Compassionate, Transformative Listening

Consulting on Personal Spiritual Practices

Support for Living with Illness

Contact: Rev. Laura L. Mancuso, MS Spiritual Counseling Santa Barbara, California 805-450-8156 mypersonalchaplain@gmail.com

What is spiritual counseling?

Depending on the needs and desires of the client, it may involve:

…counseling that is rooted in compassion

…listening for the spiritual significance of life issues, problems, and solutions

…exploring and strengthening one’s relationship to the Divine

…helping someone to discover personal practices that promote a balanced life

I believe that every person possesses the solutions to his or her life dilemmas. But sometimes life is hard, and we need to talk things over with a trusted confidant in order to get back in touch with our deepest wisdom.

How do you define “spiritual”?

As broadly as possible! The word “spiritual” comes from the Latin word spirare meaning “to breathe.” For me, spirituality is as natural as breathing.

Spirituality is an important part of religion, and it is also something that can be acknowledged as part of one’s daily life. It is not something separate that only happens during certain hours of the week. Any aspect of life may be viewed from a spiritual perspective.

It is not appropriate for me to impose my own spiritual understandings or religious beliefs on you. Rather, our time together is devoted to supporting you to discover what is most deeply true for YOU.

Do you practice psychotherapy?

No. My services do not involve the diagnosis or treatment of mental disorders, and I do not use psychotherapeutic techniques. If you are in need of psychotherapy, I will provide you with referrals to licensed psychotherapists. You may choose to work simultaneously with a psychotherapist while seeing me for spiritual counseling.

I can’t get to the Santa Barbara area. Can we still work together?

Yes, we can make arrangements to meet by phone. Also, it is possible for me to travel to provide intensive sessions for people who live elsewhere. This is helpful, for instance, for someone who has been diagnosed with an illness and wants to spend a substantial amount of time together. Contact me for details on travel arrangements and fees.

I am homebound due to illness. Can we still work together?

Home visits can be arranged in the greater Santa Barbara area for individuals whose medical conditions make it difficult to come to my office.

What is your background?

First and most importantly, I am a non-judgmental human being with excellent listening skills. I consider it an honor that clients share with me their greatest joys, deepest struggles, and moments of confusion or clarity.

Secondly, I am a trained counselor. I have worked in the mental health field since 1985. I completed a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling at Boston University in 1989 and became a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor in 1990 (Certification # 00007113).

Finally, I am an ordained interfaith minister and chaplain (see www.chaplaincyinstitute.org) and I completed a one-month residential training program in Spiritual Direction at Mercy Center in 2005 (see www.mercy-center.org).

Are your services confidential?

Yes. I consider my client’s privacy to be of the utmost importance, and do everything possible to protect the confidentiality of our work together.

What are your fees?

My services are provided on a sliding scale basis. The cost ranges from $40 to $80 per hour. There is no charge for the first visit.

How do we get started?

Contact me to schedule an appointment:

Favorite Quotations

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience.”
-- Teilhard de Chardin

“The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen." -- Rachel Naomi Remen

"The essential conditions of everything you do must be choice, love, passion." -- Nadia Boulanger

“It is true that, in all communication, kindness without honesty is sentimentality; but it is likewise true that honesty without kindness is cruelty. The genius of communication is the ability to be both totally honest and totally kind at the same time." -- John Powell

“Illness is the night-side of life, a more onerous citizenship. Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship, in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick. Although we all prefer to use only the good passport, sooner or later each of us is obliged, at least for a spell, to identify ourselves as citizens of that other place.” -- Susan Sontag

“Compassion is an emotion of which we ought never to be ashamed.” -- Hugh Blair

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle." –- Unknown

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