Pastoral Counseling
Serving you in Los Angeles County, California

    
There are times in our lives when we feel stuck and are not sure how to proceed.  Sometimes this entails finding a new path or job.  Sometimes you may just need someone who will listen and help you discover what is going on in your life and what the next step may be.  Sometimes you may feel, angry, sad, or scared and are not sure why.  These are life transitions.  You are experiencing a change either from within or without.  Some call this a spiritual crisis because during this time you must begin or walk through a process of reinventing yourself in the new situation.  Often this finding of self carries with it questions regarding
1) the meaning in your life,
2) who you are,
3) if the divine has any part in it, or
4) why you are having general personal emotional struggles. 
Spiritual Guidance from a trained professional can help make the rocky road in life a little smoother.

Do you have big questions?
Curious about faith and religion or spirituality?
Experiencing crisis or tragedy?
What you believed or thought about the world doesn't seem quite right anymore?

Perhaps  you are simply looking for a good professional listener who will hear you at a deep level.  Not try to fix or change you, but really listen.  You want a safe space to share emotions and questions where you will not be judged.  You want a place where you will be understood and whatever emotion  you are having is accepted.

Reverend Hillary and Rabbi Sara both provide Spiritual Direction and Pastoral Care.  Spiritual Direction entails a monthly meeting where Rabbi Sara or Reverend Hillary will companion with you on your spiritual journey, helping you discern the movement of the Divine in your life and the path the Divine is leading you.  Pastoral Care usually lasts 6 to 8 weeks and is a time to intensely discover and work through your current crisis, keeping your spiritual resources in mind.

Some FAQs about Spiritual Direction from Spiritual Directors International:

1.  What is spiritual direction?

Thank you for this frequently asked question!  Glad you inquired.  Please click here for descriptions of spiritual direction from many faith traditions.

2.  I’m seeking a spiritual director.  What are good questions to consider in my search?

Each person seeking a spiritual director needs to take reasonable steps to verify the competency of any potential spiritual director.  As a ministry in many nations and many faiths, spiritual direction does not have a centralized certifying body that verifies qualifications of spiritual directors since each faith tradition handles spiritual directors differently. 

Spiritual Directors International recommends you ask each person you interview to become your spiritual director questions such as:

1. What enrichment, spiritual formation, and theological education do you have in spiritual direction?
2. What is your personal experience tending your own prayer, meditation and contemplative life?
3. What is your experience as a spiritual director?  How many years?  In what environments?  What are you most interested in spiritually? 
4. How do you continue your education and supervision for your spiritual direction ministry?
5. What type of engagement agreement will we establish to clarify roles and responsibilities in our spiritual direction relationship?

What is Pastoral Counseling? 
From the American Association of Pastoral Counselors
 

Pastoral counseling moves beyond the support or encouragement a religious community can offer, by providing psychologically sound therapy that weaves in the religious and spiritual dimension. “It is interesting to note that not only is this a time of increased emphasis on therapy, but also a time of increased interest in spirituality,” said Gerald DeSobe, PhD, past president of AAPC. “Combining these two areas in a person’s life in helpful and healing ways is what pastoral counselors do.”

“AAPC affirms as a moral imperative that the American people, without exception, must have access to quality health care,” says Roy Woodruff, PhD, past executive director of AAPC. “That imperative refers not only to mental health resources, but also the quality of services.”