Nicki Nelson

Nicki works at the intersection of spirituality, psychology, and embodiment. As a spiritual director, she holds space for those whom she accompanies to slow down, notice, and explore the presence of the Sacred. By engaging with their experiences of deep connection and complexity within their lives, her seekers cultivate the capacity to discern and respond in freedom to the invitations to embody greater love and justice in the world.

Nicki has an M.A. in Theology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA with a concentration in Social Theory and Ethics and a certificate in Women’s Studies in Religion. She also holds an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, WI. She trained as a spiritual guide and as a supervisor at the Siena Retreat Center in Racine, WI where she now has the privilege of serving as the Director of the Spiritual Guidance Training Program. As a life-long learner, her work is informed by her additional training and experience in Compassion Based Spiritual Direction (the IFS-informed approach taught by the Center for Engaged Compassion), the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Yoga tradition, and the enneagram. Her approach to spiritual direction is also informed by her training as a somatic trauma therapist, integrating Somatic Experiencing, interpersonal neurobiology, and attachment theory.