In the event that a student and teacher have difficulties, open communication can be difficult. Below is a list of mediators who are trained to facilitate unbiased conversations between two people who have experienced conflict and/or abuse in their relationship.

Please feel free to contact 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.

If you are a trained mediator and wish to be listed in this directory, you can apply to be included in this listing by emailing us at info@spiritual-integrity.org. Please tell us about your training and experience in your field. All mediators listed are required to work in accordance with all applicable professional codes of ethics.

The Association for Spiritual Integrity is not liable for any mediation arising from the appointment of a mediator using this resource facility.

Mariana Caplan, PhD, L-MFT
marianacaplan.com

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.

Deborah Cohen
soulwisdomonline.com
Deborah is a longtime (over 25 years) psychotherapist and spiritual coach. She has offered mediation during couples therapy and in working with families and groups of people with differences in their outlooks and feelings. As well, she has worked with people who have left spiritual communities after feeling wronged or abused by spiritual teachers and community leaders. Deborah’s approach is to work with groups and individuals to help them –individually and collectively—connect more deeply with their feelings of being victims of abuse and feeling wrongly accused and betrayed. Deborah helps her clients see lifetime patterns related to these unresolved feelings. During mediation, Deborah takes time to deeply listen to and understand each person’s feelings. She then helps each to be able to convey their truths to each other in non-threatening ways, and to create a resolution that is mutually satisfying. Deborah completed a nine-month training with Dr. Marianne Caplan to offer mediation for spiritual communities and the spiritual teachers and students directly involved in situations of abuse and scandal. The training ended in May 2020. Since then Deborah has worked with spiritual community members struggling with these issues.

Robert Mougin, esq, Founder of Blue Sky Mediation Center, LLC
blueskymediationcenter.com
Mr. Mougin spent twenty-five years as a trial attorney in three states, handing a wide variety of complex and contentious lawsuits. In 2016, Mr. Mougin founded Blue Sky Mediation Center as a way to bring peace to those who have found themselves caught up in disputes that could end up in litigation. Having handled thousands of lawsuits, Mr. Mougin is very familiar with the price that a dispute can have on those involved – mentally, emotionally, and financially. His transparent method of practice in mediation sessions is to separate those involved and hear their whole story before bringing them back together in an effort to craft a resolution so that they can move on with their lives. Blue Sky Mediation Center is a safe space where confidential conversations can take place under the mediation privilege, allow all involved to be truthful and authentic throughout the process. Zoom mediations are available as well, allowing parties from any location to participate meaningfully in the effort to find peace.

Karen Starz
karenstarz.com
Karen is a trainer, facilitator and an omnipartial mediator. Her training spans traditional western liberal arts to eastern masters, religions and philosophies. She is certified through the Center for Nonviolent Communication and focuses on the spirituality of the consciousness of compassionate living. Karen mediates with the intention of connection based on the concept that this is a facilitated conversation between individuals (or groups) who carry their own wisdom but need support in hearing each other. Her clients include individuals, spiritual communities, businesses, non-profits, political parties and family groups. She is currently the president of a nonprofit, Houston Nonviolent Communication and teaches multiple classes online as well as works directly with organizational dynamics in communities.