Questions, Answered Straight.
No jargon from the therapy industry. No fog from the spiritual marketplace. Just what this work is, who it's for, and how it happens.
Who is James O'Neill?
James O'Neill is a psycho-spiritual guide based in Columbia, Maryland, working with people nationally. He is a licensed clinical professional counselor with more than twenty years of clinical experience, a certified MBSR instructor, a clinical hypnotherapist, and an mPEAK coach trained at Johns Hopkins and UC San Diego.
The shorter version: two decades inside the clinical world, and a working knowledge of everything the clinical world leaves out.
What is a psycho-spiritual guide?
A psycho-spiritual guide works at the intersection of psychology and the soul. Where therapy treats symptoms within a medical model, psycho-spiritual guidance addresses the whole person: mind, body, and spirit. The aim is not symptom management. It is integration, alignment, and a life you actually recognize as yours.
A guide is a mirror, not a map. The work reflects back what you already carry so you can finally see it, release it, and choose differently.
How is this different from therapy?
Therapy diagnoses and treats mental health conditions. Psycho-spiritual guidance is for people who have often already done therapy, done it seriously, gained real insight, and still feel hollow. In Maryland, this is licensed therapy, and it goes further than most. Outside Maryland, it's guiding and coaching work, not therapy. This is integration: working with the mind, the nervous system, and the questions of meaning underneath both.
If you need clinical treatment for an acute mental health condition, therapy is the right door, and James will say so in your first conversation.
What is the Somatic Lock?
The Somatic Lock is James's term for why insight alone doesn't change your life. Your nervous system can veto a transformation your mind fully understands. Until the body releases what it holds, you keep hitting the same wall no matter how much you've figured out. This work engages the nervous system directly, not just your thoughts about it.
It's the answer to the most common frustration people bring here: "I know exactly what my problem is. Why can't I move?"
Who is this work for?
People who have done the work and still feel hollow. You've read the books, sat in the therapy chair, maybe sat on the meditation cushion too. You're intelligent, self-aware, and quietly exhausted by both the therapy industry and the spiritual marketplace. You don't want to be managed. You want to be met.
What happens in a session?
Sessions are one-on-one, held online or in person in Columbia, Maryland. The work draws on clinical psychology, mindfulness, hypnotherapy, and nervous-system practices, fitted to you rather than to a protocol. Expect real conversation, direct reflection, and practices you take with you. Expect to be provoked more than pacified.
How much does it cost, and do you take insurance?
Individual sessions are $225. Walk-and-talk sessions are $225, with consultations available to Recharge members for $99. James's practice is private pay and does not bill insurance, which keeps the work free of diagnosis requirements and insurance oversight. Every path starts with a free 15-minute consultation.
As a self-pay client you are entitled to a Good Faith Estimate of expected costs under the No Surprises Act. Read about your right to a Good Faith Estimate.
Do I have to be in Maryland?
For therapy, yes. James is licensed in Maryland, so therapy sessions, in person or online, are for Maryland residents. Coaching and guiding work is available anywhere, online.
What is Dark Night Alchemy?
Dark Night Alchemy is James's Substack: essays written from inside the dark night rather than from the summit. It exists for people in real difficulty who want hope without bypass. If you want to know whether this work is honest before you ever book a call, start with the essays.
What is Make Your Own World?
Make Your Own World is James's podcast: conversations at the edge of psychology, consciousness, and creation, with guests who actually live what they talk about. Find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube at @jamesoneillguide.
How do I begin?
BEGIN with a free 15-minute consultation. No script, no pitch. A real conversation to see whether this work fits what you're carrying.
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