• Sessions are held on Zoom, except when a medical need (such as screen sensitivity) requires them to be audio/phone meetings. You’ll receive a Google Calendar invite for your session upon booking, which will include a Zoom link and passcode.

• Payment is expected within 48 hours of scheduling a session; if payment isn’t received by then, your slot will be made available to other clients.

• Payment is made via Venmo (@gdegolia) or PayPal (@gdegolia / gdegolia@gmail.com). 

• Gabriela offers asynchronous support through video/audio recordings when their or a client’s health makes live calls challenging.

• Refunds for sessions are not available; I’m happy to reschedule, but sales are final.

• One free reschedule is possible in the event of medical issues (with advance notice).

• Rescheduling for non-medical reasons within 24 hours of a session includes a $50 rescheduling fee.

• No-shows are non-refundable and non-transferable to other dates.

• Some of Gabriela’s health conditions require that she take days off on occasion. She does her best to give advance notice if a meeting needs to shift, and offers a full refund if rescheduling is too hard. Clients who need a more predictable provider shouldn’t work with Gabriela. 

• If you also struggle with disability / chronic illness and scheduling calls is challenging, let Gabriela know so you can both establish a rhythm that works well.

• Gabriela

  • Spiritual care touches the deepest parts of us; it can bring up unexpected and sometimes difficult emotions, memories, and experiences. This is normal. Gabriela commits to doing everything they can to ensure sessions are generative and help you feel safe, empowered, and sovereign. They take their responsibilities as a provider seriously and promise to offer the best care possible. Gabriela will support you as best and as responsibly as they can and recommend additional resources if/when that’s appropriate. 

• The client

  • You must be over 18 years of age to work with Gabriela.

  • As a sovereign adult who is blessed with the gifts of free will and agency, you are responsible for any decisions you make or actions you take before, during, and after our sessions. 

  • You are responsible for naming when something isn’t working for you. Naming your needs explicitly and promptly ensures Gabriela is fully aware of them; this helps them make adjustments quickly, so you receive the best care possible.

• Gabriela’s offerings do not replace therapy, medical support, pastoral care, financial advice, or legal counsel. Gabriela is not ordained and can’t perform the functions of clergy, including sacraments. These offerings are meant as complements to any other care you need or choose to receive. 

• Whenever Gabriela is unable or unqualified to support you through something, they will share relevant, external resources as able. She promises to be honest about where her capacities/credentials end.

• Additional care between sessions is not included in the cost of service. Messaging for technical/logistical support is fine. 

• Gabriela is not available 24/7 and is not the person to contact during an emergency.

• Confidentiality is a crucial part of any care practice; Gabriela takes your privacy seriously and will hold what you share in confidence.

• That said, Gabriela engages in supervisory/peer-mentorship processes to support her growth and to ensure accountability in her work. In such settings, she shares about experiences with clients. If Gabriela mentions you in a mentorship context, they’ll remove personal info so your identity remains anonymous.

• Additionally, if you express serious/immediate intent or plans to harm yourself or someone else, or if you disclose a situation in which someone in your care is being willfully neglected, Gabriela will do what they can to assist all parties in remaining safe / regaining safety. This may include breaching confidentiality to connect with your emergency contact or connect you with harm-reduction / crisis-response resources in your area. Gabriela will do this with as much respect for your agency as possible, and by avoiding police / carceral / psychiatric systems as much as possible (those would only be contacted as a last resort).

• If you’re in crisis, you commit to contacting people you trust and/or organizations that are equipped to help. In the US, United Way’s national 211 hotline is a helpful resource. You can also find non-police / non-carceral resources here: dontcallthepolice.com/national/.

• If you have any issues related to this work, Gabriela welcomes feedback and honors the vulnerability it takes to share grievances. 

• You can share feedback during a session or message Gabriela at another time, so paid sessions aren’t used for that purpose. You can also complete an anonymous feedback form to tell Gabriela how a session went.

• If needed, Gabriela will offer free time outside of sessions to discuss things.

I have spent many years offering spiritual care to individuals and groups and have completed a lot of relevant training. Many people and institutions have served as my teachers, and the list of trainings I’ve completed is extensive. Details about all the courses, practicums, and education I’ve undergone can be found on the My Story & Credentials page.

That said, I’m not a keeper of knowledge others don’t already possess within themselves. My role is that of companion, akin to a midwife — one who assists people in further enfleshing and honoring the divinity nested within and beyond them.

Some important logistical stuff about working with me include:

• PHONE / ZOOM: All sessions occur over the phone or Zoom (this depends on the session; we’ll discuss this during the booking process). Be sure to have the Zoom app downloaded before our session, a device from which to use it, and stable internet / phone reception at the time of our session.

• WHAT TO BRING: There’s no need to bring anything except yourself and your digital device. A notebook and pen might be helpful, but aren’t necessary. You’re also welcome to bring whatever helps you feel grounded and supported.

• SCHEDULING: Please read and respect my policies surrounding scheduling, rescheduling, cancelling, missing, and arriving late to sessions. These are listed above and restated at the time of booking.

• BUFFER TIME: Scheduling some buffer time before and after sessions can help you receive and integrate our discussion fully, but that’s up to you.

I humbly (yet fervently) seek to further a specific mission: that of collective liberation and spiritual flourishing for all beings. My work is as much about devotion to the sacred as it is about shifting socio-political systems that deny the inherent divinity of all beings. The support I offer clients is intended to impact private lives as well as entire ecosystems. To read a much fuller version of my mission and vision, visit the About page.

No. Spiritual care should never be framed as a replacement for other forms of care. It can serve as a beautiful complement to all care modalities you need or choose to work with, but it does not, cannot, and is not meant to replace them.

I myself work regularly with a spiritual director, a therapist, a Twelve Step sponsor, a somatic coach, medical providers, and other supportive figures who help me better understand myself (including my relationship to divinity). Each of these individuals / settings offer unique and distinct forms of care, all of which work beautifully together. I encourage people to establish as diverse an ecosystem of support as possible so the whole of who they are is well-tended.

WHAT MY WORK IS NOT:

• Therapy or medical care: While spiritual care can be therapeutic, it isn’t therapy and doesn’t replace the support of a therapist (or any other medical or professional provider). There are no “goals,” “treatments,” or “diagnoses” in the care I offer. There is only the witnessing of the divine’s movement in the participant's life and the discerning of what that movement is inviting in them. Questions, rather than answers, take center stage, and the unknown is considered a generative space along the journey. Intentions and aspirations are certainly welcome, but we allow those to shift in light of the divine’s influence on our lives.

• Pastoral care: My offerings are distinct from chaplaincy, pastoral ministry, clergy support, and other forms of spiritual leadership or care. I am not ordained and cannot perform the functions of clergy (for example, I do not perform the duties of a Christian pastor, such as presiding over formal baptisms). There is no prescribed dogma associated with the spiritual care I offer and no expectation that participants have (or adopt) particular beliefs or practices. A participant’s journey is unique, and I respect and celebrate this.

• Coaching: I am not a coach who prescribes a regimen for you to accomplish a precise goal in xyz number of weeks. That is simply not how spiritual deepening unfurls, in my experience. Even in the time-bound or themed containers I hold, there is always ample room for the movement of Spirit to influence the process and the outcome.

• Legal or financial advice: I never give financial or legal advice because I’m not qualified to offer it.

One of the beautiful and challenging things about the work I do is that there isn’t a formal body that outlines universal standards for my services. In the US, spiritual directors, tarot readers, dream workers, doulas, and many other types of “unconventional” providers aren’t required to abide by specific standards. This allows for incredible flexibility and diversity of services, but also creates vagueness regarding ethical standards and professional safeguards. As a result, it’s essential that I explain how I invest in my growth and how I address missteps in my work.

I engage in supervisory mentorship and peer-mentorship processes to support my continued professional (and personal) growth. These assist me in learning from mistakes and missteps, so I can offer increasingly better care over time. Additionally, I work regularly with my clinical therapists, coaches, Twelve Step sponsors, spiritual director, and other mentors; all of them assist me in seeing myself more clearly and help me practice my craft better over time.

None of this ensures I won’t make mistakes, and I readily acknowledge I’m imperfect. What all of this does is help me learn from missteps and amend them promptly.

If you ever have an issue pertaining to my practice, please refer to the feedback section in the terms of service listed above for more info on how to share that with me.

Yes. I have been educated in how to offer trauma-informed care through multiple trainings and various jobs I’ve held, including my spiritual direction practicum, pastoral care education, chaplaincy work, and more. I never seek to exacerbate a client’s trauma. At the same time, I don’t believe in avoiding trauma; the only way to heal such wounds is to tend them, and that requires us to engage with them. Whenever a client feels ready to do so, I collaborate with them in exploring the wisdom and sanctity of their spiritual scars and injuries.

As someone with a deep, longstanding relationship with trauma, I know from personal experience that discussing certain facets of oneself and one’s experiences can be difficult and triggering, including (and sometimes especially) in a spiritual context. I also know that sharing trauma in the presence of a trusted provider can be profoundly healing when the experience is tended well. I promise to move at the pace of those I meet with, to listen deeply without prying, and to be clear about the care I am (and am not) qualified to offer so participants know what to expect from me. Participants’ needs are central to any care process, and I will work to meet those needs to the best of my abilities. I will also let participants know where my capacities and credentials end to ensure proper support is found elsewhere when necessary.

As a neurodivergent and disabled person, I strive to make my offerings as accessible as possible.

Having virtual sessions means we can chat from wherever we’re located (and to be clear: beds and wheelchairs are wonderful spots to call into a session from! PJs are also welcome.). I’m more than happy to set up live-transcript during calls, and we meet with cameras off to support folks with visual or sensory processing disorders (except for visual offerings like tarot readings). Stimming, hand-flapping, rocking, and other self-regulating behaviors are also welcome during my sessions.

I send a questionnaire before we meet to assess your accessibility needs, so I know exactly what support is helpful for you.

Last, but not least: if a client’s disability or illness is so severe that scheduling live sessions isn’t feasible, I offer asynchronous options on a case-by-case basis. If you’re interested in this, email me to discuss possibilities.

A relationship centered on providing or seeking spiritual care should never be forced. Feelings of safety and resonance between client and provider are paramount for establishing and sustaining an ethical and fruitful dynamic.

There is never any obligation for someone to meet with me, nor is there any obligation for a client to continue meeting with me. If a client decides I’m no longer the right person for them to work with, I respect this and help them find another provider to the best of my ability. (Of course, if a client purchased multiple sessions and chooses to discontinue receiving services partway through our agreed timeline, my cancellation policies — which are listed below — apply.)

If for any reason my offerings aren’t like a good fit, a great resource for finding other spiritual care providers is Spiritual Directors International. Queer Healers is another great resource. Your local area may also have spiritual care centers where you can receive support.

I am committed to pushing back against systems that make financial scarcity a reality for so many. In cases of economic hardship, I offer payments plans that need to be paid in full before a given session takes place. If other clients donate to my scholarship fund, I offer scholarships to those who need it as able. All of that said, I don’t offer sliding scale pricing because I price my offerings in accordance with my own financial needs.

Group offerings, when available, are often a cheaper way to work with me than 1:1 work. I encourage you to partake in those when I hold group space.

Lastly, in case this isn’t clear: I am not the only person who does this kind of work. You can find many other spiritual care providers through Spiritual Directors International, Queer Healers, and other networks whose prices might be more accessible.

I wish to affirm that financial hardship is unjust. We all deserve to have ready access to resources, including care providers. Our governments should guarantee this through healthy social, economic, and political systems; if they can’t or won’t, they’re failing in their basic obligations to the people. I pray that one day our social systems eliminate poverty and offer sustainable abundance. Until then, may we challenge oppressive hierarchies and scarcity narratives to help create a more equitable world however is feasible for each of us.

I’ve been featured on podcasts, in the news, in books, and other places. Visit the Media Features page to see some examples of this.