People bring to spiritual direction the rounded picture of their lives where the focus becomes listening together for what is drawing the directee to greater wholeness - union with the Sacred, to be lived out in the world.

Similarities of Therapy and Spiritual Direction

Healing process
Exploration of one’s life
Professional relationship with ethical standards of practice
Confidentiality, mandated reporters
Intentional process with generally hour appointments
Ongoing supervision for therapist and for spiritual director
Fee for service negotiated

Differences

Therapy	Spiritual Direction
Problem solving	Embracing the struggles
Healing mental illness	Listening to the teaching of one's pain
Developing the ego	Letting go of the ego
Goal directed	Moving toward surrenderto the Spirit
Changing behavior patterns	Detaching from behavioral patterns
Focus of interaction between therapist and client	Focus of interaction between directee and God
Challenge of misperceptions	Discovery of inner Wisdom
Change	Transformation

Supervision is a simple process and one that reminds me of a spiral of unfolding awareness. The student spiritual director brings in a verbatim from their session with their directee where the emphasis is on the movement of the student director in relation to what is evolving in their directee and their life.

Karin Grosscup
Spiritual Director, MS, CNS
4801 Portland Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55417
kgrosscup@comcast.net
612-825-4069

About Karin