As Spiritual Directors, we are often invited to sit alongside strong emotions - grief, shame, anger, joy - and the deep experiences that evoke them. This session explores how we relate to such emotions: which ones we’re most comfortable with, which ones we avoid, and what personal or theological influences may have shaped those responses. What images of God might our directees (or we ourselves) hold that repress the expression of emotion, and where might those images come from? We’ll consider the events in life’s journey - loss, injustice, love, celebration - that stir such feelings, and reflect on how to offer a safe, compassionate, and accepting space where these emotions can be named, held, and even welcomed.

Together, we’ll explore how our Christian traditions can help us navigate the despair, urgency, and deep longing stirred by this crisis. We’ll reflect on how to support directees wrestling with eco-anxiety, guilt, and spiritual paralysis, and how to deepen our own spiritual response. Through honest conversation, theological reflection, and practical tools, this session aims to build confidence in holding space for those reckoning with the state of the world - and discerning their own faithful path forward. Whether you feel anxious, inspired, overwhelmed, or uncertain, you are welcome here.

This session explores how Ignatian spirituality, rooted in desire, discernment, and deep encounter, can enrich the practice of Spiritual Direction. We’ll draw on insights from neuro-theology and the science of identity formation to reflect on how God works through our minds, emotions, and embodied experiences.  Drawing from the wisdom of Ignatius of Loyola and the Exercises, we’ll consider how practices like the Examen, discernment of spirits, and imaginative prayer can foster authentic encounters with God in daily life. We will also explore how desire can be more than a personal feeling, it is a spiritual compass that leads us into God’s transforming love.

 In this session, we’ll explore how to help directees discern and live into a personal Way of Life that aligns with their values, vocation, and season of life.

We’ll reflect on ancient monastic wisdom as well as contemporary applications of this practice. You’ll learn how to hold space for discernment, structure, and sustainability in Spiritual Direction. This workshop is ideal for Directors who want to support others in crafting a life-giving rhythm that holds both structure and grace.

This experiential workshop introduces participants to the Circles of Trust framework, a model developed by Parker Palmer and the Center for Courage & Renewal. Grounded in Quaker principles and contemplative wisdom, Circles of Trust provides a structure for creating safe, confidential, and sacred space where individuals can listen deeply to their inner teacher, hold space for one another without fixing or advising, and encounter “solitude in community”.

Are you curious about spiritual direction but not sure where to begin?
This one-hour introductory session offers a gentle and practical overview of the ministry of spiritual companionship. Together we’ll explore what spiritual direction is, why people seek it, and what to consider when looking for a spiritual companion.

This workshop explores the intersection of friendship and Christian Spiritual Direction. Drawing on contemporary and historical prayer styles from differing charisms within the world of Christian Spiritual Direction, we’ll delve into how authentic friendships - rooted in prayer and virtue - can both challenge and enrich the practice of Spiritual Direction. From Teresa of Avila’s call for friendships that foster communal love to John of the Cross’s reflections on how relationships draw us closer to God, this session offers profound insights into how friendship shapes our journey toward union with the divine.

For Spiritual Directors, this workshop offers tools to companion people through a sacred season of transformation. Drawing from theology, psychology, mysticism, and poetry, we will consider how best to support directees facing the transitions of ageing, including loss, generativity, and the shift from doing to being.

As spiritual directors, we are uniquely positioned to listen to the layered descriptions of a life of faith and mental health challenges. In this workshop, we'll explore the benefits of talking about God and mental health and create a safe, non-judgmental space to consider how we can maintain our own mental wellbeing while accompanying others

This workshop delves into the contemplative tradition, with a particular focus on ‘The Cloud of Unknowing’, to form guidance for a young contemplative to get a sense of the landscape we are considering, and how that might offer suggestions for direction today. The session will also explore together some of the challenges that contemplative prayer may present and how Direction can support.

In this workshop, we'll explore the unique challenges faced by those in Christian ministry, including managing public expectations and personal vulnerabilities. We’ll explore potential barriers to spiritual wellbeing, together with some of the particular issues that can emerge, and aim to help Spiritual Directors feel more equipped and empowered to walk alongside their directees.

This workshop explores how Spiritual Directors connect with the process of letting go, whether in preparing for a session, during, or afterwards. Letting go is considered a vital component of self-care and care for those they accompany. Through this practical and interactive session, participants will gain a deeper awareness of the 'letting go' process and acquire practical insights and practices, both ancient and modern, for their journey as spiritual directors.

This workshop focuses on the intersection of addiction recovery and Spiritual Direction, offering insights and practical guidance for accompanying individuals on this challenging journey. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics of various addictions and the recovery process, with a particular emphasis on how spiritual themes relate to addiction recovery.

This workshop explores the profound connection between Spiritual Direction and our relationship with God's creation. As Spiritual Directors, we are called to cultivate a greater awareness of God's presence not only in ourselves and our directees but also in the world around us.

This Lenten workshop invites participants to explore the theme of light, drawing inspiration from St. John Henry Newman's beloved hymn.

This workshop explores the unique blessings and challenges of singleness within the context of Spiritual Direction. Marriage or being partnered is often seen in our culture, and indeed in the Church, as being the ideal way of life. This can leave single people feeling that they are missing out or are in some way inadequate. Yet the biblical narrative affirms the single life and Christ promised life in abundance to all, whether we are married or single. It feels important to reflect on how we can hold the space for directees and their questions and challenges (and joys!) arising from their life as a single person.

This workshop explores the intersection of mental health and Christian spirituality within the context of Spiritual Direction. Focusing on two main themes - hearing voices, demonic, and divine (whether or not associated with a mental health diagnosis); and spiritual struggles, especially as related to mental health. The session aims to equip Spiritual Directors with a better understanding of these complex issues.

As awareness of autism increases, more autistic individuals are seeking Spiritual Direction. This workshop aims to equip Spiritual Directors with the knowledge and skills to effectively accompany autistic directees on their spiritual journeys. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of autism, focusing on individuals of average or above-average intelligence who are verbal.

This workshop invites participants to explore different ways of using breath in prayer, connecting with the elements and creation through meditation, imagination, and chants. Attendees will gain hands-on experience in praying with the Elements using breath and imagination, broadening their understanding of prayer and learning how to incorporate these practices in Direction sessions. This holistic approach draws from various spiritual traditions and offers fresh perspectives on connecting with the divine through our bodies and the natural world.

This workshop invites Spiritual Directors to explore the practice of Spiritual Direction through the lens of Jesus' encounters with individuals in the Gospels. Participants will examine these biblical interactions as models for their own work, drawing insights and inspiration from Jesus' approach to spiritual accompaniment.

This interactive workshop introduces contemplative photography as a powerful spiritual practice and tool for Spiritual Direction. Participants will explore the theory behind this practice and have ample opportunity to experience it firsthand. The session aims to equip Spiritual Directors with a new approach to help directees slow down, see differently, and deepen their spiritual awareness through the lens of a camera.

In this workshop, we'll explore the unique challenges faced by those in Christian ministry, including managing public expectations and personal vulnerabilities. We’ll explore potential barriers to spiritual wellbeing, together with some of the particular issues that can emerge, and aim to help Spiritual Directors feel more equipped and empowered to walk alongside their directees.

This workshop delves into the complex and sensitive topic of spiritual abuse. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of what constitutes spiritual abuse, its psychological underpinnings, and its impact on individuals' spiritual journeys. The session will equip Spiritual Directors with the knowledge and skills to create safe spaces for those who have experienced spiritual abuse, and to navigate the delicate process of accompaniment for directees grappling with church hurt or spiritual abuse in their lives.

During this day, we'll explore whether the Christian tradition offers maps that, like The Knowledge, we can internalise to help with making sense of where a directee is and where they might be going, as well as the multiple ways of getting there.

A day which will include space for our own reflection as well as discovering resources for our spiritual direction practice.

In this workshop, we'll explore the unique challenges faced by those in Christian ministry, including managing public expectations and personal vulnerabilities. We’ll explore potential barriers to spiritual wellbeing, together with some of the particular issues that can emerge, and aim to help Spiritual Directors feel more equipped and empowered to walk alongside their directees.

In this workshop, we'll explore the unique challenges faced by those in Christian ministry, including managing public expectations and personal vulnerabilities. We’ll explore potential barriers to spiritual wellbeing, together with some of the particular issues that can emerge, and aim to help Spiritual Directors feel more equipped and empowered to walk alongside their directees.

When you hear the word ‘God’ what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For us, it’s ‘play’ or, to use a descriptor employed by ancient theologians: ‘dance’.

Play is sacred. When we are at play we are curious, open and fully present - ripe for encounter with the Divine Presence. Embracing our playfulness and embracing our spirituality compose entwined invitations on life’s path.

Having explored the three centres of intelligence in the traditional ‘process’ way in our last Enneagram workshop, we return to look at them again, this time using the Harmony Triads. As we bring the full wisdom of all three intelligence centres to each Enneatype, we will discover fresh clarity and depth in our stories of origin and destiny and in those of our directees.

Join us for a reflective morning during Lent as we sit with broken pieces of hopes, dreams, lives, and things we have built. Through a blend of poetry, creativity, and lament, we will explore how to creatively engage with Lent. Come prepared to rest, reflect, and explore.