OIS Catalog of Spiritual Directors
For those seeking spiritual direction.
Find a Spiritual Director.
Thank you for your interest in Ignatian spiritual direction!
The primary job of a spiritual director is to accompany you on your spiritual journey. Trained directors are excellent listeners who help you reflect on your spiritual life.
Sometimes the biggest challenge in getting started is finding a trained director in your area.
We have created the OIS Catalog of Spiritual Directors to help. Read on for an explanation of how the process works and for a link to a sign up form.
How the Catalog Works
The OIS Catalog of Spiritual Directors was created to help you find a trained spiritual director in your area. Here's how it works:
The Catalog currently serves the East Coast of the United States (the territory covered by the USA East Jesuit Province; see map). Unfortunately, we are unable to serve those elsewhere at this time.
Fill out our "Find a Director" form. Please note that the information you provide will only be shared with available spiritual directors in your area, whose contact information we will send to you.
We will search our Catalog for directors in your area. We will reach out to these directors to confirm that they are currently available to offer direction. Those who are available will receive the information you provided to us.
We will send you the contact information (name, email, and phone number) of an available spiritual director. The current waiting period is approximately three weeks for us to find available directors in your area.
Contact a spiritual director to set up your first meeting.
It is up to you to contact spiritual directors. They will be given your name and the responses you provide to the questions on the "Find a Director" form, but they will not have your personal contact information.
Once we have provided you with the contact information for available spiritual directors, it is up to you to contact a director, arrange a meeting, and build a relationship.
Beyond providing contact information, we are unable to help facilitate meetings between spiritual directors and those seeking direction.
Map of the USA East Jesuit Province. The Catalog is currently limited to those within this geographic area.
Questions to Ask
Discerning the “right fit” as well as deciding about logistics are important aspects of the finding a spiritual director. Here are some questions to ask when in conversation with a potential director:
What is your experience as a spiritual director? How many years? In what environments? What are you most interested in spiritually? You might share a bit about your own faith story as well, including what draws you to spiritual direction in this time in your life.
What is your fee? Many spiritual directors rely on providing this service to generate part or all of their income. Some offer a sliding payment scale. Some accept your free-will donation and others offer their time with no expectation of anything in return. Generally, payments to spiritual directors fall into three categories and you will want to clarify this point when you interview a director:
Spiritual direction is paid for as a fee for service or by a donation directly to the spiritual director.
Spiritual direction is offered as a part of the paid staff work of the spiritual director and a fee or donation is made to the organization that employs the spiritual director.
The spiritual director asks that payments or donations be made to a local charity or organization.
Where and when would best serve you for meetings? You and your spiritual director will determine a convenient location and time for meeting, usually once a month for an hour.
Do you use any type of formal engagement agreement to clarify roles and responsibilities in our spiritual direction relationship? Some spiritual directors, but not all, prefer to use a contract to ensure that expectations are clear and avoid miscommunication – this is not uncommon. A sample contract is available here.
What is your preference for communication? You and your spiritual director should discuss the best means of communicating, including setting up appointments and dealing with cancellations and/or changes. Email, text message, and phone (cell or otherwise) are the common means of communication.