Some Ways To Prepare for a Spiritual Direction Session as a Director
Prepared by Rev. Dr. Care Crawford

Our preparation for a direction session sets the tone and stage of our own hearts for our directee and God’s presence in our session.

If you send out Zoom links, make sure you do this with ample time for your directee- you may want to ask for a confirmation that they received the link.

Prepare as you come to the direction appointment:

⇒ Be well rested
⇒ Allow ample time to quiet your heart, pray and “clear the space” (literally and figuratively for your directee
⇒ Consider the space where you meet…

o Is it free from distractions, outside noise or interruptions?
o Is there appropriate lighting if on-line?
o Is there comfortable/appropriate space between you and your directees if in person?
o Decide what works best for you to manage the time of the appointment

▪ If online, do you have a silent alarm that can vibrate to give you a heads up 5-10 minutes before the session ends?
▪ If you are in person, can you see a clock so you can manage time without the distraction of looking at a watch or having an alarm?

o You may want to have a glass of cold water for your directee or offer tea/coffee in your space
o You may want to have a candle to light (personal taste and style) before or as you begin

⇒ If you take a few notes after a session, (not during), you may want to review the last session- key themes, words, or issues that the directee shared

o Make sure these and any notes are kept in a confidential and secure place

▪ Review of notes is not for you to bring to the directee- “Last time you talked about…” Rather for a bookmark for you. Each session the directee may bring new or different material to discuss/be in a different place/ or will choose to “pick up where they left off.” THE DIRECTEE sets the agenda for a session…. but sometimes they are helped by an initial question by the director. {See next section.}

⇒ Have access to your calendar to schedule further appointments and decide if you will do this at the beginning, end or online (your preference to manage

As you begin the direction appointment

⇒ Welcome your directee

o Ordinarily there are a few moments of chit/chat- catch up in a way, “how are you?”, “how was traffic”, “can you see/hear me ok (if online) etc.

▪ Occasionally this chit chat begins with something that directee wants/needs to talk about and you are “off to the races”

⇒ After a few initial moments, you may want to light a candle and ask how they would like to begin

o Offer ways to begin and come prepared with some options

▪ Prayer
▪ Readings- Scripture or a poem
▪ Music
▪ A piece of art
▪ Silence

o In silence let the directee decide how long he/she wishes to take- invite them to say “AMEN” when they are ready to break silence and speak

⇒ Some opening questions may be helpful for your directee- or they may be ready to begin. Questions you might ask:

o What has been stirring with you and God the past few weeks?
o Where would you like to begin today?
o How do you come today to direction?
o Is there something you would like to bring specifically to direction today?

▪ Some might like a specific question related to what was read, shared, or an image from a Visio or music as you began

o Is there anything that struck you in the reading, etc.?

● And some might just begin out of a word or image shared

⇒ Allow space for silence
⇒ Pace is important- don’t fire off immediate questions one after another, allow time for the directee to reflect and consider what you “observe and report”.
⇒ Be aware o things the directee brings up which “take you out of the room”- and bookmark to take to supervision.
⇒ If confused, pause and clarify with the directee
⇒ If distracted or interrupted (a knock at the door, a blip on the screen, etc.- say “I am sorry, I may have missed something you just said, can you go back”.
⇒ Pausing to allow the directee to consider what they have said, or simply repeating a word they have said can be an effective way to invite them to go deeper.
⇒ As you are winding down the appointment (5-10 minutes before you end), help them know by saying something like:

o “I am aware we have only ten minutes left. I wonder if there is more here you want to share?”
o “I am aware we have only 5 minutes before we end today, I wonder how you want to end. Would you like to take some silence, would you like to pray, would you like me to pray, any last word or feeling to add.”

▪ Be mindful sometimes people bring something big or heavy towards the end of an appointment and there is not time to depth. Acknowledge this: “That sounds big and very important. As we are nearly out of time, this may be something you want to bring to our next appointment”.

After a spiritual direction appointment

⇒ Take a few moments in silence and just breathe
⇒ Thank God for the privilege to do this ministry and sit with your directee
⇒ You may want to jot a few notes to jog your memory later

o If there is something that you were aware of and might need to take to supervision, make some notes OR

▪ Write a verbatim on the part of the conversation which “hooked” you.

⇒ Pace yourself between appointments. If you are going to see more than one directee in a day, recognize how much time you need between appointments and guard this from other distractions.
 

o IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW HOW MANY STORIES YOU CAN HOLD – HOW MANY DIRECTEES WILL YOU SEE IN A MONTH AND ON ANY GIVEN DAY?

Hopefully these are some reminders to ways to approach and begin and end a spiritual direction appointment.