A Conversation, First
No charge. No pitch. Forty-five minutes —
sometimes a little longer if there's reason to stay.
This is how we begin almost everything: by sitting with you, hearing what is here, and seeing together whether the work is ours to hold.
Who Comes
Some have been circling this work for months and have finally written. Some are still in the middle of a crossing and are not sure what they are looking for, only that something has shifted. Some are returning from a ceremony and trying to figure out what to do with what came through. Some are at the end of something — a marriage, a career, a long-held role — and have noticed the language of what's next no longer fits.
You do not need a name for what is happening. You do not need to know whether this is right for you. The conversation itself will help us both find that out.
What we ask is that you arrive with some honesty about where you actually are — not a polished version, not a version edited for our ears. The work begins in the same place the conversation does: with what is true.
The Call Itself
Forty-five minutes, by video. Most often, both of us are there — Rick and Danielle together — though sometimes one of us is with another person, and the call is with the one who is free. We will tell you who to expect before we meet.
There is no agenda we bring. We will not begin by listing what we offer. We will begin by asking you what is here.
Mostly we listen. We may reflect something we are hearing in your body or your nervous system, if that seems useful. We may name what we think the work in front of you might be, if we can see it clearly. We may also say we do not know yet — which is honest, and usually correct in a first conversation.
You do not need to prepare anything. If it helps you to write down a few sentences before the call, write them. If it helps not to, don't.
The Questions
A few of the questions we tend to ask:
And a few we will not ask:
We will not ask you to explain yourself. We will not ask you to be further along than you are. We will not ask whether you can afford this — that is a separate conversation, when the time for it comes.
If you do not have an answer to a question, "I don't know" is a complete and welcome response. The conversation is not a screening.
Three Possible Paths
Three things tend to happen after a first conversation. All three are honest. None of them are wrong.
If what's in front of you matches what we hold, we say so. We will tell you what we think the right shape is — individual sessions, a couples container, ceremony preparation, the Pilgrimage, one of the six-week containers, or a combination — and we will give you the actual numbers and dates. You decide on your own time. There is no pressure to commit on the call.
Sometimes what someone is reaching for is real but is not ours to hold. When that is the case, we will say it — and where we can, we will point you toward someone who might. We would rather be honest than be useful in a way that isn't actually useful.
A first conversation is not a contract. Many people come back weeks or months later, when something has settled. The door does not close behind you when the call ends.
To Begin
The easiest way to begin is to write us a few sentences about what is bringing you here.
We read every message ourselves and reply within two business days.
From there, we'll find a time to talk.
You do not need to be ready. You do not need to have the right words. You only need to be willing to be honest about where you actually are.
That is enough to start.
— Rick & Danielle