The Orthodox spiritual life is not walked alone. A spiritual father, sometimes called a confessor, is a priest or elder who knows you over time: your temptations, your patterns, the places you cannot see in yourself. Like a physician of the soul, he helps you recognise the passions and gives the medicine of prayer, fasting, confession and the Scriptures.
Holy elders whose guidance is sought from far away exist, but they are rare. Most spiritual fathers are ordinary parish priests, faithful and experienced in the life of the Church. The usual beginning is simple: talk to your own priest, ask if he will guide you, and begin coming to him regularly for confession.
There is no fixed schedule. Some see their spiritual father monthly, others several times a year around the great fasts, and some once a year if they live far away. What matters is bringing the real struggles of your life to someone who can help you see them clearly, and keeping the rule he gives you.