What is Intuitive Pastoral Counseling?
I am an ordained minister through the Universal Life Church and the Circle of the Silver Cord. As a member of the clergy, I am called and empowered to perform pastoral counseling to my own church members as well as to the larger community. Within my faith and tradition, intuition (“psychic skills”) is an ancient and accepted practice to help enhance the counseling process. While the phrase “psychic reading” is commonly used to refer to fortune-telling (which is for entertainment purposes only), it is also a commonly used term that refers to intuitive pastoral counseling. Therefore, on my website, the terms “psychic reading” and “pastoral counseling” may be used interchangeably.
How is Pastoral Counseling Different from Psychic Reading?
There are a few differences between psychic readings and intuitive pastoral counseling that the client should be aware of:
An Aid to Growth
Intuitive pastoral counseling is not used for entertainment purposes. It is used to aid in personal growth and self-development.
An Ongoing Process
Psychic readings are generally a one-time thing, whereas pastoral counseling is a process. It may be as short as an hour, but it can also take several months or even years.
Involves Both Parties
Pastoral counseling involves both parties, rather than only the reader. You may be assigned "homework" or we may work together on helping you to grow and evolve.
Why does Pastoral Counseling Require Payment?
When I offer intuitive pastoral counseling to those outside of my own church, I request a fee (commonly called an honoraria). After experimenting over the years with a variety of payment options (including free readings), I’ve learned the following about honoraria:
People value what they pay for. If you’re paying for a session, you’re more likely to value the information and insight you receive than if it is given to you for free. This means that you’re more likely to take that insight and use it to improve your life. Years of experience have shown me that clients get better results after paid sessions than free ones.
I expend a lot of time, energy, and love to provide counseling. On a spiritual level, this creates a debt from the client to the priestess. This type of debt doesn’t benefit the client, and it creates ties to the priestess that interfere with my ability to help you effectively. When the debt is repaid with a fair and reasonable fee, the contract is fulfilled and the debt is wiped out.
I have another job, a family, and numerous other obligations with my personal and professional life. Additionally, I expend a lot of time and energy growing, developing, and maintaining my spiritual relationships and skills. The time that I spend with clients is time that I cannot otherwise use for earning money, supporting my family, or growing my skills, so the honoraria helps to compensate me for the time that I spend.
What about Confidentiality?
Since my services are pastoral counseling (not psychic readings), the things we discuss in a session are protected under the same protections that protect conversations with other members of the clergy. This means that I cannot be compelled (ordered) to give information about you to anyone because it’s protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. However, there are a few limitations to my confidentiality that you should be aware of.
What I Must Report:
I am a mandatory reporter for child abuse IF:
> The child is in imminent danger of FUTURE abuse if I don’t report it, and
> The suspected abuse has not been reported by anyone else.
What this means is that I can only intervene if it would stop FUTURE child abuse.
I am not bound by law to report any threats you might make to harm yourself or others. However, I am morally bound to report it IF:
> I am convinced that you or someone else will be harmed if I do not act,
> I am convinced that my action will prevent the suspected harm, and
> I am convinced that reporting the threat is the most effective way to prevent the harm.
What this means is that I will not report you if you tell me that you sometimes think about suicide. I will most likely refer you to psychiatric care if I believe that you need a higher level of care than I can provide. But if I have reason to believe that you are on the verge of killing yourself and I have no way to stop you other than calling someone to do a welfare check, I will break confidentiality if I believe your life (or the life of another person) is in imminent danger.
In my faith, failing to act carries the same moral imperative as acting. In other words, if I know that you’re going to hurt yourself and I have the power to stop it and get you help, but I don’t help you, then I am just as guilty as if I killed you by my own hand. Therefore, in a last resort, I may break confidentiality if I believe there’s no other way to protect you or someone else from imminent (immediate) harm. In 16 years of doing this sort of work, I have had to use this provision twice. I do not make these decisions lightly.
What I Do Not Report:
Because I am an ordained minister and our sessions are protected as pastoral counseling sessions, I cannot be compelled to provide information about our sessions to anyone. I do not share information about our sessions with my spouse, my best friend, other spiritual professionals, law enforcement (except as indicated in the previous column) – NOBODY. If you want me to share something about your session, I must have your consent.
I do not disclose my client list to anybody except as required by law or moral exception (indicated previously). Therefore, I will never tell someone, “Oh, she is my client,” or, “I see him every Wednesday.” However, your payment records may reflect the nature of our relationship. If privacy is of utmost importance to you, please take precautions to secure your financial information.
If you decide to leave me a testimonial, you would be identified by your initials and the country you are from. You are not required to provide me with a testimonial. Any testimonials or reviews you may give me on Facebook or another website may include your personal information, depending on the rules of that site. I cannot protect against that disclosure, so please consider that before leaving a review or testimonial.
I will never disclose any more information than is absolutely necessary to meet the purpose of disclosure. For example, if I am reporting a credible suicide threat, I will ONLY provide the information that’s necessary to get you the help you need; I will not share any additional information from our sessions.
I do not share information about victimless crimes that did not harm others or were committed in the past. I ask my clients to deal honestly with me as much as they feel comfortable, but you always have the right to refuse to tell me anything you don’t want me to know about.
How Does Intuitive Pastoral Counseling Work?
- Start with one. Book a single session to get started. This gives us a chance to get acquainted, see if we connect, and find out whether we work well together. Don't book multiple sessions until after the first one.o
- Do your homework. I usually assign you something to work on between sessions. Even if you hated our session, try out the homework and see if it helps you out.
- Book a follow-up session. Usually this will be about 2-4 weeks after your first session, but it can be any time depending on when you feel like you need another session.
- Ask about regular sessions. Not everybody needs regular sessions, and many of my clients just reach out whenever they need me. Some clients may be working on a long-term growth goal and may need regular sessions at regular intervals.
- You can ALWAYS contact me when you need me, even if we don't have a session booked or I told you to wait a little while. Sometimes things come up and you need extra support between sessions, so don't hesitate to reach out if you need me.
How do I Prepare for my First IPC Session?
First, you’ll need to book your appointment. You can book your appointment at any time and date that’s most convenient to you using my online scheduling tools. After you schedule your appointment, you’ll receive some follow-up emails. These emails will tell you how to log into the Zoom room for our session, confirm our appointment, remind you of our appointment, and give you a link to cancel or reschedule if you need to and something comes up.
Once your appointment time arrives, you don’t need to do much to prepare, but there are a few tips I can offer you to make sure you get the best results:
> If you’re using a phone, make sure it’s charged and that you have a strong signal that’s unlikely to cut out. If it does cut out during our call, it’s not a problem – just log back in. I’ll wait for you!
> If you’re using a computer, make sure it’s charged or plugged in and that you can both speak and hear. I usually use a headset because it gives the best audio quality, but what you use is up to you. You’ll also want to make sure that you have a strong Internet connection.
> Most people find that it’s best to be in a private place for your session. Sometimes we cover things that are difficult or painful to hear, and you may not want an audience.
> You may find it helpful to make a list of your top two or three questions that you’re seeking an answer to. When we start asking Spirit for insight, sometimes Spirit answers questions you didn’t ask! Spirit often has a different idea of what’s “important” than we humans do, so to make sure you get YOUR questions answered, it’s best that we start there.
What Can I Expect from my First IPC Session?
When the time comes for your session, you’ll either call the number that I emailed you and enter in your meeting code, OR you’ll follow the link and access the meeting room online. You can get there a few minutes before your appointment start time if you want; it’ll just put you into a “waiting room” type thing until I log in.
I usually start my sessions with the question, “What can I help you with today?” This is where we need to start addressing your questions. I prefer to get right down to business because that allows you to have the maximum amount of time.
I don’t use cards or runes or a crystal ball. I used to, back when I was a newbie psychic. But now I use clairvoyance. I find that it’s much faster as I don’t have to deal cards or throw runes, and it generally yields the most accurate and useful answers.
Once we start into the questions, the rest of the session is really just a conversation. You ask a question. I answer it. You ask for clarification or ask another question, and we’ll just talk. Think of it like having tea with a friend, except your new friend has some insight from the Spirit realm that you don’t normally have.
Sometimes in a psychic reading, we wind up delving into answers that are painful or hard to deal with. I generally suggest that my clients plan to take a little time after their reading just to process things before jumping back into everyday life. You might want to go over your notes or just take a little time to absorb the information. In an hour, we cover a LOT of information, and it can take some time to really understand it. Then, set it aside and get back to the work of LIVING your life.
What if I'm Even More Unhappy After my Session?
That’s not unusual or uncommon. The truth is that I’m not going to tell you what you want to hear, but what you NEED to hear. Sometimes, that hurts. Sometimes, that’s hard. And sometimes, you’re going to be unhappy. But I’ll never leave you to deal with those feelings alone.
We are working together to deal with frightening, troubling, or upsetting things. I always try to help you work through them and end the session on a positive note, but this isn’t always possible.
Near the end of the reading, I’ll give you my private email address. You can email me with short follow-up questions, or if you just feel like you need to vent or use email to help you process your emotions. If you’re struggling to process the emotions that arose during your session, please email me.
Because my honoraria is a compensation for my time and energy, I do not provide refunds unless I need to cancel the appointment for some reason. I make every effort to make my sessions a priority, but I do also have a job, family, and other obligations. Sometimes, emergencies arise. When this happens, I will email you and try to reschedule. If we cannot reschedule at a time that works for both of us, I will refund your fee within 48 hours.
If you are unable to attend your session, please contact me about rescheduling or canceling your session. This opens up my schedule so that somebody else can have that appointment time. If you have technical problems at the time of your appointment, please email me immediately (I always keep my email open to check for these issues). If you fail to arrive for your session or to email me within the first 15 minutes of your appointment time, I consider it a no-show and I do not provide refunds.