Spiritual accompaniment is about having someone listen deeply while you explore whatever is coming up for you around meaning, purpose, the sacred, or questions about existence itself. This might be wrestling with doubt, making sense of difficult religious experiences, exploring completely new territory, or questioning everything – though I’m only giving examples as an invitation. Spiritual accompaniment is so broad that there are countless reasons or causes in life that could guide someone toward it.

I’m not here to give you answers or convince you of anything – I’m here to create a welcoming relational connection where you can explore openly and hear your own wisdom. Whatever happens in the session is what’s meant to happen in the session. It’s always good to move toward conversations about love or meaning in life, how we make meaning of our lives for ourselves. You set the pace entirely, and there’s no pressure to believe or experience anything specific.

Not at all. You might be atheist, agnostic, or unsure. You might believe in ghosts but not God, or energy but not religion, or something you can’t quite name. Whatever you believe or don’t believe is welcomed. We start with your life as it is and what you feel moved or safe to share. There’s meaning in your life regardless of whether you name that as God – there’s love, and there’s help, and there’s more depth waiting for you. You don’t have to call that God, and you don’t have to hold on to an old version of God or a God that you were given by somebody else that doesn’t ring true with your experience in the present moment.

 

Absolutely! Many people who seek spiritual accompaniment with an Interfaith Minister love their root tradition but feel drawn to explore beyond its boundaries. Maybe you’re Catholic but want to learn about Buddhist meditation, or Jewish but interested in Celtic spirituality. You might also have concerns about spiritual appropriation or spiritual materialism – these are important conversations to have with someone who understands both the draw to explore and the ethics involved. As an Interfaith Minister, I don’t represent any particular religion’s rules, so we can explore freely without judgment.

 

Absolutely not. Your emotional, physical, and spiritual safety are non-negotiable.

It’s not my role to suggest or guide you toward any particular outcome. I’m not going to direct you anywhere – I’m here to help you orient to what feels safest, most loving, and most life-giving for you in terms of your relationship with your understanding of higher power / God / life. And you have the capacity to know what that is. That’s your truth, your relationship with your understanding of higher power / God / life.

I’m just there to support you in deepening into that relationship, at whatever pace and in whatever ways are appropriate for you. They may not look appropriate to somebody else, but a good spiritual companion won’t judge or question where you’re at in your life – because it’s none of my business. Some people find healing by creating something completely new. Others eventually reconnect with their tradition on their own terms. Many stay happily away from organized religion forever. All of these are valid.

I offer sliding scale options because spiritual support shouldn’t be limited by financial resources. I ask that those who work with me and have access to more disposable income or wealth contribute slightly more to help me offer subsidized spots.

Fair compensation for this work is important – I work at a very high level professionally, and I believe in being paid accordingly. Rather than taking on additional personal burdens to subsidize my practice, I address accessibility through this community model. Our flawed capitalist system concentrates wealth in the hands of a few while disadvantaging many others – including people at the intersection of multiple oppressions. This sliding scale approach allows us to work within that reality while creating more equitable access to spiritual care.

While both involve deep listening and support, spiritual accompaniment focuses specifically on your relationship with the sacred, however you understand it. I’m not a licensed therapist and I don’t diagnose or treat mental health conditions. When we are experiencing mental health crises, we need clinical support from qualified professionals.

Spiritual accompaniment explores questions of meaning, purpose, and connection to something greater than ourselves. It’s about your spiritual journey, not treatment. Some people work with both a therapist and a spiritual companion, and that’s often a powerful combination – but they serve different purposes and it’s important not to confuse the two.

No – that’s not my role. My job is to help create space where your own wisdom can emerge. I’m more like a companion for your spiritual insights than someone who fixes or heals.

That said, you may need other forms of help or assistance – we can’t heal alone, or through spiritual work alone. We certainly do need help from many different kinds of practitioners at different times for different issues we’re facing. What is within you, that wishes to come forward – your genuine self, your whole and healed self – knows how to grow. It actually even knows how to pull in help, and it will unfold at its own pace as long as you show up, paying attention to yourself and listening to yourself.

You can do that more easily with the help of someone else than by yourself. Journaling is great, but having another person to witness you, to hear yourself through, and to know yourself through the eyes of love – that’s what a spiritual companion offers. There’s something transformative about being regarded with love and acceptance. You can hear your own inner guidance more clearly when you’re truly witnessed, because nothing that isn’t brought into the light can be healed. This is understood across spiritual traditions.

By being committed to continuously learning and receiving feedback on how to be neuro-affirming and more aware of possible accommodations and supports. I’m autistic with ADHD characteristics myself, so I understand sensory needs, different processing styles, and the importance of clear communication and the celebration of a good info-dump. We can adjust lighting, take movement breaks, use fidget tools, or work online with cameras on or off. I’m not listing everything because everyone has different needs. Accommodation requests are always welcome, at any time. Your accommodation needs may fluctuate and that’s normal and understood. Your nervous system’s needs are always respected.

Neurodivergence is a subject of deep and sustained focus of mine, and the intersection of neurodivergence and spirituality is something I’m particularly fascinated by. I’m actively learning about how specific phenotypes interact with spiritual texts, teachings, and ceremonies differently, and how our bodies engage differently too. I’m also interested in how traditional faith paths could better accommodate neurodivergent people. This is a huge topic that I’m constantly exploring, so if you’re interested in diving into these questions together, I’d love that conversation.

I’m queer and trans myself, and your identity is celebrated here, not tolerated. I find the notion of a safe space as something that can be declared and into which no mistakes or misunderstandings can encroach to be unrealistic. I believe real safety is co-created and founded on the willingness to accept people in their humanity and work through things together.

As I’ve experienced it, safety comes from my commitment to deep listening, acceptance, and willingness to repair if a difficulty arises. It comes from my willingness to be changed by what you share, to question myself, and to look again (re-spect). Many traditional religious spaces have caused harm to LGBTQIA+ folks, so I’m especially committed to this kind of relational safety and genuine affirmation. Your whole self is welcome. We turn up different on different days, sometimes with less capacity, sometimes sensitive, sometimes robust… it’s all welcome and understood.

We go at whatever pace feels comfortable. Some sessions could involve deep spiritual exploration, others might just be checking in about daily life and where you notice meaning or connection. We can keep things very grounded and practical, or explore more mystical territory – completely up to you.

Discussing what we consider “woo-woo” can be fascinating territory and reveal a lot about our integrity and wish for authenticity. Being in an environment where you can freely say what you dislike or like about other people’s beliefs without judgement can be a relief! There’s often wisdom hiding under the snark, real insight under the hesitation or outright rejection. Exploring what we dislike or are drawn to in spiritual practices, what we find unpleasant or alluring in other people’s belief systems, can be incredibly rich and tell us so much about ourselves.

Just because my path has brought me through Buddhism, Shamanic Practice, and Christianity doesn’t mean you have to feel any resonance with them. They might all be very unattractive to you and that’s perfect… I don’t have an agenda or a set of shoulds or should nots around what you believe. That is your sovereign ground.

There are no right words! From my training and experience facilitating meditation circles and ceremonies, I find that people often say things like “I don’t know what I believe but something weird happened” or “How do I know if that was sacred guidance or just my imagination” or “This sounds silly but…” You don’t need theological vocabulary or sophisticated concepts. Plain language and honest wondering are the foundations of learning. We’re all in a constant state of learning, that’s how we grow, sometimes we don’t understand something until we’ve failed or made a mistake… that’s just learning/life. We can start from wherever we are, whenever we’re ready.

Absolutely! As someone who was once a public librarian, I genuinely love information sharing and learning. If you’re someone who gets excited about topics and wants to share detailed knowledge about your interests, you’ll find that welcomed here rather than something to manage or redirect. I understand that many people have been made to feel like their enthusiasm or detailed sharing is “too much” – that won’t happen here.

Whether you identify as neurodivergent or you just worry that you’re “too much” for most listeners, you can unmask with me. Your natural communication style, your interests, and your way of processing information are all part of who you are. I’m genuinely interested in how your mind works and what fascinates you.

No. My commitment is to unconditional positive regard. My job is to support your authentic spiritual journey, not to evaluate your life choices. You decide what you want to share. I once had a counsellor friend who said ‘my mind is so open you could drive a bus through it’ and I thought that was a wonderful way to be, it inspired me. I’ve been through so much myself I can’t but be open minded, frankly. I always try to remember that ‘I don’t know what I don’t know’ and that keeps me grounded.

There’s no typical session! Some days you might come in wanting to explore a profound dream, other days you just need to vent about the grocery delivery driver. Both are fine because when we set the intention that this is spiritual accompaniment, whatever we talk about can end up being useful in terms of your connection with your sense of the sacred or how the spiritual is operating in your life.

We might dive into why a particular religious teaching makes you furious, explore whether those weird coincidences actually mean something, work through your complicated feelings about your grandmother’s prayer book, or just have a normal chat about what’s happening in your life. Maybe you want to deepen into a new practice and want to explore that or have someone to talk about your progress with it. You might have questions about prayer, meditation, or some other modality that we can explore together. I have tried many different types of practice myself and was once a public librarian, so I love a good information finding and exchanging mission!

My job is predominantly to listen. I’ll happily sit and listen to you talk about whatever needs to come out – it often circles back to what you really want to explore, and if not, that’s okay too. It can be so revealing and a great learning opportunity to hear yourself speak aloud about your practice and where you’re running up against difficulties – often the answer we know becomes clearer in the presence of a patient and interested listener.

There is a kind of alchemy to meeting with the intention to discuss the spiritual in our lives that does its own thing if we’re open. It never insists, only ever invites. We listen in together, sometimes reverently, sometimes irreverently… listening for the sound of the genuine. You set the agenda based on what’s actually alive for you.

Not at all. Often in spiritual accompaniment, people meet once to see if it feels right, then decide together what ongoing support might be helpful. Some people benefit from weekly sessions for a period, others prefer monthly check-ins, and some just need a few conversations to get clarity. You will know what feels right and I’ll respect that.

Expect to feel welcomed exactly as you are. We’ll start with a conversation about what brought you here and what you’re hoping for. I’ll probably ask about your spiritual background (or lack thereof) and any particular concerns or curiosities you have. The first session is really about getting to know each other and seeing if working together feels right. I offer a brief chat for free so we can get an idea of whether working together would feel good.

Both options are available. Online sessions work really well for many people, especially if you have accessibility needs, live far away, or simply prefer meeting from your own comfortable space. My healing room is accessible by stairs, for now, so if mobility is a concern, we can definitely work online or explore accessible community spaces.

That’s completely fine. Often in spiritual accompaniment, people don’t need to focus on emotions if that doesn’t feel comfortable. We might explore ideas, discuss spiritual texts, share stories, or simply sit together, without agenda. It can take time to suss out if feels safe to share more deeply, there’s no pressure and no expectation or timeline.

Most spiritual growth happens in quiet, ordinary moments rather than dramatic revelations. In conversations about spirituality, we often explore the sacred in daily routines, notice small synchronicities, or find meaning in seemingly mundane experiences.

From sitting in community and doing spiritual practice with others, I’ve witnessed how different minds operate differently – some people can’t see imagery, some connect through their bodies, others through what they would describe as inner knowing. None of these ways are better than others.

You don’t need special abilities, education, or profound experiences to have a genuine connection to the spiritual. Who you are is exactly who you need to be. There’s no pressure to have visions or mystical experiences – though if you do, we can explore those too.

Absolutely. Confidentiality is fundamental to spiritual accompaniment work. I’m bound by professional ethics to hold any personal information you share in strict confidence within the law. This creates the safe container needed for authentic spiritual exploration. The only exception would be if you were in immediate danger of harming yourself or others, in which case I would need to seek appropriate help.

Yes. I’m committed to regular supervision with qualified supervisors as part of maintaining ethical, professional practice. This isn’t because I don’t know what I’m doing – supervision is considered essential for all spiritual accompaniment work, regardless of experience level. It provides accountability, support, and helps ensure I’m serving you as well as possible.

My spiritual unfolding is an ongoing process, and I’m committed to continually deepening my personal spiritual practice so that my service remains grounded in an authentic and evolving spiritual life. This includes daily contemplative practices, prayer, meditation, journaling, monthly participation in my shamanic circle, and regular time in nature. I see all of life as inherently spiritual, so my practice extends into how I engage with daily life and relationships.

Have a question I didn’t address?

Feel free to reach out – I’m happy to have a brief conversation about whether working together might be helpful.

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