Joining mid-stream: continuing education for Spiritual Companions

Joining Mid-stream: Continuing Education, Advanced Placement, or Completing the Program

Embarking on the journey to offer sacred tending is a profound calling.

Are you a practicing spiritual director who wants to grow professionally or expand your spiritual sources?

Did you begin training, or complete a 6-18 month training, and you desire deeper roots.

Would you like more connections with peers and seek inclusive avenues to deepen your practice and expand your spiritual sources?

Do you feel unready to officially call yourself a Spiritual Companion because you didn't get a supervised practicum (required for being listed with some directories)?

Advanced Placement with the Cherry Hill Seminary’s Spiritual Direction (SpiDir) Program

Cherry Hill Seminary offers a comprehensive Spiritual Direction Certificate. Affectionately known as “SpiDir,” this program is designed to provide rigorous academic training, spiritual formation, and a supportive cohort experience, addressing gaps many practitioners feel in their ongoing formation. 

marcelkessler (pixabay.com)

Key Features

We're training spirit tenders: people who can witness spiritual unfolding without trying to fix or direct it. People who understand spiritual companioning as infrastructure for resistance, as meaningful action in a world that desperately needs fierce support in safer spaces.

This isn't about collecting credentials. It's about being changed by relationships, building empathy, and tending to the spirits of justice workers, helpers, organizers, and earth-based communities.

• Cohort-Based Learning: Engage with a community of peers throughout the program, fostering deep connections and shared learning experiences
• Accessible Tuition: At approximately $130 per month, the program is structured to be financially accessible
• Online, Flexible Learning: Designed to accommodate various schedules, making it feasible for those balancing other commitments
  

Cohort 4 is set to begin year 2 on March 1, 2026. Join a group of dedicated individuals committed to deepening their practice.

Why Join Year 2 of the SpiDir Program?

For those who have completed shorter (6-18 month) training programs, want more support and community, or who paused after completing year 1, the SpiDir program offers:

• Beyond the Traditional: The CHS SpiDir program draws on the wisdom of many spiritual traditions. Year two goes beyond Christian and Jewish traditions. If your program was centered on Catholic or Christian spiritual direction, there's a whole world of wisdom you can benefit from. 
• Business Skills: Heal your relationship with money and develop ethical business practices.
• Expand and focus: Gain tools and strategies to navigate trauma, and work effectively with diverse clients
• Build credibility: Meet requirements for directory listings and feel confident claiming your identity as a spiritual companion
• Access Supervision: Receive valuable guidance and support from experienced spiritual directors through ongoing supervision
• Keep learning: The field of spiritual companioning is evolving: earth-based practices, trauma-informed care, and consent-based approaches are reshaping the work

Year 2

During Semester 3 students move from meaningful Community Member to Spiritual Friend. This is formation from accountable companionship to resilient, trauma-informed spiritual caregiving.

During Semester 4 students move from a Spiritual Friend to a professional Spiritual Companion. This process shifts your identity from caregiver to a professional companion with vocational clarity

See the full year two curriculum DETAILS HERE.

Not sure if you qualify for advanced placement? 

If you completed year 1 with us, just reach out now, and jump in.

If you are a practicing spiritual companion or completed a different, shorter, training program, schedule a discernment call here: https://SpiritualTendingWithAmy.as.me/SpiDirInquiry 

Discern, or Dive In

If you’re ready to deepen your practice and join a community of like-minded individuals, join with Cohort 4 for year 2 of the SpiDir program. So if this is for you, even if it's complicated, reach out. Let's talk. (mailto: abeltaine@uuma.org)

Spaces are limited. If this is calling to you, reach out now.

Join a community of spirit tenders dedicated to this sacred work.

You are whole, holy, and worthy,

Rev Amy Beltaine

P.S.

Still have questions? Schedule a discernment call here: https://SpiritualTendingWithAmy.as.me/SpiDirInquiry 

This isn't the time, but you are curious for the future? Learn more about the program: https://abeltaine.blogspot.com/2025/01/cherry-hill-spiritual-direction.html