(805) 882-2424 x 110
wpeters@ftisb.org
Education, Professional Training & Publications
B.A. in Political Economy of Industrial Societies – UC Berkeley
M.A. in Counseling Psychology, California Institute of Integral Studies
M.A. in Education with specialization in Human Relations and Systems Theory, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Extensive course work in Mysticism and Psycho-Spiritual Development, -Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (43936, State of California)
Publications
Author
At Heaven’s Door: What Shared Journeys to the Afterlife Teach About Dying Well and Living Better, Simon & Schuster, January 2022
Co-Author of Numerous Journal Articles including:
“Shared End-of-Life Experiences: Recognizing the Healing and Clinical Potential of a Unique Type of Transpersonal Experiences,” The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 2023 Vol. 55. No. 2
“The Spectrum of End-of Life Experiences: A Tool for Advancing Death Education”, OMEGA Journal of Death and Dying, January 2022
“Shared Death Experiences: A Little-Known Type of End-of-Life Phenomena Reported by Caregivers and Loved Ones”, American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, April 2021
Certifications
ACISTE Certified Mental Health and Spiritual Guidance Professional
Trainings
Repair and Reattachment Grief Therapy, Cascadia Training
Sacred Art of Living and Dying, Center for Spiritual Formation
Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy, The Lifespan Learning Institute
Past Life Regression Certificate Training, The Weiss Institute at Omega Institute
Treatment Philosophy & Approach
Effective therapy begins with a sense of connection and trust between the client and therapist. I assist my clients in clearly defining the situation that has brought them to therapy. Since I specialize in end of life and grief and bereavement, often my clients need a safe place to express their feelings about a particular health challenge for themselves or a loved one, or perhaps the loss has already occurred, and they need support in their grief process. Some clients are so overwhelmed by a loss or series of losses that they find themselves in a kind of crisis wondering: How will I ever survive this loss? What is this life, my life, about? Other clients come asking profound existential questions, often spurred by a loss, about the purpose and meaning of their life. In each of these situations I serve as an experienced guide and affirming companion through these harrowing, albeit natural, seasons of a human life.
Many clients come to me seeking support for major life transition: changing a job, primary relationship, geographic location, etc. I these situations I provide support and guidance as they navigate their transition.
Some clients need only a few sessions to find their footing, gain insights and acquire new tools to achieve their goals. The majority of my clients need more time to adapt and develop inner resources to cope with their challenges. Often as therapy evolves my clients feel compelled to explore current or past relationships, reflect on undesirable behaviors or personality traits, or examine past events or traumas that may be adversely influencing their current life.
My therapeutic approach is direct and active attempting to gently facilitate an experience whereby the client can access their deepest truth. I have found that therapy is most effective when clients can open to their whole self (mind, body, spirit). To this end I provides a safe and secure environment in which the client has the freedom to explore, access and eventually share those often neglected or wounded parts of their self. The ultimate goal is for the client express who they truly are with confidence and joy.
Professional & Volunteer Experience
I am the founder of the Shared Crossing Project and director of our Research Initiative whose mission is to positively transform relationships to death and dying through education and raising awareness about extraordinary end-of-life experiences (shared crossings) and their healing benefits. I teach methods to facilitate the shared death experience to families, groups, and end-of-life organizations. I am international presenter on topics related to conscious dying and spiritual end-of-life experiences. Before joining the Family Therapy Institute, I worked at spiritual healing center in Brazil for two years. While studying for my M.A. in Counseling Psychology I served as a hospice worker at the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco. In my twenties, I taught high school in Belize, studied Spanish and worked at an orphanage in Guatemala, and ran a center for working children in Peru.
Specialties & Areas of Expertise
I specialize in end of life and grief and bereavement as a means toward psycho-spiritual growth. I guide clients in preparing for conscious, connected, and loving end-of-life experiences. I assist people, who have spiritual experiences related to end of life and other kinds of mystical experiences, in a personal process of meaning making related to these transcendental experiences that catalyzes personal transformation.
My foundational psychotherapeutic training was in Client-Centered Therapies (Rogerian Therapy and Gestalt Therapy), Transpersonal Psychotherapy, Family Systems, Communication Theory, Existential Therapy, Field Theory, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Object Relations, and various Somatic Therapies. My counseling has been influenced by my practice of Buddhist Meditation since 1992. I was blessed to apprentice with Robert Hall, MD and other teachers and therapists in the Spirit Rock Meditation Community to integrate Western Psychology with Eastern Mindfulness Practices.
Personal Life
I love exploring the world with my family and friends. I adore Latin American and indigenous cultures. Throughout my life, I have passionately explored various spiritual traditions. I was raised as a Catholic and studied in the Jesuit tradition. While working in Latin America I explored Shamanism, Spiritism, and plant medicine. I have studied and practiced Christian and Eastern Mysticism. While today I practice Vipassana Buddhism, I continue to blend various spiritual practices and have found that this endeavor brings meaning, balance and peace of mind.