Evolving Enneagram Spiritual Direction
Training & Certificate Program
A professional formation program for those called to Enneagram-informed spiritual accompaniment, rooted in wholeness, freedom, and unity.
We are now accepting applications for the 2027-28 inaugural cohort.
Now Included: Contemplative Enneagram Practitioner Certification
This program now includes an optional, fully integrated pathway to earn your Contemplative Enneagram Practitioner (CEP) Certification — at no additional tuition.
2027–2028 Program Timeline
at a Glance
Six Phases · 20 Modules · 22 Months followed by Spiritual Direction Supervision
Phase 1 · Foundations: February – May 2027
Phase 2 · The Inner Integrative Work: June – November 2027
Phase 3 · Methods, Skills & Accompaniment: November 2027 – March 2028
Phase 4 · Practicum & Practice Development: April – September 2028
Phase 5 · Practice Design & Outreach: September – November 2028
Phase 6 · Graduation & Send-off to Supervision: December 2028
Six co-led live online trainings, monthly cohort gatherings, and integration experiences unfold throughout the program — followed by post-program Spiritual Direction Supervision for those pursuing the Certificate in Spiritual Direction.
How the CEP Certification works: complete Phase 3 together with approximately 40 hours of pre-recorded Contemplative Enneagram Practitioner (CEP) course materials, and you’ll also earn your CEP Certification — included at no additional tuition.
A Formation Journey
Spiritual direction is less a technique to be mastered than a way of being with another in the presence of the Sacred. This program is designed to cultivate the inner life of the spiritual director, because the quality of our accompaniment flows from the depth of who we are.
Over twenty-two months, you’ll journey with a dedicated cohort through six developmental phases—from foundations and inner work to supervised practice, the art and craft of spiritual direction, and the development of a sustainable practice. Along the way, live trainings, supervision, contemplative practice, and shared reflection provide a steady rhythm of learning, integration, and growth.
Co-led by Revs. Scott McRae and Nhien Vuong, this is an apprenticeship in presence as much as a training in spiritual direction. The goal is not simply to learn what a spiritual director does, but to become the kind of person from whom authentic spiritual direction naturally flows.
What Makes This Program Distinctive
The call to accompany others is among the most meaningful work in the world. In a time of evolving spirituality, the unraveling of old systems, and a deep hunger for meaning, wise and compassionate spiritual companions are needed more than ever.
The Integrated Contemplative Enneagram
Rather than treating the Enneagram as a separate course or area of study, we weave its wisdom throughout every phase of the program as an integrated path of contemplative, psychological, and spiritual formation. In this way, the Enneagram becomes a living framework that deepens self-awareness, compassionate presence, and spiritual freedom within the practice of spiritual direction.
Participants who choose to deepen this dimension of their formation may also earn Evolving Enneagram’s Contemplative Enneagram Practitioner (CEP) Certification by completing Phase 3 together with the accompanying CEP coursework.
Inside-Out Formation
We believe the primary instrument of spiritual direction is not a technique but the person of the spiritual director. Rather than simply teaching what to do, we cultivate the presence, self-awareness, and inner freedom from which authentic spiritual direction naturally flows.
Interspiritual & Inclusive
Grounded in our shared humanity and essential wholeness, we welcome people from diverse faith traditions, spiritual paths, and life experiences. Whether you are rooted in a religious tradition, spiritually curious, deconstructing, reconstructing, spiritual but not religious, contemplative, or mystical, you are invited to bring your whole self. We are committed to cultivating a learning community where every participant is treated with dignity and respect.
The Soulful Art & Craft of Spiritual Direction
We believe the art and craft of spiritual direction can be intentionally cultivated. Drawing on adult learning theory and developmental models of human growth, participants develop the capacity for deep listening, brave inquiry, discerning intervention, and responsive presence—learning to accompany others with wisdom, authenticity, skill, and, when the moment calls for it, a little sacred sass.
While rooted in the contemplative tradition of spiritual direction, our approach extends beyond the traditional emphasis on a reserved, reflective listening posture. We understand presence to be an active, discerning practice—one that listens deeply while also knowing when to inquire, reflect, challenge, or simply remain silent. We’ve found that those we accompany tend to open more honestly and journey more deeply when their spiritual director is fully present, responsive, and real.
The Cohort as a Compassionate Field
Over twenty-two months, the cohort becomes a compassionate field of practice where shared learning, supervision, and spiritual companionship become integral to each participant’s formation.
Who is this For
The journey of accompanying others is among the most meaningful work in the world. Whether you are already accompanying others or sensing a call to do so, this program is designed for emerging and experienced practitioners who seek to integrate the wisdom of the Enneagram into the practice of spiritual companionship.
This program may be a good fit for:
- Contemplative Enneagram practitioners
- Spiritual directors, companions, and guides
- Clergy and lay leaders
- Therapists and counselors
- Coaches and leadership facilitators
- Holistic healers
- Experienced Enneagram students seeking a deeper contemplative path
- Experienced contemplatives seeking to engage the Enneagram
- Those longing to move from personal formation to accompanying others
We are now accepting applications for the 2027-28 inaugural cohort.
Twenty Modules, Six Phases
The journey unfolds gently, each phase building on the one before. Select a phase to explore its modules.
Phase 1
Spiritual Direction & Contemplative Enneagram Foundations
Spiritual Direction & Contemplative Enneagram Foundations
All sessions are online via Zoom.
Live Training #1 · Fri Feb 5 & Sat Feb 6, 2027 · 10:00am–2:30pm CT
MODULE ONE
History and Traditions of Spiritual Direction – Its Roots & its Relevance
A brief history of spiritual direction, how it differs from therapy, coaching, and pastoral care, and why it matters in our world today.
Cohort gatherings: Tue Feb 16, 2027 6:00-7:30pm and/or Thur Feb 18, 2027 10:00am-11:30am CT
MODULE TWO
The Contemplative Enneagram & the Journey Home
The Enneagram as a mandala of wholeness, a doorway into presence, and a contemplative path of awakening to our divine nature; cultivating compassionate self-observation and three-centered awareness.
Cohort gatherings: Tue Mar 16, 2027 6:00-7:30pm and/or Thur Mar 18, 2027 10:00am-11:30am CT
MODULE THREE
How Spirituality Is Evolving In the World and In Us
The evolving landscape of spirituality and spiritual companioning, and owning one’s own spiritual orientation.
Cohort gatherings: Tue Apr 20, 2027 6:00-7:30pm and/or Thur Apr 22, 2027 10:00am-11:30am CT
MODULE FOUR
The Enneagram and Spiritual Practice
An introduction to diverse contemplative practices and an exploration of how the Enneagram shapes our relationship with the Sacred, informs our spiritual practice, and deepens the presence we bring to the work of spiritual accompaniment.
Cohort gatherings: Tue May 18, 2027 6:00-7:30pm and/or Thur May 20, 2027 10:00am-11:30am CT
Phase Completion
Final Reflection Due: Sunday, June 6, 2027.
Phase 2
The Inner Integrative Work
The Inner Integrative Work
All sessions are online via Zoom.
Live Training #2 · Fri Jun 4 & Sat Jun 5, 2027 · 10:00am–2:30pm CT
MODULE FIVE
Navigating the Journeys of Ego, Soul, and Spirit
A psycho-spiritual map of the inner life and how these dimensions show up in the spiritual guide and their work.
Cohort gatherings: Tue Jun 15, 6:00-7:30pm and/or Thur Jun 17, 10:00am-11:30am CT
MODULE SIX
Realizing and Embodying Essence
The movement from ego fixation toward embodied essence; cultivating greater freedom, presence, and openness to the Divine.
No live training or cohort gatherings this month — a time for rest and integration.
SUMMER BREAK — August 2027
No live training or cohort gatherings this month — a time for rest and integration.
MODULE SEVEN
Instinctual Patterns and the Director’s Inner Life
The three instinctual drives and the House of 3 Instinctual Rooms; how instinctual bias shapes attention and relationship.
Cohort gatherings: Tue Sep 21, 6:00-7:30pm and/or Thur Sep 23, 10:00am-11:30am CT
MODULE EIGHT
Stewarding Energy, Boundaries, and Power
The dynamics of energy, boundaries, and power in the spiritual direction relationship, including ethical anchors and common red flags.
Cohort gatherings: Tue Oct 19, 6:00-7:30pm and/or Thur Oct 21, 10:00am-11:30am CT
Phase Completion
Final Reflection Due: Sunday, November 7, 2027, by 11:59 PM CT
Phase 3
Methods, Skills & Accompaniment
Methods, Skills & Accompaniment
All sessions are online via Zoom.
Live Training #3 · Fri Nov 5 & Sat Nov 6, 2027 · 10:00am–2:30pm CT
MODULE NINE
Deepening Spiritual Direction Identity & Voice: Coming from the Real Place
Who am I in this work? What are the different voices of soul and role within me? Articulating one’s essential theology or cosmology, one’s identity as a spiritual director, and how these shape one’s companioning of others.
Cohort gatherings: Tue Nov 16, 6:00-7:30pm and/or Thur Nov 18, 10:00am-11:30am CT
MODULE TEN
Practices and Phases within a session: Holding, Engaging, Guiding
A three-phase model for the direction session; the distinct tasks and skills of each, enriched by spiritual practices and Enneagram attunement.
Cohort gatherings: Tue Dec 14, 6:00-7:30pm and/or Thur Dec 16, 10:00am-11:30am CT (December cohorts meet during the second week because of the Christmas holiday.)
MODULE ELEVEN
Relational Space, Resistance, and Re-authoring Stories
Drawing from Motivational Interviewing, Narrative theory, and Taoism, an exploration of compassionate approaches to engaging change and resistance within relational space.
Cohort gatherings resume: Tue Jan 18, 6:00-7:30pm and/or Thur Jan 20, 10:00am-11:30am CT
MODULE TWELVE
Loss, Grief, Trauma, and When to Refer
Presence to grief, loss, and trauma; the director’s role and its limits; a clear internal guideline for referral.
Cohort gatherings resume: Tue Feb 15, 6:00-7:30pm and/or Thur Feb 17, 10:00am-11:30am CT
MODULE THIRTEEN
Sacred Accompaniment and the Enneagram in Session
Inner posture, discernment, and authentic voice; the Enneagram as both a contemplative and a psychological tool.
Cohort gatherings resume: Tue Mar 21, 6:00-7:30pm and/or Thur Mar 23, 10:00am-11:30am CT
Phase Completion
Final Reflection Due: Sunday, April 2, 2028, by 11:59 PM CT
Phase 4
Enneagram-informed Practicum & Practice Development
Enneagram-informed Practicum & Practice Development
All sessions are online via Zoom.
Live Training #4 · Fri Apr 7 & Sat Apr 8, 2028 · 10:00am–2:30pm CT
Celebrating newly certified Contemplative Enneagram Practitioners
MODULE FOURTEEN
Introducing Supervised Practicum: The Why, Who & What
A supported threshold into practice — directee sessions with written reflection, recorded sessions for deeper feedback, and Enneagram-informed reflection woven throughout.
Cohort gatherings: Tue Apr 18, 6:00-7:30pm and/or Thur Apr 20, 10:00am-11:30am CT
MODULE FIFTEEN
Practicum Continued: Enneagram & Fishbowl Integration
Continued supervised practice, with Enneagram material from the Learning Labs and live fishbowl sessions integrated into the cohort’s shared learning.
Cohort gatherings: Tue May 16, 6:00-7:30pm and/or Thur May 18, 10:00am-11:30am CT
MODULE SIXTEEN
The 3×3 Blueprint and Practice Architecture
The nine dimensions of a healthy practice and the four phases of a spiritual direction practice — seeing your practice as a living system.
Cohort gatherings: Tue Jun 20, 6:00-7:30pm and/or Thur Jun 22, 10:00am-11:30am CT
MODULE SEVENTEEN
Practicum Continued: Seeing Directees
No cohort • Supervised practicum with Rev. Scott or Rev. Nhien based on individual schedules begins
SUMMER BREAK — August 2028
Practicum
Phase Completion
Final Reflection Due: Sunday, September 10, 2028, by 11:59 PM CT
Phase 5
Practice Design & Outreach
Practice Design & Outreach
All sessions are online via Zoom.
Live Training #5 · Fri Sep 8 & Sat Sep 9, 2028 · 10:00am–2:30pm CT
Note that this training is not at the usual first weekend of the month
MODULE EIGHTEEN
Designing Your Offerings and Income Portals; Marketing with Integrity — “Can I be Helpful?”
What is offered and marketed as expressions of genuine service — reaching those you are called to serve without betraying your values.
Cohort gatherings: Tue Sep 19, 6:00-7:30pm and/or Thur Sep 21, 10:00am-11:30am CT
MODULE NINETEEN
Vocation, Calling, and Reverencing One’s Practice
Vocational discernment; living the questions; trusting your authentic being; integrating the Enneagram gifts of soul: Rooting our practice in faith, generosity, and sustainability, informed by the wisdom of the Enneagram.
Cohort gatherings: Tue Oct 17, 6:00-7:30pm and/or Thur Oct 19, 10:00am-11:30am CT
MODULE TWENTY
Looking Back & Looking Forward – Harvesting One’s Sacred Work
Celebrating the calling, the growing, and what is to come.
Self-study only — no live cohort gathering this month
Phase Completion
Final Reflection Due: Sunday, November 26, 2028, by 11:59 PM CT
Phase 6
Closing Session & Supervision Kickoff
Closing Session & Supervision Kickoff
All sessions are online via Zoom.
Live Training #6 · Fri Dec 1 & Sat Dec 2, 2028 · 10:00am–2:30pm CT
COMING FULL CIRCLE — COMPLETION & COMMISSIONING
The twenty modules come to completion. Together we honor the journey with a closing ritual and graduation ceremony, and everyone who completes Modules 1–20 receives a Certificate of Completion. This is not an ending but a threshold: from here, participants launch into SD Supervision — the next stage of formation for those continuing toward the full Certificate in Spiritual Direction.
Program Investment
Tuition & Support
Program Tuition — $4,600
20 Modules · 20+ Months of Formation, Training, and Spiritual Direction Supervision
Pay in Full: $4,600
Payment Plan: 4 quarterly payments of $1,212.50
Receive $300 off either tuition option when you register by October 31, 2026.
Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive your early bird discount code.
Alumni Discounted Tuition
A significantly reduced tuition rate is available for current cohort members and alumni of Rev. Nhien Vuong’s Contemplative Enneagram Practitioner Training & Certification program and Rev. Scott McRae’s Sojourners Institute spiritual direction training.
Alumni also receive an additional $100 Early Bird discount when registering by October 31, 2026.
Please email info@evolvingenneagram.com for your alumni investment rate and discount code.
SD Supervision — $300–$600
Four supervision sessions complete the full Certificate in Spiritual Direction.
Choose the supervision format that best fits your needs:
- A group supervision cohort at $75 per session ($300 total for four sessions) and/or
- Individual 1:1 supervision at $150 per session ($600 total).
Offered on an individualized timeline and open only to those who have completed the full training.
Payment Plans
We’ve worked hard to make this a genuinely accessible spiritual direction program. Keeping costs down is part of why we chose not to require an in-person training — sparing participants the expense of travel and lodging. We also know that people come to this work from many different life situations and helping professions, and we don’t want cost to stand in the way of a true call. We’re glad to discuss flexible payment arrangements — please reach out.
Scholarships & Sponsorships
Limited scholarship and sponsorship support may be available for those experiencing financial hardship. If cost is the primary obstacle to participation, we warmly invite you to reach out.
We also welcome those who feel called to support greater accessibility and the long-term sustainability of these offerings through sponsorship. If this speaks to you, please contact Rev. Nhien directly at revnhien@evolvingenneagram.com.
Meet Your Guides
Two companions on the contemplative path, united by shared values of spiritual openness and inclusivity, bringing decades of combined experience to training and forming the next generation of spiritual directors.
IEA Accredited with Distinction
Founder & Principal Teacher, Evolving Enneagram
Contemplative Enneagram Teacher · Spiritual Director · Retreat Leader · International Presenter · Author of The Enneagram of the Soul
Rev. Nhien Vuong is one of fewer than thirty professionals worldwide recognized as an IEA Accredited Professional with Distinction, bringing more than two decades of Enneagram study and practice to her work as a contemplative teacher, spiritual director, retreat leader, and compassion-based community builder. A Stanford-trained attorney before her ordination as a Unity minister in 2015, she founded Evolving Enneagram, a contemplative formation school and community devoted to helping people realize and embody their innate divinity. An international presenter who has taught for Spiritual Directors International (SDI), she has led retreats and taught across Egypt, Denmark, Mexico, Sweden, and the United States, reaching participants in more than 150 countries through global online summits. A poet, writer, and tree-hugger, Nhien is the author of The Enneagram of the Soul: A 40-Day Spiritual Companion for the Nine Types, drawn from her years of teaching and practice. Her deepest joy is walking alongside others as they come home to their own wholeness and learn to live it in everyday life.
Yale Divinity · ACPE
Co-Founder, Sojourners Institute
Spiritual Director · Spiritual Direction Trainer · Enneagram Teacher · ACPE Supervisor
Rev. Scott McRae is a lifelong spiritual seeker whose ministry has woven together pastoral care, hospital chaplaincy, spiritual direction, and Enneagram teaching. He holds an M.Div. from Yale Divinity School, was ordained as a Lutheran pastor (ELCA) in 1988, and has companioned others as a spiritual director since 2002. With his wife Melanie, he co-founded the Sojourners Institute in 2014, where he also founded the Sojourners Spiritual Direction Apprentice Program to train and form the next generation of directors. A certified ACPE Clinical Pastoral Education supervisor and Leadership Circle Profile facilitator, he brings decades of experience shepherding individuals and groups through soulful growth and transformation. For more than two decades he has led retreats, workshops, and programs in spiritual development and the Enneagram, mentoring spiritual directors and emerging leaders across churches, hospitals, and seminaries. An international presenter who has taught for Spiritual Directors International (SDI), he loves the spiritual quest most of all when it unfolds in the company of others. A jazz pianist and lover of long walks in nature, Scott makes his home in Minneapolis, where his deepest joy is walking alongside individuals and groups on the sacred journey.
Get to know us.
In this conversation, Nhien and Scott explore Enneagram-informed spiritual direction as a path toward wholeness, oneness, and unity — a talk those discerning have found especially helpful. (49:12)
An Invitation to Begin
If you sense a call to spiritual accompaniment, informed by the contemplative wisdom of the Enneagram, we invite you to apply and begin a conversation or simply email us with any questions you may have about this journey.
We are now accepting applications for the 2027-28 inaugural cohort.
"We're all just walking each other home." — Ram Dass
Program Investment
Participants may register for Modules 1–2 as stand-alone courses or apply for the full yearlong certification program.
Module 1
Foundations of the Contemplative Enneagram
2026 pricing coming soon
Subscribe to newsletter to be notified when registration opens.
Module 2
Instincts & Inner
Awakening
2026 pricing coming soon
Subscribe to newsletter to be notified when registration opens.
Contemplative Enneagram Practitioner Certification Path
Yearlong program—all 5 modules
2026 pricing coming soon.
For reference only, see below for 2025 tuition:
Benefactor Rate:
$3300
(Pay it forward to support scholarships)
Regular Fee:
$3000
limited no. of partial scholarships will be available
