Tree of Life Interfaith Temple - Spiritual Mentoring Certificate Program

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SPIRITUAL MENTORING CERTIFICATE PROGRAM

Registration for Fall 2025 is now open!
Prospective students are encouraged to fill out the contact form
at the bottom of this page as soon as possible, ideally by Aug 30, 2025.
Applications will be accepted through Sep 22, 2025.

Spiritual Mentoring offers the opportunity to hold another in a space of love, compassion, and acceptance as they seek to align with their own inner Divinity. A spiritual mentor creates a space in which a mentee will be seen, heard, and guided on their spiritual journey. This profound opportunity to guide another makes the mentoring process a sacred opportunity to sit with another and experience the Divine Beloved within the mentee.

The Spiritual Mentoring Certificate Program is a nine-month program designed to provide the skills to provide the service of spiritual mentoring, also called spiritual direction or spiritual companioning.

The Spiritual Mentoring Certificate Program is especially designed for those wanting to cultivate the inner presence and skills necessary for offering mentoring to those in need. This program is open to ordained clergy, seminarians in training, as well as to mental health counselors and other helping professionals who may desire to incorporate a spiritual focus into their practice. If you are interested in this program but do not find yourself in one of the above categories, please contact us to discuss your particular situation and, together, we can assess the appropriateness of this program for you.

The Goals of Spiritual Mentoring are to . . .

Create a safe container where the client can feel seen, heard, and honored.
Deepen and strengthen the client’s experience of and relationship to the Divine in a way that is authentic and meaningful to them.
Help the client to name, understand and work with the problems, blocks, and patterns in their life by using spiritual perspectives and practices.
Guide the client to assume self-responsibility, not for all that happens to them, but for how they choose to be with what happens.
Assist the client in remembering their Wholeness, integrating all aspects of the self - physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.
Support the client in the cultivation of compassion (heart), discernment (mind), and courage (action).

NEW in 2025!

We are so excited to present the newest iteration of the Spiritual Mentoring Certificate Program through Tree of Life Interfaith Temple.

We’ve taken the content and feel of the program and reformatted it to be more accessible. By focusing the amount of in-real-time lessons to those for which interaction is crucial, we now provide our students with more flexibility. This is particularly helpful for people for whom the typical (synchronous) classroom time is difficult - whether due to body/mind issues, time zone discrepancy, or other challenges. Students can work more at their own pace and still receive all the material and benefit of the program. We have also enhanced our interfaith component, now providing a survey of world religions along with the mystical oneness elements previously taught.

Sample Topics Covered in the Spiritual Mentoring Certificate Program

Developing the mentor/client relationship - establishing trust
Deep listening - qualities of presence - skills of attunement
Basic skills: reflecting feelings, restating information, questioning, offering reflections
Identifying the core issue(s) - going beyond the “story”
The use of spiritual practices in the mentoring process, e.g. prayer, meditation, journaling
Cultural and identity awareness
Working with trauma, grief and loss
Understanding the spectrum of anxiety, depression, and addictions
Seeing the client as a mirror - ongoing self-awareness and growth
Scope of practice - knowing our limits - when and how to refer out
Ethical issues - confidentiality and boundaries
Self-care - exploring our personal practices
Envisioning your Spiritual Mentoring practice - professional and practical issues
Ongoing support for the mentor

FALL 2025

Prospective students are encouraged to fill out the contact form at the bottom of this page as soon as possible, ideally by August 30, 2025.

Course preparation material will become available on September 1, applications will be accepted through September 24, and the first class will be September 27, 2025.

Dates and Times

The class will meet for one Saturday afternoon per month and one Wednesday evening per month, September 2025 - June 2026.

Saturdays, 1-5pm. Usually the fourth Saturday of the month.
Wednesdays, 6-8pm. Usually the second Wednesday of the month.

Saturdays: Sep 27, Oct 18, Nov 22, Dec 20, Jan 24, Feb 28, Mar 28, Apr 25, May 23, June 13.

Wednesdays: Oct 8, Nov 12, Dec 10, Jan 14, Feb 11, Mar 11, Apr 8, May 13, Jun 10.

The weekend of June 13 will be a retreat and worship / graduation service. Students are encouraged to attend the weekend in person.

Dates will be finalized based on availability of the students in the class.

Format

The class will be structured to be primarily online via video conferencing.

Cost

Tuition - $2500. Payment plans are available.

Books - There will be an estimated $50 cost for books. Students will be given a list of these upon acceptance into the program.

Retreat - Students will be encouraged to attend a retreat / graduation weekend in Amherst, NH, in June 2026. Travel expenses will be the student’s responsibility. Costs to be determined.

Program Guide / Facilitator

Carrie A. Ives is an interfaith minister, spiritual companion, and teacher with personal and professional experience working with chronic illnesses. She was ordained in 2013 by Tree of Life Interfaith Temple and certified as a spiritual director in 2015.

Carrie leads the group 'SoulCare: Befriending Your Body' and various retreats at Rolling Ridge Retreat and Conference Center. She leads worship services in New Hampshire and Maine.

Her recent work explores the intersection of spirituality and chronic illness. She is trained in trauma and trauma-informed care, group spiritual direction, and spiritual direction supervision. Carrie earned a Master of Arts in Spirituality at Merrimack College, Andover, MA.

In addition to her membership at Tree of Life Interfaith Temple, Carrie is a longtime member of First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church in Chelmsford, MA. She lives in Chelmsford with her partners John and Tiffany and their five fur-babies.

Click here to email Carrie.

Advisory Board and Consultants

Rev. Ahjan Grossman, Presiding Minister of Tree of Life Interfaith Temple, Interim Director of the Tree of Life Interfaith Seminary
Rev. Beth Cohen, Consultant and prior co-facilitator of the Spiritual Mentoring Certificate Program
Rev. Dr. Stephanie Rutt, Founding Minister of Tree of Life Interfaith Temple and Seminary
Lynn Wahle, MA, MSEd, LMFT, Advisor to the Facilitator
Rev. Mellie Artema, Consultant

Certification

Upon completion of the program, and with the approval of the facilitator, a Certificate of Completion will be conferred on the student by Tree of Life Interfaith Temple. Please note that there is no licensing body for spiritual mentors / directors / companions. Continuing education credits may be pursued by the student; this program has not been evaluated by any licensing organizations. This program is not accredited as an academic program.

For more information please fill out the questions and interest form below.

TREE OF LIFE INTERFAITH TEMPLE

5 Northern Blvd, Suite 8

Amherst, NH 03031-2330

603-732-0224

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