Certificate in Interfaith / Interspiritual Direction (Guidance)

A 16-month
distance learning program 
resulting in a Certificate in Interfaith/Interspiritual Guidance

Next Cohort runs
October 2025 - January 2027

  • Jeanette Banashak, EdD, PhD

    DIRECTOR, FACULTY

  • Rev. John Chang-Yee Lee, DMin

    FACULTY

  • Kristina Stone Kaiser, DMin

    FACULTY

Our Leading Edge Training Model

Our certification program for interfaith/interspiritual guidance will teach you the art and practice of spiritual guidance / direction / companioning and prepare you to establish a private, client-based practice or work / serve within an organization of your choosing. 

Our andragogy (adult learning model) focuses on the inner development of the spiritual seeker and guide, compassionate sacred activism, familiarization with the world's religions and prominent spiritual movements; and the many ways spirituality is being experienced today, including "spiritual but not religious." This approach helps us deepen our knowledge of how clients/companions experience the Sacred in their own unique ways. Over time, this leads to an unfolding awareness that beneath each tradition runs a river of ultimate truth shared by many.

Our 16-month journey takes us from interfaith to interspiritual, deepening our personal understanding of how the Divine reveals itself in each person's life, across time and traditions. By mastering the art of deep listening we can be available to all individuals, thereby expanding the role of the spiritual guide to be a compassionate leader in the world.

If you are already a trained spiritual director, we have another program that is better suited to your needs. Read more here. 

“SGTI has not only opened me up to the beauty and diversity of the spiritual traditions and practices our world holds, it has offered me a deeper understanding of myself and my own spiritual life, and by extension, the potential I hold to compassionately serve others on their spiritual journey.”

— K. G., Michigan

Areas of Study

Interreligious Awareness

  • Explore major religious traditions including Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Indigenous Traditions

  • Also explore Secular Humanism, Atheism, and “Spiritually Independent” Traditions

  • Learn about Interfaith/Interspiritual Guidance (How do I offer guidance to people of specific traditions?)

Human & Spiritual Development

Engage in

  • Models of Growth & Development

  • Conditions for Development

  • Identity and Consciousness

  • Character

Contemplation

  • Self-Awareness of the inner landscape

  • Tending to our inner bias

  • Prayer forms & Contemplative Practices across traditions

  • Creativity & spirituality exploration

  • Insight & Intuition cultivation

  • Deepen in your own tradition while exploring the gifts of other traditions

Interspirituality

Learn about

  • Our universal common heritage

  • Perennial Traditions

  • Nature-based spirituality

  • The mystic’s path to Oneness

  • Global implications for interspiritual awareness

  • Modes of Interspiritual Guidance

Deep Listening

  • Listening in its various forms

  • Attention, Awareness & Transparency

  • Self-compassion

  • Discernment

  • Asking questions that aid in meaning making

The How-To’s of
Spiritual Guidance

  • Ethics within Spiritual Guidance

  • Developing a Private Practice

  • Facilitating Group Spiritual Guidance

  • Responding to the call to Compassionate Sacred Activism

Program Structure

A 5-day In-Person Residential Retreat opens the program

  • Key components are introduced, including Compassionate Sacred Activism & Non-Judgmental, Compassionate Listening

  • Contemplative practices from various traditions are offered, inviting us to cultivate an ever-deepening self-awareness 

Online Format with synchronous
& asynchronous components

  • New modules begin every 2 to 4 weeks, offering a variety of ways to engage

  • Hands-on practice with clients/companions occurs Janaury 2026 to January 2027 (Virtual or In-Person)

  • Monthly (60-minute) session with a trained supervisor via Zoom (cost not included in tuition)

  • Monthly Peer Group (90-minutes) and Discussion/Practice Group (60-minutes) via Zoom
    These meetings are usually scheduled on a weekday during daytime hours.

Additional 1-2 day Virtual Residential Retreats throughout the 16-months

  • Central themes are continued and new themes are introduced

  • Deep Listening and Spiritual Guidance are practiced in small groups

  • Cohort members connect, share, and learn from one another

Virtual Graduation Ceremony: January 2027

Course Requirements

Certification as an Interfaith/Interspiritual Guide
includes completion & mastery of

  • 1 In-Person Residential Retreat (5 days) and 3 virtual Residential Retreats (1-2 days)

  • 30 learning modules (new module every 2-4 weeks)

    • Each module includes elements of both Sacred Compassionate Activism and Sacred Listening.

  • 14 Peer group sessions via Zoom (November 2025 to December 2026)

  • 14 Discussion/Practice Group sessions via Zoom (November 2025 to December 2026)

  • 24 hours of Spiritual Guidance practice with clients/companions (Directees) 
    (in-person or vitually)

  • 12 One-on-one mentoring sessions with a supervisor referred to you by SGTI

  • Maintainance of a regular contemplative practice and monthly personal spiritual direction/guidance session

  • 14 Reflective Expressions, 2 Interspiritaul Projects, and 1 Final Paper
    (8-10 hrs. of study per week)

2025 Tuition: $5948

    • 16 months of online training (30 modules)

    • 14 Discussion/Practice sessions via Zoom (60 min)

    • 14 Peer Group sessions via Zoom (90 min)

    • $50 Application Fee

    • Books & other (optional) learning opportunities noted in the curriculum

    • Personal Spiritual Direction with a spiritual guide of your choice

    • Supervision with an SGTI-approved supervisor

    • Travel, Room & Board for opening Residential Retreat: $650

    • We have a limited number of partial scholarships available to qualified applicants. 

    • Please contact us to learn if you might be eligible.

    • Upon acceptance: Tuition downpayment of $500 ($518 if using Paypal)

    • 10/01/2026: Tuition of $1,816 ($1880 if using Paypal)

    • 3/01/2026: Tuition of $1,816 ($1880 if using Paypal)

    • 8/01/2026: Tuition of $1,816 ($1880 if using Paypal)

    • Monthly Payment plans also possible

    • Venmo

    • PayPal (extra 3.5% charge)

    • Personal check.

  • Students are asked to be in communication via email for any of the following

    • Delayed Tuition Payments

    • Missing Peer or Discussion Group

    If a participant withdraws from the program, and a scheduled payment has been made, no refunds will be given for that payment.​

In-Person Opening Residential
Racine, Wisconsin*

  • Siena Retreat Center, Racine, Wisconsin USA

  • Wednesday, October 15 - Sunday, October 19, 2025

    • All meals will be provided from Wednesday dinner through Sunday breakfast.

    • Private room & bath from Wednesday afternoon until Sunday at noon

  • Siena Center offers an ideal contemplative meeting space. Amenities include an outdoor labyrinth, bookstore, access to Lake Michigan, and abundant nature for walking and reflection

*If meeting in-person is not an option, please contact us about attending via Zoom

Please contact us with application interest