Mentorship

Now Accepting New Mentees!

One-on-one guidance for conscious growth, earth connection & embodiment.

For those seeking to do deeper work to truly develop a profound and enduring relationship with their body, herbcraft, and the more-than-human world…

Mentorship is a little bit different from my primary herbal consultation offering. Where herbal consultations focus more on the concrete physiological concerns you'd like to address, mentorship allows for a more exploratory and reflective approach to self-development and conscious growth.

Mentorship typically consists of at least six months working together to support you in developing rituals, habits, and structures that will nurture a deeply embodied sense of self and a wider connection to the earthly realms you inhabit.

Those interested should be ready and willing to make fundamental changes in their life, while embracing plants and mushrooms as allies in the journey of becoming fully human and alive.

  • We will explore the ways that you experience your world, being in your body, and the interconnections between your body and your environment. We will also explore how your conception of wellness has developed, and how that conception informs your experience of the world.

  • This work is rooted in principles of depth ecology, ecopsychology, somatics, intuitive practices, and heart perception. These frameworks will support you in cultivating practices to liberate your awareness from the limited ideological frameworks our western culture encourages, towards a more holistic and embodied perspective of self and earth.

  • We often engage in a dynamic range of practices and rituals to support you in expanding your perceptual, sensory, and extrasensory awareness to encompass the subtle messages and cues that arise from your body and earth that guide you toward openness, presence, and vital well-being.

    • Stillness / Meditation

    • Mindful and intentional eating and cooking

    • Joyful movement practices

    • Active imagination and dialogue with one's body

    • Dreamwork

    • Earth connection practices & relationship with your local earthly environment

    • Breathing exercises & breathwork

    • Custom herbal formulas will also be recommended and adjusted over the course of longer term work.

      • These formulas are offered to support the practices and shifts in awareness and consciousness this work aims to facilitate.

      • Cost of herbs are not included in the session cost and are not required as part of mentorship.

    • Those who engage in this ongoing work will also be granted 12-month access to the Greenspell Community & Virtual Garden. Your access will continue as long as we are working together.

    • You will also receive a 20% discount on all workshops and classes that Greenspell offers (not including the Greenspell Bioregional Herbalism Intensive).

    • Pricing is based on need and will be discussed in the final introductory session before transitioning to longer-term mentorship.

We start with three introductory sessions. These sessions allow us to get to know each other while exploring the framework and model for our work together beyond these sessions.

Introductory sessions structure and cost:

  • (3) 60 minute mentorship sessions

  • We meet once every two weeks over the course of 6 weeks

Package Cost: $225

During the final introductory session, we discuss if you would like to continue for longer-term mentorship with a minimum commitment of 6 months. If you don't feel that this work is for you, or feel that the timing is not right, no worries, we will utilize the final session to discuss some practices that you can take with you to engage with on your own.

If you do choose to engage in longer-term mentorship beyond the initial three sessions, we will discuss a structure and price based upon your needs.

A typical structure and cost for longer-term mentorship:

  • We meet either once every two weeks (bi-weekly), or once a month.

  • I require a minimum commitment of 6 months, but some may prefer to engage in mentorship for longer.

  • Individual session cost is sliding scale between $50-$90 / hour-long session.

  • Those engaged in long-term mentorship are welcome to participate in Volunteer Days at the apothecary, gaining more hands on work in preparing tinctures, blending teas, and getting a better feel for how apothecary work unfolds.

    • Volunteer Days are open only to mentees and Greenspell Herbalism Intensive students

Structure & Cost

Book your first Mentorship session

To book your first mentorship session, please click the link below. This link will bring you to our booking page, where you can book your initial mentorship session. Upon booking, you will be asked to briefly share why you are called to this work.

At the end of our first session, we will book the remaining two sessions of the package.

What happens after booking my first session?

  1. Sign up for Practice Better - After booking your initial session and package, you will receive an invitation to join Alex's secure client management system, Practice Better. It's free and this platform will give you access to the forms and video conferencing tools needed to conduct the consultation.

  2. Complete Forms Online - You will be sent two forms to complete before we meet (an informed consent form, and a mentorship intake form), which will be stored securely and not shared with anyone outside this office. These forms must be submitted 48 hours prior to your session in order to keep your appointment.

  3. Introductory Sessions - During the first two 60 minute mentorship sessions, we discuss your interests and what you’d like to work on in mentorship. I will introduce my framework for working with clients in a mentorship capacity. You will leave the first session with a handful of practices to integrate into your life in support of becoming more connected with your body and surrounding ecosystem.

  4. Receive Written Recommendations - After your first two sessions, you will receive this written guidance through Practice Better.

    • Written Guidance may include custom herbal tea blends, tinctures, and other preparations. This guidance may also include lifestyle changes, recipes, foods, movement, body work, meditation or reflection practices, and suggestions for how to integrate all practices and herbs into your routine.

  5. Purchase Herbs & Supplements - The cost of herbs is not included in your visit. If you are interested in a custom herbal formula as a part of this work, an invoice for your custom formulations will be included and shipped after payment of herbs is received.

  6. Final Introductory Session - During the final introductory session, we discuss if would like to continue for longer-term mentorship with a minimum commitment of 6-months. If you don't feel that this work is for you, or feel that the timing is not right, no worries, we will utilize the final session to discuss some practices that you can take with you to engage with on your own. If you do choose to engage in longer-term mentorship beyond the initial three sessions, we will discuss a structure and price based upon your needs.

  • “Alex is a gifted herbalist who brings a lot of soul and sensitivity to his practice. The custom tinctures and tea blends he prepared have been nourishing and effective in addressing the root causes of my concerns, and I have always left our sessions feeling extremely cared for in discussing things that can be quite vulnerable. I look forward to working with him and First Curve for years to come!”

    Herbal Consultation Client

  • "In working with Alex over the last year or so, what really stands out is his deep care and attention to what I am sharing about my health. It's refreshing to actually feel like a person talking to a fellow human being. During his consultations, he takes the time to ask questions that allow us to get to the root of whatever issue is coming up instead of only addressing symptoms."

    Herbal Consultation Client

  • "My time with Alex reminded me of my deep connection with plants – a connection we all have chosen to nurture (or ignore) in different ways. Alex's passion for herbal medicine reignited and helped guide my own connection to herbs."

    Greenspell Student, 2021

Other things you might want to know before booking…

  • Virtual Sessions: All Introductory sessions are held virtually via through my client management system, Practice Better.

  • In Person Sessions are only available for those who live in Chicago and after we have completed the three introductory sessions and made a structure for longer-term work. Of course, you are welcome to continue with virtual sessions beyond the initial three session package.

  • I comply with HIPAA standards. Your files and any other information you provide will be kept in HIPAA-secure online spaces. Our virtual meeting takes place via a HIPAA-secure online virtual room.

 FAQs

  • Mentorship is a little bit different from my primary herbal consultation offering. Where herbal consultations focus more on the concrete physiological concerns you'd like to address, mentorship allows for a more exploratory and reflective approach to self-development and conscious growth, allowing us to work with the emotional and spiritual bodies while tending to the physical body.

    Mentorship typically consists of at least six months working together to support you in developing rituals, habits, and structures that will nurture a deeply embodied sense of self and a wider connection to the earthly realms you inhabit.

    On the other hand, during a holistic herbal consultation, we focus more on the physiological body, discussing your primary health concerns in depth, as well as other health issues that may be relevant in an attempt to find and address the root cause(s) of any health concern you bring to the consultation.

  • The plants and mushrooms are our ancestors. Over millions of years they have become masters of living in profound interdependence with their environment, alchemizing the elements to facilitate healing within their bodies, and the body of the surrounding ecosystem.

    In many ways, plants and mushrooms provide a bridge back to the interdependent nature of our deepest selves.

    By working with plants and mushrooms, we learn their healing powers, we restore our connection to the earthly realm we inhabit, and we become more ourselves.

    “We are human only in contact, and conviviality, with what is not human.” – David Abram

  • If you are here to work on more concrete physiological goals: GI health, acute illness, chronic illness, immune health, hormonal health, etc., it is probably best to start with a holistic herbal consultation.

    If you are interested in rekindling your connection with your body and the more-than-human-world you inhabit, mentorship might be the best choice.

    I recognize that physiological health deeply overlaps with embodiment and earth connection, but it is important to me that I meet everyone where they are at. Sometimes it is more important to address physiological concerns before opening up to more spiritual aspects of plant and earth connection.

    Many clients begin by addressing their health concerns and then shift to more of a mentorship structure. Many mentees may begin by wanting to restore a deep connection with their bodies–through this work, they discover there are some health issues they'd like to address, so we shift into a more clinical approach.

    No matter where you start, I will work with you to emphasize and address the work your body is asking of you. Please reach out if you have any questions about the differences between the services I offer.

  • Once you have booked a mentorship session, I have the time reserved for you in my schedule exclusively for you. Cancellations made up to 48 hours prior to your appointment will be rescheduled without penalty. If you cancel your appointment less than 48 hours prior to your appointment or do not show up to your appointment, you forfeit this consultation booking and no refunds or rescheduling for that missed appointment will be available. See all additional policies, including our refund policy, by following the link in the footer section below.