Program Overview: CQ Asia-SSD

• Bachelor's degree (or equivalent)
• Three recommendations: ministerial, academic, personal
• Basic computer/online literacy
• Clear sense of calling to be a spiritual director
• Application paperwork (with $125 nonrefundable/nontransferable application fee)
• Personal interview (conducted via Zoom web call)

• Total Program Fee: $ 4,600 (inclusive of all tuition/technology fees, and residency activity expenses [excluding board & lodging and travel]).
• Additional Costs: Books/Course materials and residency travel expenses are the participant’s responsibility. Miscellaneous other expenses are spelled out under the FAQ on Tuition/Fees section.

• OSP - Orientation to the CQ Asia-SSD Program via Moodle SSD Cohort Commons/Zoom (synchronous meetings)(TBD - Three consecutive Saturday mornings (Manila time) for 2-3 hours) 

• OOL - Orientation to Online Learning via Moodle SSD Cohort Commons/Zoom (TBD 2026 – Asynchronous except xxx [1.5 hours] and xxx [2 hours] via Zoom - Optional)

• HSD - History of Spiritual Direction (March) – via video in Moodle SSD Cohort Commons
• MSD - Models of Spiritual Direction (March) in Moodle SSD Cohort Commons

• CQ Asia-SSD Learning Community Covenant of Shared Intention
• Special Feature Series Henri Nouwen: CenterQuest Inspiration and Guide
• Companions in Community (CinC) group experience

• Online Course #1 - CP I (July 6-Aug. 1)
  • Contemplative Prayer I: (A Way of Seeing)
• Two-Week Interim Break 
• Online Course #2 - CP II (Aug. 17-Sept. 12)
  • Contemplative Prayer II: (A Way of Listening)
• Three-Week Inter-Term Break

• Online Course #3 - PD I (Oct. 5-31) 
  • Prayerful Discernment I: Foundations
• Two-Week Interim Break
• Online Course #4 - PD II (Nov.16-Dec. 12) 
  • Prayerful Discernment II: Practices
• Three-Week Inter-Term Break

• Online Course #5 - ISD (Jan. 4-9)
  • Individual Spiritual Direction
• One-Week Break
• Online Course #6 - RPD (Jan. 18-Feb. 13)
  • [Supervised ] Real Play Dyads 
  • (See  CQ Asia SSD Practicum Info doc)
• One-Week Break

• Online Course #7 - SDS (Feb. 22-Mar. 20)
  • Spiritual Direction Supervision
• Two-Week Interim Break
• Online Course #8 - TR (Apr. 12-May 8)
  • [Contemplative] Theological Reflection
• Three-Week Inter-Term Break 

• Online Course #9 - GSG (May 31-June 26) 
  • Group Spiritual Guidance
• Two-Week Interim Break
• Online Course #10 - CLS (July 12-Aug. 7 )
  • Critical Life Stages
• Four-Week Inter-Term Break 

• Practicum I: GSG - Group Spiritual Guidance
• Practicum II: FGS -Facilitated Group Supervision
• IDT - Inner Dynamics of Transformation (Two or Three-Part Series)
• Final Integration

• ST - Spiritual Direction and Social Transformation - 4-week course via Moodle SD Online Courses page site (TBD)

NOTE: For a more updated and detailed information on the Curriculum (Course Descriptions, Online Instructors, Required/Highly Recommended Texts), go to CQ Asia-SSD Program Curriculum. To see at a glance the Program Overview in calendar format, go to CQ Asia-SSD Visual Calendar.

• Prior to the start of the Opening Residency, participants are to devote adequate time to prepare themselves before launching into the 18-month) program. This will involve accessing key info in the SSD Cohort Commons (via Moodle) at least two months before the residency retreat (including info on textbooks, Moodle orientation, retreat prep, reference resources, etc.).
• Note that there are two basic Orientation meetings scheduled: Orientation to the SSD Program (OSP) and Orientation to Online Learning (OOL). OSP will be a 2-3 hour synchronous meeting for three consecutive Saturday mornings (xxx -10 am/8-11 am on the 3rd Sat.) via Zoom. OOL is a four-day class -  (xxx & asynchronous sessions via Cohort Commons and Moodle, with an Optional Zoom meetings on xx for 1.5 hours and xx for 2 hours.

• The Opening Residency retreat will be held in June 11-16, 2026 (Thursday to Tuesday - Venue: Mirador Jesuit Villa, Baguio City). The dates for the Closing Residency are set for Sept. 5-12, 2027 (Sunday to Sunday – Venue: TBC). The Closing Residency incorporates a whole-day silent retreat at the beginning. Much preparation is involved prior to the Closing Residency as this will be the culmination of the yearlong program (Group Spiritual Guidance, Facilitated Group Supervision, Exit Interview, etc.). Full attendance and participation in both residencies are required to complete the program.

• Each participant is assigned to be part of a small group (4-5 people maximum) under a mentor
• Mentors are present during the opening and closing residencies.
• Mentors check in with each participant assigned to them periodically during each quarter (via email, phone, and/or Zoom web call).
• Mentors conduct a quarterly shared reflection via Zoom with their mentoring group based on each participant’s self-assessment/discernment utilizing the Appreciative Inventory (AI) tool.
• Mentors have access to all the online courses and they monitor the progress of each participant along with the online instructors.
• NOTE: For more detailed explanation of the role of mentoring, check out the Mentoring document that can be found in the Cohort Commons (once enrolled there).

• Each participant is expected to have a monthly session with a spiritual director throughout the entire program.
• Each participant is expected to have at least two directees by the end of 2nd quarter.
• Each participant is required to see a supervisor once a month from September 2025 to February 2026 (six months).
• Each mentoring group is involved in an ongoing group spiritual direction practice in various forms during both residencies, the online modules and in-between each quarter (via the AI sessions) as participants and/or facilitators.
• Each participant is expected to bring a supervision case and experience facilitated group supervision during the closing residency (to be facilitated by well-trained spiritual direction supervisors).
• NOTE: For more details on the SSD Practicum Requirements, go to CQ Asia SSD Practicum Info.

*** If you do not have a strong enough background in the field of Christian spirituality, we suggest the following basic resources you may want to check out for your own reference and study:

RECOMMENDED TEXTS:

• Scorgie, Glen G. A Little Guide to Christian Spirituality. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007.
• Collins, Kenneth J., ed. Exploring Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Reader. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000.
• Foster, Richard J. Streams of Living Water: Celebrating the Great Traditions of Christian Faith. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1998.
• McGrath, Alister. Christian Spirituality. Cowley Road, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 1999.
• Rolheiser, Ronald. The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality. New York: Doubleday, 1999.

IMPORTANT:

A basic grasp of the history of Christian spirituality is critical to understanding and appreciating the various approaches to spiritual direction that have evolved over the years. We highly suggest, if you are not very familiar with different traditions of spirituality, that you embark in some preliminary reading on this subject. Here are a couple that we recommend:

• Sheldrake, Philip. Spirituality: A Brief History. 2nd ed. West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 2013.
• Holt, Bradley P. Thirsty for God: A Brief History of Christian Spirituality. 3rd ed. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2017.

CQ ASIA RESOURCES:

• Lifelong Learning Community
• Spiritual Direction Referral Network