Spiritual Companionship and the Divine Erotic – Ethics and Sexuality

Join us for this practice-based training designed for seasoned spiritual companions, guides and directors.

In this two part webinar, we will explore embodied spirituality, sexuality and the divine erotic as they relate to the practice of spiritual companionship.

Our Focus:

• Healing from sexual trauma
• Erotic transference and countertransference in spiritual companionship
• Spiritual leadership, and
• Sexual ethics.

Purpose:

This webinar will deepen awareness, skills and resources needed to address issues of sexuality and eroticism that are directly related to the practice of spiritual companionship and the role of the spiritual companion.

Series Goals and Learning Objectives

1. Reflect on issues of sexuality and the divine erotic as they have emerged in participants’ personal soul journey as well as in their experience of giving and receiving spiritual guidance.
2. Learn effective spiritual guidance skills and techniques to address issues of sexuality, especially related to transference and countertransference.
3. Introduce different theoretical and practical perspectives on spiritual companionship and sexuality, including a variety of genders, faith traditions, races and cultures.
4. Consider ethical issues and topics relevant to sexuality and spiritual companionship practice, such as boundaries, power and exploitation, trauma and oppression. We will explore personal beliefs, experiences, assumptions, and growing edges.
5. Increase awareness of the impact of socio-cultural issues, such as race, ethnicity, religion and spiritual practice, age, gender and sexual identity, culture and country of origin, economic class, physical ability, on the relationship between spiritual companion and client.

**Please note: this webinar is specifically designed as an advanced practice-focused training for seasoned spiritual companions. It is not a general overview of sexuality and spirituality.

Sessions

Session One

Facilitated by Karen Erlichman, DMin, LCSW and Ravi Verma

Sexuality, Boundaries and Ethics

Session Two

Facilitated by Karen Erlichman, DMin, LCSW and Ashley Plotnick, MSW, MEd, MAJS

The Energy Body as a Divination Tool: God, Prayer and the Erotic

Our Approach

Life learning, not book learning. Experiential, contemplative, spiritual. We want to open a gateway to understanding and connection.  We’d rather companion you to an insight than impress you with a list of facts. Because most of our audience are spiritual directors and companions – including chaplains, life coaches and others who offer spiritual care -, we focus on the practical and care-giving side of the equation.

Presenters:

Karen Erlichman, DMin, LCSW provides psychotherapy, spiritual direction, supervision and So(U)L coaching in San Francisco, with a mind-body-spirit approach to healing. Karen’s writing has been published in numerous journals, blogs and anthologies, including Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction, Tikkun, Feminist Studies in Religion and in the interfaith anthology Spiritual Guidance Across Religions.  She is passionate about creating diverse and welcoming spaces for liberation, embodied spirituality and community. Her website is here.

Ashley Plotnick, MSW, MEd, MAJS is the Director of Congregational Learning at Makom Solel Lakeside in Highland Park, Illinois, USA. She holds a Master’s degree in Jewish Studies from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, as well as Master’s degrees in Human Sexuality Education and Social Work from Widener University. Ashley is a trained Spiritual Director through the Morei Derekh program for Jewish Spiritual Direction, and currently sits on their board.

Ravi Verma is a spiritual director and has worked professionally with churches and lay leaders for over twenty-five years. Ravi’s passion is to work with individuals and groups to build bridges between parts of ourselves, with others and the cosmos based on our connection to the Divine. Ravi, born in India, now teaches at Stillpoint, and works with corporations, retreat centers, and non-profits on issues of spiritual development.  Ravi is a past Chair of the Coordinating Council of Spiritual Directors International.

Who We Are

SDI is an educational nonprofit, serving 7,000 members in 42 countries around the world. We are committed to supporting and growing access to spiritual companionship and the deep listening, open questions and compassion our healing modality offers.

Additional Information

Each session will run 75 minutes. We understand that the timing of the seminar will not be convenient in every time zone on the planet. For those who have trouble making this time, a recorded copy of each session will be made available to all those who sign up. CEU credits are available for all those who participate. (See below)

Who may join the webinar?

Everyone is invited to participate in SDI Webinars.

Are CEUs available?

SDI will provide a certificate of completion for self-reporting to agencies. More information can be found here:  continuing education units (CEUs).

Scholarships

Scholarships are available for those facing financial hardship. Please apply here.