Do I Need Therapy or Spiritual Companionship?

This is a powerful question when we find ourselves at a crossroads in life or need clarity and support for significant personal issues. Often life-changes or circumstances can elicit a need for professional support for our mental-emotional-spiritual health, so considering the choices we have for hiring a therapist or a professional spiritual guide asks us to hone in on our specific needs and goals.

Simply put, therapy and spiritual companionship are both forms of guidance, but they serve different purposes: therapy focuses on addressing psychological and emotional issues (often anchored in trauma), using techniques to improve mental and emotional health.

Spiritual companionship is a “therapy-adjacent” service that is more centred around exploring and deepening one's spirituality, attuning to our inner life of intuition, faith, meaning, and personal growth.

Both services offer ways of feeling better, and professionals in each role have different approaches for supporting you:

Therapy is primarily aimed at addressing psychological, emotional, and behavioral issues and focuses on alleviating mental health challenges, improving coping skills, and promoting overall well-being.

Therapists use various well-established therapeutic approaches depending on the individual's needs and typically hold degrees in psychology, social work, counselling, or related fields. They are licensed professionals trained in specific methodologies.

Spiritual Companionship on the other hand is centered around exploring and nurturing one's spiritual life and connection to the divine or higher knowing, addressing matters of faith, meaning, and purpose.

Spiritual companions provide a space for reflection and dialogue about spiritual experiences, questions, and practices and the focus is on individual exploration and growth. Spiritual companions may have backgrounds in theology, philosophy, or counselling, but their main qualification often comes from training in spiritual direction.

Both offer holistic approaches and appreciate the complexity of the human experience.

Soul Expressions offers support that can often-times feel therapeutic when we anchor into our spiritual journey, while staying away from the methods of therapists. All sessions are held in a sacred space where the “mystery of life” is invited to contribute to what clients need, and different resources are used to get clarity.

Soul Expressions knows that life is precious and each of us has our own unique inner brilliance that can be hidden by our life experiences or culture. So tending to the soul and our inner life is an important way to know who we are and what we’re here for, while living the life we have.

If you are asking the question “do I need a therapist or a spiritual companion?”, book a free chat to get clear on your needs. The times we are living in are tricky and Soul Expressions can help you get the support you need with a deep chat about what’s possible.

Read more about the soul journey and Andra’s background here.