Frequently Asked Questions
Re: your Spiritual Direction practice -
Along with required qualifications, interviewing of each practitioner, and reference checks, all practitioners sign on to uphold our Standard of Care (document can be found under About --> Our Values). Spiritualize reserves the right to remove any Practitioner or Seeker for complaints filed against them, or who show an inability to uphold our core values and Standard of Care. There is no such thing as 100% safe space, but this multi-tiered approach creates as safe of a container as possible.
If you don't feel safe, we recommend you sign off your current session, and fill out our contact form to report your experience. We will follow up ASAP to learn more about your concerns, and reserve the right to remove any user for hate speech or actions, sexual misconduct, or any other behaviors that cause harm and do not align with our values. Both Seekers and Practitioners have the choice in accepting or rejecting a booking request - please do not feel pressured to continue a Spiritual Direction relationship you do not feel comfortable with.
No, it doesn't replace psychotherapy. The focus in Spiritual Direction is to orient you back to your relationship with the Divine, God, or the sacred. Spiritual Direction can be a much more open-ended process of trust, and attentiveness to our sense of God/Sacred/Divine at work in our lives.
Not quite. Spiritual Direction is more about providing a sacred space for a seeker's discernment. Practitioners ask more questions than provide answers, always seeking to reflect the unconditional love of God/The Divine.
There are an infinite number of answers or interpretations to this question. Spiritual Direction helps us trust ourselves, and one another, through the intentional presence and listening practice. It helps us trust in things unseen. A God/the Divine/the Sacred that is both within, and beyond us. It reminds us we are not alone. Begin a practice of your own and let us know what Spiritual Direction has done for you!
Anything you want! How you experience or don't experience God/Spirit/Divine/Sacred, how your spirituality informs your work for social justice, what you're struggling with in community, at work, in prayer, articulating what prayer means to you, etc.
Yes! Spiritual Direction can be a space for you to articulate and wrestle with what you believe. A willingness to stay curious and the patience to slowly learn your truth can help greatly!
Re: Practitioners -
In order to be hired to serve on Spiritualize, Practitioners are required to have a certificate in Spiritual Direction, at least one unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), an M.Div or related Degree, be Ordained in a legally recognized worshipping community, or already have an established practice. In addition to this, we personally interview every Practitioner to see if they are a fit for the platform, and check multiple references to verify credentials and services. The best way to build that additional trust for yourself is to book a free 15-minute consultation session to get a feel for the fit, and ask any questions you may be curious about.
All Spiritual Practitioners hosted on Spiritualize have completed some level of training, and have committed to upholding our values, as well as upholding our Standard of Care (the document can be found on Our Values page). This is to ensure both quality, and the safety of both Seekers and Practitioners in this sacred space.
If you don't feel safe, we recommend you sign off your current session, and fill out our contact form to report your experience. We will follow up ASAP to learn more about your concerns, and reserve the right to remove any user for hate speech or actions, sexual misconduct, or any other behaviors that cause harm and do not align with our values. Both Seekers and Practitioners have the choice in accepting or rejecting a booking request - please do not feel pressured to continuing a Spiritual Direction relationship you do not feel comfortable with.
Spiritualize will send a follow up email after each session where you have the opportunity to provide feedback which is greatly appreciated to help improve your experience. You can also submit feedback by going to our Contact page, and submitting a form with whatever is on your mind, and we will get back to you promptly.
Seekers are not obligated to continue sessions unless it feels like a good fit. Everyone has a unique journey, and a particular season may draw seekers to one practitioner over another. That said, there are benefits to a sustained practice with a single practitioner, who can develop a deeper understanding of patterns and perspectives to reflect back, and ask questions about as the connection deepens.
While confidentiality is of the upmost importance to create and maintain a safe environment for Seekers and Practitioners, it may and should be broken in the event the seeker is in direct harm to themselves or others. In these rare instances, Practitioners are instructed to contact emergency services and recommend Seekers do the same. Beyond this, sessions are completely confidential, and all seeker information is confidential.
Re: Logistics and Other Things -
9-8-8 is the national Suicide and Crisis Helpline, available 24/7 in both English and Spanish. https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/988 For therapy support, we recommend Psychology Today to find and contact a therapist near you. www.psychologytoday.com/
Spiritualize will send a follow up email after each session where you have the opportunity to provide feedback which is greatly appreciated to help improve your experience. You can also submit feedback by going to our Contact page, and submitting a form with whatever is on your mind, and we will get back to you promptly.
Sessions can be cancelled at least 48 hours prior to session to receive a refund. (Because we are still self-funded, we will refund everything but Stripe processing fees, which account for 2.9% plus 30 cents of original transaction). Refunds will not be automatically processed. Seeker must reach out to Spiritualize to process a cancellation. To begin a refund claim process, please visit https://spiritualize.co/contact. Any cancellation made within 48 hours of a scheduled session will not be refunded in order to protect practitioner schedules. You are always welcome to reschedule a session for free outside of the 48 hour window.
Spiritualize has no relationships with third-party data companies, and never will. This is a grassroots project disinterested in attaining venture capital motivations and backing.