About the Facilitators

Dr. Sarah Taylor is a licensed psychologist in private practice with nearly two decades of clinical experience. She served on both the board for the Philadelphia Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology and the board of the section for Couples and Family Therapy for the Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychology, Division 39 of the American Psychological Association. She presented the following two papers at psychoanalytic conferences: “Holy Shame: Re-Imagining a Sexual Self Against the Current of Religious Condemnation,” and “The Dread and Desire of Getting the ‘Mother’ out of the Room: A Clinical Encounter of Erotic Transference.” She provides individual therapy for people experiencing the impact of sexual, emotional and spiritual/religious trauma, PTSD, CPTSD, anxiety, depression, relational distress, alcoholism/addiction of a loved one, adaptive and maladaptive religious contexts, deconstruction, grief, disenfranchised grief, parenting challenges, divorce, suicidality, and the suicide of a loved one.

Vanessa Caruso is a spiritual director and supervisor based in Vancouver Island, Canada. She received a Master's degree in Spiritual Formation and Leadership, spiritual direction training through CenterQuest, and an Advanced Certificate in Supervision from Fordham University. Vanessa provides individual spiritual direction and facilitates group supervision for clients in North America, Australia, the UK, Philippines, and Singapore. She is also the assistant to the director of CenterQuest, training spiritual directors throughout Asia, and the director of Together in the Mystery, a supervision training program. She co-hosts the podcast Three Association for spiritual directors and supervisors, leads creative, contemplative retreats for children, youth, and adults, and teaches spiritual direction and supervision for a variety of programs.