Training for Accompaniment

Mentoring, pastoral supervision, spiritual direction and coaching are all means of practising the CMD habit of accountability. In each case, you share with someone outside your ministry setting something of what is going on for you. There are many different routes to training in each of these aspects of accompaniment, and here are some suggestions.

If you wish to train as a mentor, please speak your regional minister as some associations arrange their own training. Initial training to get you started is usually a single day. Alternatively, please contact the Ministries Team who offer occasional online day training. For an introduction to mentoring please read Mentoring Matters by Rick Lewis.

If you wish to train as a pastoral supervisor, courses usually span nine to twelve months and cost around £1000-£1500. They may well mix onsite with online training. Accreditation with the Association of Pastoral Supervision and Education (APSE), which enables you to advertise on their website as a pastoral supervisor, is partly dependent upon gaining a certificate from one of these courses. You may train with:

• The Sherwood Institute in Nottingham 
• Wesley House in Cambridge

For an introduction to pastoral supervision, please read Pastoral Supervision: A Handbook by Jane Leach and Michael Paterson.

If you wish to train as a spiritual director, you could ask your local Anglican diocese as many run their own training programme, and these are often open to those outside the Anglican tradition. But you can also access training at the following places, some of which offer online options: 

• Sarum College in Salisbury
• The London Centre for Spiritual Direction
• Cambridgeshire Courses in Spiritual Direction
• SPIDIR Spiritual Direction Network in London
• Essex Course in Spiritual Direction
• St. Bueno’s Jesuit Spirituality Centre in North Wales
• Launde Abbey in Leicestershire

Courses vary considerably in time and cost. For those who are seeking to be part of the list of accompaniers held by the Ministries Team we would be looking for something along the lines of the Sarum College online course as a minimum requirement. The Retreat Association may know of other training opportunities in your locality.  It is important to pick a course that includes practising spiritual direction rather than merely theory. For an introduction to the principles of spiritual direction, please read Spiritual Direction for Every Christian by Gordon Jeff.

If you wish to train as a coach, then there is a wide range of training providers, but our recommendation is that any training provider should be affiliated to either the EMCC (European Mentoring Coaching Council) or the ICF (International Coaching Federation), and that training should be to the equivalent of level 2 from the ICF. This will cost around £1500. An example of a centre for training is Animas.


Training for pastoral supervision, spiritual direction or coaching all require a substantial investment of time and finance. Consequently, there is an understanding that those who offer these forms of accompaniment generally make a charge for the service they provide. The professional bodies supporting pastoral supervision, spiritual direction and coaching all require anyone who is offering these forms of accompaniment to have their own supervision. This is also the expectation of the Ministries Team for those whose names are on the Baptist list of those offering accompaniment. In addition, those who are trained in these areas should also continue to develop their understanding and skills through professional development and ongoing learning which is readily available through the relevant organisations and networks.

 

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