About Peg McCormick
Contemplative Guide & Founder of ContemplativeGuidance.com
Peg McCormick is a contemplative guide and founder of ContemplativeGuidance.com. Along the way she has been a nurse, a business executive, a nonprofit patient advocate, a clinical psychotherapist and founder of the former McCormick Counseling — work that, together with her own life experience, taught her that all aspects of one's life shape emotional well-being; that there are physical roots of emotional distress and emotional causes of physical illness.
A Life of Many Callings
Peg began her career as an OB/GYN nurse-practitioner, then moved into the bio-pharmaceutical industry, where her ability to bridge patient experience and scientific complexity led to roles in patient advocacy at global pharmaceutical companies.
That same commitment carried her into the nonprofit sector, where she worked with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society helping patients who had exhausted other treatment options find their way to clinical trials.
A Turning Point
In 1998, a diagnosis of aggressive breast cancer — one year after the sudden loss of her youngest child — deepened questions she had already been asking about meaning and healing, and led her to graduate study in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology at Naropa University.
It was there that she was first introduced to mindfulness and awareness meditation although she had already been a meditator for more than 40 years across many contemplative traditions. Witnessing its impact in her own life and in the lives of her clients, she has focused on helping guide clients to the realization that the answers to their questions lie within themselves.
Core Beliefs
These beliefs shape every aspect of how I work with you.
- We are here to connect with others, and that connection is our highest achievement.
- Life transitions and challenges are opportunities for growth. Those without such challenges may actually be the less fortunate ones.
- We are ultimately responsible for our own lives and happiness — no matter what has happened. I will always pose the question: what now?
- Compassion for self and others is the essential wisdom that leads to happiness and peace of mind.
- The two biggest contributors to our successful work together are how comfortable you feel with me, and how motivated you are to change. If either is not present, it will be challenging for the process to succeed.
- My role as a Guide is to assist you in removing any blocks that may be preventing you from experiencing your highest personal potential — not to 'cure' you of a disorder.
- You have the wisdom and strength to bring about the changes you need in your life, and this work is a powerful tool in realizing that potential.
- I believe in the power of the present moment. Spending a great deal of time regretting the past or dreading the future may not be the best use of the moments we have to spend on this planet.
Session Rates
My practice has moved fully into contemplative guidance; I assist clients whose current situation requires the help of licensed mental health professionals to identify those resources.
- Standard session
- $175 for 50 minutes, with longer sessions prorated accordingly.
- Payment
- Payment is due at the time of each session.
- Insurance
- Sessions are not eligible for insurance reimbursement.
- Reduced fee
- A limited number of reduced-fee spaces are available for those for whom the full rate would be a barrier — I welcome you to reach out and ask.
Where We Meet
Online sessions are available worldwide.
In-person sessions are offered in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area.7201 Metro Boulevard, Suite 550, Edina, MN 55439
What is Transpersonal Counseling Psychology?
You may be wondering how a program in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology differs from a standard Counseling Psychology program.
Transpersonal counseling psychology is counseling that treats a person's spiritual life as part of their mental health. It works with the whole person — body, mind, emotions and spirit — and takes experiences that go beyond the everyday self seriously: meditation, moments of deep connection or awe, a sense of meaning or calling. "Transpersonal" literally means "beyond the personal."
Both programs train you to be a licensed counselor and cover the same clinical basics: assessment, diagnosis, ethics and therapy skills. A standard program stops at the personal level — your thoughts, feelings, behaviour and relationships, mostly through evidence-based talk therapies. A transpersonal program adds the spiritual layer. At Naropa that means students keep a meditation practice of their own, learn to work from their own presence with a client, and draw on contemplative traditions like Buddhism alongside Western psychology.
In short, a standard program asks "what's wrong, and how do we fix it?" A transpersonal one also asks "who are you beneath all this?"
Education
- BS in Nursing — University of Minnesota
- MBA — The Wharton School
- Master's in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology — Naropa University