call in their life. Depending upon the circumstance, the (human) spiritual director may accompany the directee as a spiritual counselor, a companion, a facilitator, a coach, a teacher, a mentor, and always as a holy listener, for it is the Holy Spirit who is the Spiritual Director.
How does spiritual direction help me make my decisions?
Spiritual direction helps one discern their way to find what God desires for them to become and what the best action to take is. A spiritual director supports "the whole person in prayerfully discerning the next good thing as they seek "to find God in all things
Is Spiritual Direction therapy?
No, but yes
It is therapy for the Soul for today, the tomorrows, and for eternity.
But it is not what the healthcare system calls therapy today, which also uses the term counseling. While there is overlap in skills—such as active listening, discernment, and reflection—the focus, framework, and goals of each are fundamentally different.
What are the difference types?
•Psychotherapy: The mind is the focus for emotional health. It is a problem-solving focus with crisis management treatment for individuals in their relationships with the self and others for emotional health and well-being. God is not part of the dialogue focusing on the temporal time frame. Assessment (or diagnosis), planning, and treatment with an end goal set within a time frame.
•Pastoral Counseling: The focus is on the mind and soul in relationship with God and others. It is a problem-solving, crisis management faith-based care where God is a primary partner for emotional health and well-being. Combines psychological treatment protocols and within one's faith tradition. Assessment, plan, and treatment with an end goal within a set duration considerations within a temporal and eternal telos.
•Spiritual Direction: Is pastoral care of the soul and all its facilities ( intellect, memory, and will), one's desires, and direction in life (both temporal and eternal) in relationships with God, others, and the self as the central focus. This is a form of pastoral care where two people come together listening to the whispers of the Holy Spirit's direction for one to grow in holiness for service. It is multi-dimensional, using all of the skills in counseling - assessment, planning, and 'treatments' (such as prayer). Healing, health, and well-being are accompanying results. The focus and frequency change over time, for the intermittent goal is temporal, while the end goal is eternity. It may also have an aspect of mentoring and disciplining.
•Mentoring: It is caring for the development of another to improve one’s external actions and life competencies, where the companion acts as a coach to help one develop skills.
•Disciplining: It is an instruction process where the companion is the transmitter of knowledge.
Other roles of a spiritual director
At times, spiritual direction sessions may enter into the other forms of spiritual companionship to assist the directee in finding God’s call in their life. Depending upon the circumstance, the (human) spiritual director may accompany the directee in the roles as a spiritual counselor, a companion, a facilitator, a coach, a teacher, a mentor, and always as a holy listener, for it is the Holy Spirit who is the Spiritual Director.
Am I looking for training as a Spiritual Director or a Coach, mentor, companion, or Practitioner as a Catholic?
A Spiritual Director utilizes all the skills of counseling to help one develop a conscious, intentional, and active relationship with Christ, integrating it within a formation model that provides a solid foundation of the Church's teachings in the moral life and one who has an understanding of the stages of growth in the spiritual life, ways of prayer, in addition to theology, sacramental life, and human development.
A Catholic Coach, Mentor or Companion walks alongside and accompanies another in their spiritual journey, possible even as a spiritual friend (soul friend), as does a Spiritual Director, yet may not offer the formal training for the roles of instruction or counseling.
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