Spiritual Direction
Do you wish to grow in your relationship with God? Do you need assistance with discerning what's next in your life? Are you looking to deepen your prayer?
Guidance for Deep Listening
Spiritual Direction is a sacred conversation with a spiritual companion who listens deeply and helps you discern the movement of God’s Spirit in your life. A spiritual director is not a therapist but a co-listener—someone who offers gentle observations about your relationship with God, your understanding of faith, and how the Holy Spirit may be at work within you. St. Ignatius of Loyola believed that the "Creator communicates directly with the creature," meaning that God speaks through the movements of your soul, your experiences, and your emotions. The role of a spiritual director, as Ignatius understood it, is to listen, offer guidance, and then step aside—allowing you to encounter God more fully. At Ignatius House, we honor this commitment to deep listening and spiritual growth.
Frequently Asked Questions
During a session, you're invited to share the ways God is present in your life. Your prayer, relationships, work, and discernment are the kinds of topics that often are addressed. The director is trained to listen, clarify, gently challenge, and nurture your awareness of God's presence. Everything shared with your director is held sacred and confidential.
Spiritual direction focuses on your spiritual desires, your relationship with God, and response to that relationship. Therapy works with thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and how they impact your life. While there is sometimes overlap, spiritual direction is not solution-focused work; it is primarily focused on your relationship with God. Our spiritual directors understand the difference. If you are experiencing depression, anxiety, or other disturbing thoughts, please contact a licensed health professional via the Georgia Crisis and Access Line at 800-715-4225. Help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Our spiritual directors hold conversations in strict confidence. They will not reveal the content of conversations unless required to do so by law or court order, or unless there is a concern of harm to yourself or others.
Please contact Sarah Otto at sotto@ignatiushouse.org or call 404.255.0503. Sarah can answer your questions and suggest two or three available directors who might be wellsuited for you. Speak to your spiritual director about what their typical fee is.
The focus is your relationship with God, who is ultimately the director. If you do not feel free to share openly with your spiritual director you can request to meet with another. We recommend having an initial meeting with at least two spiritual directors so you can discern who might be the best fit for you.