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John McAndrew and Joseph Palacios, founding partners of Sensible Spirituality Associates, bring professional experiences to this Spiritual Counseling Consultancy from many worlds: academia, parochial ministry, hospice work, marriage preparation, social justice advocacy, spiritual direction, addiction treatment and recovery, detention ministry, counseling, diversity programs, interfaith dialogue, retreats, workshops, executive coaching, liturgical leadership, community organizing, grief recovery, and foundational human development.
Their experience in the Spiritual Care Department at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, CA— as Director (John), and Inpatient Spiritual Counselor (Joseph)— encouraged them to take the best practices of Spiritual Care from that context and integrate their own practical experience to address Sensible Spirituality in our time.
The goal of Sensible Spirituality is to help individuals and organizations identify and understand their own soul and spirit, in order to build relationships of shared principles, values, and practices.
John McAndrew, MA, MDiv, is a spiritual teacher, counselor, theologian, musician, hospice chaplain and poet. With a background in literature, theology, music, and counseling, he served as a parish priest for nearly 20 years, and has also worked in educational settings, corporate consultancies, detention facilities, and treatment centers. During his tenure as Director of Spiritual Care at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, CA, he began to incorporate all these experiences into foundations which took shape in Sensible Spirituality Associates. John currently resides in Arroyo Grande (San Luis Obispo County), CA and recently retired from full-time Spiritual Counseling for Wilshire Hospice. He continues to facilitate Retreats and Workshops for people in recovery, and offers Spiritual Counseling, Grief Counseling, and Recovery Support services for individuals and organizations seeking deeper spiritual development.
An educator, mentor, spiritual guide, priest, and sociologist, Rev. Joseph Palacios, Ph.D., M.Div., is a Contributing Fellow of the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California. He previously served as a professor at USC, Georgetown University, and the Universidad de Santiago, Chile. He is also a consultant to nonprofit, corporate and governmental organizations, and has spent many years helping individuals, couples, and families develop and tailor culturally sensitive weddings, memorials, and blessings reflective of their distinctive spiritual needs. He has been a Fulbright Scholar, received Pew Charitable Trust and Andrew Mellon Foundation Fellowships, and authored The Catholic Social Imagination: Activism and the Just Society in Mexico and the United States (University of Chicago Press, 2007).
Julia Fromme is a Spiritual Counselor, educator, coach, transformational bodyworker, and organizational business consultant. While serving over 30 years in public education, thriving in the classroom and co-writing grants and multiple curricular projects, she also obtained her Master’s degree in Organizational Management (MAOM). Her spiritual journey has been energized by her own recovery, studies in the healing arts, and religious and cultural studies in Mexico and Central America. She stays grounded and creative by practicing meditation, yoga, guitar, and songwriting.
Dr. Jaime Romo is a healer and teacher. Following a career in K-12 and teacher education, he has taken an active role in developing Healing Community practices in values-driven organizations. Dr. Romo is a Trauma Informed Care SAMHSA consultant, a Commissioned Minister in the United Church of Christ, and a certified Primordial Sound Meditation instructor. His most recent book is Healing the Sexually Abused Heart: A Workbook for Survivors, Thrivers, and Supporters.