What is Circle Of Trust?
A Circle of Trust is a structured group methodology designed to support individuals in accessing their inner wisdom—what various traditions call soul, spirit, or true self—within a supportive community. The practice’s singular purpose is to support the inner journey of each person in the group, to make each soul feel safe enough to show up and speak its truth, to help each person listen to his or her own inner teacher. Unlike typical workshops or therapy groups, Circles of Trust operate without advice-giving, fixing, or problem-solving; instead, participants use honest, open questions and reflective silence to help each other hear their own inner guidance.
Origins & lineage
In 1997, Parker J. Palmer with Marcy Jackson and Rick Jackson founded what would become the Center for Courage & Renewal. The methodology emerged from Palmer’s work in teacher formation and his deep immersion in Quaker spiritual practices, particularly during his eleven years at Pendle Hill, a Quaker living-learning community near Philadelphia. Palmer published A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life in 2004, which became the definitive text describing the Circle of Trust approach.
The principles and practices draw on monastic tradition, over 400 years of Quaker faith and practice, and processes of spiritual formation found at the heart of most of the world’s great wisdom traditions. A key influence is the Quaker Clearness Committee, a tradition whose roots can be traced to early Quaker convictions about the “Inner Light”—the belief that every person can access divine guidance within themselves. The phrase “clearness committee” first appeared in Quaker publications in 1969, though the discernment practice itself is older. Palmer adapted this communal discernment process for broader secular and spiritual contexts.
How it’s practiced
Circles of Trust gather in retreat settings—ranging from weekend intensives to multi-session programs—under the guidance of trained facilitators. Facilitators use Touchstones to define clear boundaries in a Circle of Trust retreat, the kinds of boundaries that create trustworthy space for the soul. Core Touchstones include: giving and receiving welcome, being fully present, speaking one’s truth without correcting others, no fixing/saving/advising, asking honest open questions, attending to one’s own inner teacher, trusting silence, and observing deep confidentiality.
The circle achieves intentionality by focusing on an important topic, and achieves indirection by exploring that topic metaphorically, via a poem, a story, a piece of music, or a work of art that embodies it. These “third things” serve as neutral focal points that allow participants to approach soul truth obliquely rather than through direct confrontation. Participants alternate between solitary reflection, small group dialogue, and large circle sharing. One hallmark practice is the Clearness Committee, a two-hour discernment process that helps participants hear their own inner wisdom while drawing on the wisdom of other people.
Circle Of Trust today
The approach has expanded far beyond its origins in teacher formation. The Center is at the hub of a growing network of nearly 300 Courage & Renewal facilitators who bring the Circle of Trust approach to individuals, organizations and communities worldwide across a range of professions. Programs now serve educators, healthcare professionals, clergy, nonprofit leaders, activists, and corporate executives. Retreats are offered both in-person at retreat centers and increasingly in virtual formats. The methodology has been adapted for organizational settings, leadership development, and social justice work.
Participants return to their homes, workplaces, and communities with greater access to the inner teacher and a new depth of self-knowledge, often resulting in a clearer sense of guidance for their personal and professional lives and principles and practices that can be applied to their daily lives. The approach has influenced fields including contemplative education, transformative leadership development, and interfaith dialogue.
Common misconceptions
Circles of Trust are not therapy sessions, support groups, or problem-solving workshops. The facilitator does not teach content or provide answers; their role is to hold the space and the process. Circles of Trust are never “share or die” events, but times and places where people have the freedom within a purposeful process to learn and grow in their own way, on their own schedule and at their own level of need, because the inner teacher speaks by choice, not on command.
The practice is not religious in the sectarian sense, though it draws on spiritual traditions. It is not about consensus-building or group decision-making. The “no fixing” guideline is often the most challenging for helping professionals to honor. The methodology requires skilled facilitation and cannot simply be replicated by reading about it; the quality of the space depends on careful attention to conditions, timing, and group dynamics.
Despite the name, Circles of Trust do not assume trust exists at the outset—rather, they create conditions in which trust can gradually emerge through consistent honoring of boundaries and identity.
How to begin
The primary entry point is attending a Circle of Trust retreat facilitated by a trained Courage & Renewal facilitator. The Center for Courage & Renewal website (couragerenewal.org) maintains a directory of facilitators and upcoming programs. For individual exploration, Parker J. Palmer’s A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life (Jossey-Bass, 2004; 20th Anniversary Edition 2024) provides the foundational text. The book’s paperback edition includes a DVD with retreat footage and a reader’s guide.
Other Palmer books that illuminate the approach include Let Your Life Speak (2000), The Courage to Teach (1998), and Healing the Heart of Democracy (2011). For those drawn to the Quaker roots, exploring local Quaker meetings and their practice of worship in silence can provide complementary experience. The Center also offers an online Community Platform for deepening practice and connecting with others engaged in this work.