Certificate in Spiritual Companionship with Practicum in Daily Life

Certificate Earned

Certificate in Spiritual Companionship with Practicum in Daily Life
Certificate in Spiritual Companionship with Practicum in Spiritual Direction

Rooted in the resources of the Christian tradition and experience with its emphasis on direct and loving awareness of the Divine Mystery we call God. We believe God is present in all human experience and that our deepest fulfillment is to awaken as individuals and as communities to the truth and grace of God’s Presence. The practice of Spiritual Direction and Spiritual Companionship fosters a partnership with God’s ongoing work of healing and transformation in both individuals and contemplative attitude rooted in community and attentive to “real life” in the present moment.

Featured Professors

Career Opportunities

  • Ministry of Spiritual Direction in the Church
  • Ministry of Spiritual Direction in Chaplaincy or Hospice Care
  • Pastoral Ministries
  • Complimentary to Counseling Professions
  • Complimentary to Human Services Professions

Curriculum (Course Sampling)

The Spiritual Companionship Program (SCP) has been preparing women and men in the ministry of spiritual direction and spiritual companionship since 1987. SCP classes combine lecture with course work that is experiential and process oriented. During these three years of growth and study, students are assisted in discerning the form in which their personal spiritual gifts may be used to companion others.

Year One: Growth: Beginning the Journey (includes two Saturday retreat days)

  • Introduction to Spiritual Companionship and Spiritual Direction
  • Theological Dimensions in Spirituality
  • Theology
  • Psychology and Human Development
  • Growth and Spiritual Journey

Year Two: Deepening
Over the course of the second year students will make a “Retreat in Daily Life,” which involves a contemporary experience of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius given a small group setting. The purpose of the retreat is to help integrate the knowledge gained during the first year with an interior experience of the Divine and with the mystery of being human together. Participants will deepen a contemplative perspective and will develop the skill of listening for and recognizing god’s presence and movement in their own lives and in the lives of others. Students will enter deeply in the life of Jesus of Nazareth by taking part in his life through prayer, through imagination and through their own life experiences. They will develop skill in noticing that the ongoing human journey is a series of highs and lows where God if faithfully and lovingly present and leading us toward wholeness and growth so that we may reach out to others.

Year Three: Strengthening
The third year of the Program is a Practicum designed to give students an opportunit to practice their companionship skills and receive supervision. Students will intensify and strengthen their understanding of the theory and practical art of spiritual companionship or spiritual direction. The year is designed to help students integrate both knowledge and their own personal spiritual growth they have gained in Years 1 and 2 with the theoretical and practical arts of Spiritual Direction or Spiritual Companionship in Daily Life. This year offers:

  • Advanced skills in the practical arts of Spiritual Direction and Spiritual Companionship in Daily Life
  • Supervision of verbatim spiritual companionship and spiritual direction sessions
  • Participation in small peer supervision groups
  • Exploration of specific issues as they arise in the spiritual companionship or spiritual direction relationship

 

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