EP118 - Karen Erlichman - A Contemporary Approach to Spiritual Direction Supervision

SDI Encounters

In this episode, Matt Whitney and Karen Erlichman discuss the supervision process for spiritual directors and companions.

Karen writes, "Supervision is a client-centered, covenanted relationship that empowers the supervisee’s spiritual and vocational life by exploring the interior movements that arise while companioning others. Different faith traditions use their own terminology to describe the personal (internal) experience of God. In Judaism, the word Shechinah refers to the in-dwelling of God, as well as the Divine Feminine. At its best, supervision provides the freedom and trust to listen to the felt sense of knowing, what Quaker educator and mentor Parker Palmer calls the “inner teacher” (Palmer, 25–26). Spiritual directors (and other practitioners) need the freedom and safety in supervision to discuss their vulnerabilities and successes, mistakes and gifts, and to grow personally and professionally from open disclosure. Supervision serves the spiritual formation of the spiritual director, directee and supervisor."

The video for this conversation is available to SDI Members on our website, which you can access here.

Our current issue of Presence Journal is available online at https://www.sdicompanions.org/media/presence/

Presence Journal is a resource for SDI Members. If you're not a member, why not become one? SDI Membership supports our work and advocacy for spiritual direction and spiritual companionship, includes deep discounts on all our educational offerings, and offers a public profile on our Find a Spiritual Director or Companion Guide. Learn more about SDI Membership here.

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Karen Erlichman DMin, LCSW, provides psychotherapy, spiritual direction, supervision, and So(U)L coaching in San Francisco, California, USA. She is a consultant to The Dinner Party, and she also serves on the Professional Advisory Group for the University of California, San Francisco, Medical Center Spiritual Care Services Department. www.karenerlichman.com