What Makes Spiritual Direction Different?

This week I finished reading Jennie Allen's new book Find Your People: Building Deep Community in a Lonely World. It was a fascinating book that really hit home with me. Essentially, her thesis is that we have lost the mentality of having a tribe - trying to make every acquaintance into our best friend, and when that fails, we retreat back to ways of behaving that illuminate our loneliness. 
But as I was reading, I wondered out loud, where does spiritual direction - especially group spiritual direction fit into her model? Because the people that journey with us - they become more than acquaintances, they probably aren't our best friends (but may be), but they didn't really fit into her definition of "tribe" either. 
Group spiritual direction is this holy ground where we pour our hearts out to people, who may start as strangers, but who we have covenanted to listen to and with. They are people that want to see us connect with the Divine and in order to do so, they are willing to get vulnerable with us. 
Group spiritual direction is truly holy listening and sacred space. 
Yet, it is so rare in our culture to find intentional places like this. 
What is stirring in your heart and life that may be ripe for spiritual direction?