After a demonstration this afternoon of a supervision session, I'm convinced that monthly supervision is a necessary and integal part of practicing spiritual direction -- just as, for instance, most therapists have supervisors. However, I hadn't counted on another monthly meeting, or, more importantly, another $40-$60 monthly fee ($400 - $600 annually). But you find a way to pay for what is important.

For more information, see Supervision of Spiritual Directors: Engaging in Holy Mystery, edited by Mary Rose Bumpus and Rebecca Bradburn Langer; or Looking into the Well: Supervision of Spiritual Directors by Maureen Conroy.

Conroy, for example, says that the goal of supervision is to help the spiritual director, "grow in self-awareness and interior freedom in order to better stay with a directee's experience and be attentive to God in a direction session."