East-West spiritual counseling and life coaching represents a fundamental component of the institute's offerings, as this dynamic approach to inner guidance provides participants with opportunities to engage in both traditional forms of psychological counseling and the deeply healing effects of archetypal therapy. Mainstream psychotherapy typically involves what is known as talk therapy in which issues and events
relating to one's formative upbringing, cultural identity,
interpersonal relationships, primary challenges, and the
unique characteristics of one's life calling are explored
in depth and brought into greater clarity and resolution
through intimate discussion between the client and
counselor. Various forms of archetypal therapy involve
the creative and contemplative application of universal themes and images (i.e., the Hero's or Heroine's Journey, God-images, and other sacred symbols), which can provide profound inner guidance in relation to each person's unique journey through life. Through direct engagement with such psychic material in imaginal exercises, contemplative practices, and the process of amplification, the deeper aspects of one's life trajectory and purpose are brought into greater clarity. This approach includes working with highly evocative images found in nature and in artistic and mythological expression as well as potent dream figures and scenarios that arise from one's inner world. This process thus provides channels through which the healing and revelatory power of archetypal imagery - universal themes and images that are found throughout the history of humanity - can foster both clarity and direction as part of a broader process of personal growth and spiritual transformation (see the link below for an in-depth description of the guiding principles, theoretical focus, and creative processes that are involved in this deeply therapeutic work). In their most essential form, such methodologies are guided by the awareness that genuine fulfillment, as well as the answers to life's most pressing questions, lie within each person's own inner core, and  it is the role of the spiritual counselor to act as a guide and facilitator in helping to establish an enduring link between the client and his or her inner-most being. In each individual there exists a wellspring 0f deep knowledge and wisdom, and accessing these interior dimensions activates far-reaching avenues of healing, insight, and inspiration that hold the potential for profound transformation and an entirely new and holistic awareness of life. Within this context, it is the client who ultimately possesses the innate understanding of, and answers to, the most crucial issues of one's existence, and the spiritual counselor thus acts as a guide in fostering an awakening to this deeper self-knowledge through a variety of dynamic methodologies and processes. 
      Founded on the therapeutic principles developed in the depth psychology of Carl Jung, Marie-Louise von Franz and others, and further expanding upon these precepts through the integration of mindfulness and meditation practices
found in the Buddhist traditions of Tibetan Tantra and Zen,
East-West spiritual counseling utilizes archetypal imagery
and sacred motifs - as they arise in dreams and also in the
cultural expressions of humanity - to engender an abiding
sense of deep spiritual resonance. Within these numinous
images and figures lie clues to the nature of one's personal
journey and life purpose as well as vital links to the broader collective characteristics that tie each individual to the family of humanity in an unfolding process of both personal and collective awakening. Each human being is thus understood as a spark of divinity that emerges from a universal matrix, and through engaging the archetypal symbolism and motifs that mirror the psychic processes of the interior world of the Sacred, these sparks 
of divinity expand into more complete and meaningful manifestations of their inherent potential. From within these therapeutic frameworks and processes, a deeper, more authentic identity arises, and this flowering, this emergence of the Inner Diamond that exists as both the source and potential of every human life, brings forth the joyous and ever-expanding sense of wholeness that lies at the very heart of East-West spiritual counseling.
A more detailed description of this transformative process can be accessed in the link to the text below, and for inquiries and information regarding cost and payment options, please go to the Contact page of this site. 

                                 The Essential Tenets of East-West Spiritual Counseling:
                 Its Guiding Principles, Theoretical Foundations, and Creative Techniques