Mediation Referrals
In the event that a student and teacher have difficulties, open communication can be difficult. Below is a list of mediators who are approved by ASI and are trained to facilitate unbiased conversations between two people who have experienced conflict and/or abuse in their relationship.
If a student feels a teacher or organization has breached the Honor Code of Ethics and that teacher or organization is an ASI member, ASI has a process that a student can report an ethical concern. After reviewing the concern with ASI’s Evaluation and Restoration team, ASI may recommend mediation between the student and teacher or organization to facilitate a restorative conversation.
Even if the teacher or organization is not an ASI member, you are welcome to contact these mediators directly to find out more about their background, experience, training, and protocol for resolving disputes, as well as their rates and availability. If a student wants to hire a neutral third-party mediator to facilitate a confidential conversation with their teacher, it is reasonable to request that the teacher share the cost of the mediator’s fee.
The Association for Spiritual Integrity is not liable for any mediation arising from the appointment of a mediator using this resource facility.
Deborah Cohen
I am a long-time (over 25 years) psychotherapist and spirituality coach. I completed a training in 2020 that has oriented me to offer mediation for spiritual communities, specifically spiritual teachers and students directly involved in situations of abuse and scandal.
I work with those who are in the process of leaving their spiritual community or are unsure of whether to continue to be involved or not. I support my clients to help them get in touch with who they are, authentically. Then we address how to live in full accordance with their authentic selves.
I work online supporting people who have left their community, after feeling wronged, silenced or abused by spiritual teachers and community leaders. I also provide mediation between spiritual teachers and their students and ex-students. I help each person involved to speak their truths to one another in non-threatening ways, and to create a resolution that is mutually satisfying.
Scott Brown
Scott Brown is a mediator, restorative justice practitioner and relationship coach. His Restorative Mediation process creates the safety and the restorative mindset necessary to surface the full extent of the harm and allow for heart-felt accountability. The harm is framed as unmet human needs which humanizes and takes the fight out of the conflict. The necessary repair flows collaboratively and organically from the process.
For deep levels of harm rippling out to impact groups and communities Scott has co-created a restorative justice-inspired Active Peace Circle process which is similar to the above but is co-facilitated and includes community representatives who speak to the ripple effects of the harm. This is an in-depth process that surfaces root causes that perpetuate the harm at the systems level, for example, organizational structures and norms, power and gender dynamics, etc.
Mariana Caplan, PhD, L-MFT
The spiritual path is a rocky road, full of potholes and pitfalls, and not meant to be travelled alone. Since the publication of my fourth book, Halfway Up the Mountain: the Error of Premature Claims to Enlightenment over 20 years ago, and the subsequent books, The Guru Question: the Perils and Rewards of Choosing a Spiritual Teacher, and Eyes Wide Open: Cultivating Discernment on the Spiritual Path, I have been supporting individual spiritual practitioners, teachers, and spiritual and religious communities in a variety of ways. These include: peer support and counselling for spiritual and religious leaders; working with communities to integrate psychological integration with spiritual practices; helping individuals heal from the breakdown and dissolution of spiritual communities; and working with spiritual emergencies. I have mediated and supported many communities in crisis, and deeply believe in preventative spiritual health to prevent and prepare for the inevitable challenges that arise in spiritual leadership and practice.