Grounded Learning Institute began the way the best things in this profession often do: in genuine connection. Debbie and Jeni spent years in different corners of the counseling world, in doctoral programs, clinical practice and supervision rooms. What kept drawing them together was a shared sense that the most transformative professional experiences they had witnessed and lived were relational ones: being truly seen, challenged and supported in a learning community.

That conviction sits at the core of everything GLI offers. We design spaces where everyone present is changed by being there. The questions participants bring are the heart of the work, and facilitators bring the same curiosity and openness they invite in others. Growth, in our experience, is always mutual. It moves in every direction at once, and the most powerful learning happens when a room holds enough trust to let it.

What guides our work

Learning that builds relationship. Our continuing education is designed to deepen connection on every level: with yourself, with colleagues, with clients and with the profession itself.

Learning rooted in place. Whenever we can, we take learning outdoors, into the natural spaces where we live and work. Nature isn’t a backdrop for us. It’s part of how we learn, reflect and restore.

Supervision training that fits your life. Our upcoming supervision training blends live online learning with optional in-person intensives. You can build your skills from wherever you are and deepen them in community.

Work at the forefront of the profession. Counseling is changing, and so is the world around it. Our programs keep pace with that shifting landscape, from evolving ethics to the growing role of nature, place and climate in the lives of our clients and ourselves.

Rigorous. Relational. Rooted.