Spiritual Mentoring Certificate Program

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 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).

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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

Dates and Times
The class will meet two Saturdays per month from October 23, 2021 until June 11, 2022. One Saturday will be a full day and the other will be a half day. At this time, we are anticipating 10am-5pm EDT on the full Saturday; and 10am-1pm EDT on the half Saturday.

October 23, 2021 - full
November 6 - full
December 11 - full
January 8, 2022 - full
February 5 - full
March 5 - full
April 2 - full
May 7 - full
​June 4 - full

​November 20 - half
December 18 - half
January 22 - half
February 12 - half
March 19 - half
April 23 - half
May 21 - half
June 11 - final presentations and graduation - full

Format
The class will be structured to be available in dual-mode, allowing participants to be either in-person or online via Zoom.

Cost
The cost for the program is $1800. If you have taken the program in the past, a discount will be available.

Facilitators

Beth Cohen is a psycho-spiritual counselor and bodymind therapist in private practice. She was ordained by the Tree of Life Temple in 2013 and certified as a Spiritual Mentor in 2018. She holds a Masters Degree in Counseling and Dance/Movement Therapy from Antioch New England Graduate School.

She worked for many years in the mental health field as a counselor and expressive arts therapist, and in the holistic health field as a bodymind practitioner, yoga and meditation teacher, and massage therapist.

Her greatest passion is exploring human potential and the evolution of humanity. She loves dance, yoga, music, creative writing, and all creatures great and small. She can often be found walking in the woods with her dogs, or lying in a hammock with a good book.
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Click here to email Beth.

Carrie A. Ives is an interfaith minister and spiritual director 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.

Her recent work explores the intersection of spirituality and chronic illness. Trained in trauma and trauma-informed care, she is a volunteer with the Center for Hope and Healing, a Sexual Assault Crisis and Prevention Program in Lowell, MA, and serves on the Leadership Council of Tree of Life Interfaith Temple in Amherst, NH. She is entering studies for a Master of Arts in Spirituality this fall.

​Carrie is a longtime member of First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church in Chelmsford, MA, where she lives with her partners John and Tiffany and their three fur-babies.

​Click here to email Carrie.

​Advisory Board
Rev. Dr. Stephanie Rutt, Founding Minister of Tree of Life Interfaith Temple and Seminary and creator of the curriculum
Rev. Ahjan Grossman, Director of Tree of Life Interfaith Seminary
Rev. Debora-Ellen Brown, Associate Minister of Tree of Life Interfaith Temple (incoming)
Rev. Karen Manchester, Administrator & Treasurer of Tree of Life Interfaith Temple
Lynn Wahle, MA, MSEd, LMFT, Advisor to the Facilitators

Curriculum
This program, which is conferred by the Tree of Life Interfaith Temple, uses the curriculum of the Spiritual Mentoring Certificate Program created by Rev. Dr. Stephanie Rutt. The same curriculum was formerly offered through the Tree of Life School for Sacred Living, LLC, by Rev. Dr. Rutt.