Jakob Merchant

Spiritual Director

Rev. Jakob Merchant is an interfaith minister, spiritual counselor, psychotherapist and energy medicine practitioner. The relief of suffering in all its forms has always stood as a central focus of Jakob’s life. His work in all areas is designed to support the Self-healing of physical, mental and spiritual issues so a permanent experience of love, peace and happiness can take its place. Jakob’s commitment is to love and compassion and supporting others to remember that they are already perfect, whole and complete – an expression of love itself.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Science in Psychology

Excelsior College, Albany NY
Bachelor of Science in Psychology

One Spirit Learning Alliance
New York, New York
InterSpiritual Counselor
Interfaith minister

Milton H. Erickson Institute
Mastery Training in Ericksonian Brief Hypnotic Psychotherapy
Individual and Group Supervision with Jeffrey K. Zeig
Evolution of Psychotherapy
Mastery in Ericksonian Brief Therapy
Fundamental Training

Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, Society
MBSR – Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: Intensive Workshop

Gestalt Therapy and Dream Work
Judith Schafman

Internal Family Systems Therapy
Dr. Richard Schwartz & Dr. Frank Anderson
Internal Family Systems (IFS) for Trauma, Anxiety, Depression, Addiction & More

Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health
Frank Jude Boccio
Mindfulness Yoga Teacher training

Yoga Zentrum Passau
Yoga teacher training

MEMBERSHIPS & PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

Spiritual Directors International American Society of Clinical Hypnosis
One Spirit Learning Alliance International BodyTalk Association
Academy for Guided Imagery International Association of Yoga Therapists
American Counseling Association

LICENSURES & TITLES

Interfaith Minister
Yoga Instructor
Advanced Certified BodyTalk Practitioner
Spiritual Director
InterSpiritual Counselor

STORY

Jakob is an ordained interfaith minister and a certified BodyTalk practitioner. Healthcare was a central theme in Jakob’s early years where he witnessed the compassionate care from his father as a doctor as well as his mother as a nurse. He realized the paradigm limitation of Cartesian-type medicine and philosophy early in age and this set the context for his further explorations. As a teenager, he studied philosophy, psychology and theology. This led to many life experiences including becoming a yoga teacher, studying psychology and biology the University of Salzburg, Utah State University and Excelsior College, as well as in-depth practice in Dr. David R. Hawkins’ work of Devotional Non-duality.

During this time many deep and transformative experiences led him to become an interfaith minister. As an interfaith minister, he further deepened his knowledge and reverence for all of the world religions as well as their contributions to healing and happiness. Most importantly, he learned that true healing needs to be addressed on all levels – physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

The relief of suffering in all its forms has always been a central focus of Jakob’s life: he realized that true healing needs to be a permanent experience. Jakob’s commitment to love and compassion sets the context for all of his work, so that those he works with may remember that they are already perfect, whole and complete – an expression of love itself.