A new form of therapy is emerging.

A Course in Miracles presents a radically different vision of psychotherapy, one centered on healing the mind through forgiveness. Now, after years of preparation, we are bringing the Course’s form of therapy to life.

In Miracle-Minded Therapy Level One, you’ll learn how to:

  • Get to the underlying problem and what’s really causing pain
  • Help another hear and recognize the “dirge” of guilt shaping their experience
  • Guide another through the Course's forgiveness process

Course Overview

All classes will be held on Wednesdays from 11am - 12pm Eastern.
Recordings will be available for those who cannot attend live.

MODULE 1
Wednesday, April 22nd
A Unique Form of Therapy

We will begin by learning that miracle-minded therapy is truly distinct from other forms. Therefore, rather than trying to integrate it with what we have already learned elsewhere, we will need to set aside our past learning for the moment to truly understand this new approach.

MODULE 2
Wednesday, April 29th
The Therapist as Healed Healer

We tend to think that if we just say the right things and employ the right techniques, we can be effective therapists. But the Course says that we cannot give healing unless we have it ourselves. In this module, we will discuss the crucial importance of being on a lifelong journey in pursuit of one’s own healing.

MODULE 3
Wednesday, May 6th
The Holy Relationship Between Therapist & Patient

For therapy to be truly effective, we will need to form a genuine, loving relationship with the patient, which the Course calls a holy relationship. In this module, we will describe the process that you and the patient go through, in which you give up the goals you started with and learn how to join more and more fully.

MODULE 4
Wednesday, May 13th
The Basic Process of Miracle-Minded Therapy

In this module, we will learn the essential process that we guide the patient through. We help them see their pain as caused not by the outside world, but by their own false beliefs, and then we help them reconsider those beliefs, while teaching them the truth, so they can choose truth and let their illusions go.

MODULE 5
Wednesday, May 20th
The Problem: Perception of an Attacking World

The patient comes in feeling like a weak self that has been wounded by an attacking world. Yet miracle-minded therapy teaches that this very perception is the problem, for it naturally entails an angry stance toward the world. This anger deposits constant guilt in the unconscious, which leads to other forms of suffering.

MODULE 6
Wednesday, May 27th
The Solution: Forgiveness

In this module, we will cover the solution: forgiveness. If anger (or unforgiveness) is the problem, then leading the patient to forgiveness is the solution. This forgiveness, however, is different than the conventional definition. We will clarify what forgiveness is, how it is achieved, and what its results are.

MODULE 7
Wednesday, June 3rd
Hearing and Questioning the Dirge

Forgiveness is a process. In this module, we learn more about that process. In order for the patient to let go of their unforgiveness, they will need our help in getting in touch with it, and with realizing that it not only leads to guilt, but that unforgiveness and guilt are one and the same.

MODULE 8
Wednesday, June 10th
Jesus as Therapist (Discourse on Bill’s Parents)

Because this form of therapy is new and unfamiliar, it helps to see it in action. That’s what we will do in this module. We will examine a discourse originally given to Bill Thetford, in which Jesus takes him through a process of releasing the hold his parents still had on his self-image. This can give us valuable insight into the nuts and bolts of this therapeutic method.

MODULE 9
Wednesday, June 17th
Selection of Patients and the Question of Payment

Therapists have to deal with the question of which patients to accept and with the question of payment. In this module, we will cover the Course’s original answers to these two important questions.

MODULE 10
Wednesday, June 24th
Review & What's Next

In this final module, we will tie all that we have learned into a whole picture. And we will talk about how you can stay involved going forward.

BONUS SESSION - Sunday, May 17th (11am - 12pm Eastern)
ACIM & The Question of Boundaries

The importance of setting one’s boundaries is often associated with therapy. In this bonus class, we will cover a different approach to boundaries, based on an experience that the Course’s scribe, Helen Schucman, had with a man whom she was counseling.

NEW! Learning Pods for Deeper Connection and Support

One of the most powerful additions to this training is the introduction of learning pods where each week you will have the opportunity to discuss the concepts involved in a smaller group setting. Pod leaders include Debra Disney, MSEd, LCPC, and Derek Isetti, MSW, CCC-SLP.

Your pod will:

  • Meet weekly between classes to go deeper into the teachings
  • Provide accountability so you stay on track with the material
  • Give you a space to ask questions, process what you're learning, and grow with peers

    In pods, you’ll receive the guidance and group support you need to understand and apply the Course’s teachings on psychotherapy.

Miracle-Minded Therapy Pod Meeting Times & Leaders
Pod meetings are approximately 1.5 hours each week and will be held for the duration of the training. Listings below are in Eastern Standard Time.

There are four pod options to choose from.
You are welcome to attend the one that works best for your schedule.

Wednesdays (after class)
12:15 - 1:45pm Eastern

Fridays (note: this pod is only 1 hour)
12:00 - 1:00pm Eastern

Saturdays
10 - 11:30am Eastern

Saturdays
12 - 1:30pm Eastern

Learn the principles of therapy in A Course in Miracles

Dates: April 10 - June 24th


Format: 10-week live online course. Classes will be held Wednesdays from 11-12pm Eastern with a weekly pod meeting in between.


Open to: This training is open to everyone. You do not need to be a licensed therapist. Just please be aware that this course is about using miracle-minded therapy to help others heal their minds, in the understanding that this will heal your own mind as well.

Join us in building an ACIM-based therapy tradition

Here at the Circle we have long wanted to fulfill the Course’s original intentions and establish a tradition of miracle-minded therapy. We have been working behind the scenes for years to lay the foundations for this tradition, and now you can be part of it too.

If you feel called to the path of Course-based therapy—or if you want to informally help others in this way—this course will give you a clear, compassionate, ACIM-faithful framework.

The offering of spiritual healing is a profound and sacred gift. If you are interested in becoming a miracle-minded therapist, or you are just curious as to what it’s all about, we hope you will join us and help bring the therapeutic principles of A Course in Miracles into the world.

Register for $199

No one is turned away from Circle programming for an inability to pay.

For partial or full scholarship information, please email info@circleofa.org.

Robert Perry

Robert Perry

FOUNDER

Robert Perry brings to A Course in Miracles many years of private study and public teaching. He began teaching in 1986 and has since taught throughout North America and around the world. 

Robert is the founder of the Circle of Atonement and the author of numerous books and booklets based on the Course. Among these are the popular An Introduction to A Course in Miracles and Path of Light: Stepping into Peace with A Course in Miracles. He is also the lead editor of the Complete and Annotated Edition (CE) of A Course in Miracles, based on the original handwritten notes of Helen Schucman.

Photo of Emily Bennington

Emily Perry

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Emily Perry is executive director of the Circle of Atonement where she leads initiatives – including the Course Companions global online learning community – that bridge the Course’s unparalleled wisdom with practical application. 

Prior to joining the Circle, Emily led training programs on spiritual intelligence and mindful leadership for numerous Fortune 500 companies. She is the author of three books, including Miracles at Work: Turning Inner Guidance into Outer Influence, which features a foreword by Marianne Williamson.

Debra Disney

MSEd, LCPC

Debra Disney, LCPC, is a licensed psychotherapist and longtime student of A Course in Miracles who brings a thoughtful and integrative approach to psychotherapy. She understands the therapeutic process as the undoing of mistaken beliefs and perceptions that obscure awareness of inherent peace, clarity, and wholeness. Her work honors the human experience while remaining grounded in the understanding that psychological distress reflects confusion in perception, and that healing occurs through the removal of the blocks to awareness of the ever-present SELF, whose nature is clarity and love.

A former United Methodist pastor, Debra transitioned into the field of psychotherapy in 1998, serving in the areas of hospice, oncology, nursing education, and academic medicine. In 2025, she retired as the founding Director of the Center for Wellbeing in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria. Throughout her career, she has drawn from trauma-informed, evidence-based approaches, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Internal Family Systems, Mindful Self-Compassion, Mind-Body Bridging, Cognitively-Based Compassion Training, and Cultivating Emotional Balance, using them in service of insight and perceptual shift. Through her study of the Psychotherapy Supplement, Debra came to see that Miracle-Minded Psychotherapy is not about infusing Course ideas into existing frameworks. Rather, she discovered that Jesus offers a distinct therapeutic framework, one that invites full engagement with beginner’s mind and offers a coherent process for facilitating forgiveness, peace, clarity, and love.

Derek Isetti

MSW, CCC-SLP

Derek’s roots as a student of the Course run deep, starting from childhood when he remembers being drawn to a beautiful blue blook on his mother’s bookshelf.  A lover of music and singing, he began his career as a musical theater performer and after many National Tours was given the opportunity to understudy and perform the role of the Emcee in Cabaret on Broadway. In his 30’s he returned to school to become a speech-language pathologist and has been a university professor since 2014. 

Although teaching continues to be a longstanding passion, his love of the Course has deepened through his involvement with the Circle.  He has taken part in the Study Group Leader Training for both the Workbook and the Text, and he was one of the early members of the Prayer Ministry.  

Derek is looking forward to being part of this class since it was Robert’s teachings on the Psychotherapy Supplement which led him down the path of his third major career change. In 2025 he earned a master’s degree in clinical social work and is now pursuing licensure as a psychotherapist.  The Psychotherapy Supplement offers a unique pathway to healing that honors the divinity of the person seeking therapy, with a focus on forgiveness, peace, and a radical reconsideration of the cause/effect nature of suffering in today’s world. 


FAQ

Can I take this training if I'm not a therapist?

You don't have to be a mental health professional to register. Again, just be aware that this course is about using miracle-minded therapy to help others heal their minds, in the understanding that this will heal your own mind as well.

Are there any requirements before taking this class?
While not required, we strongly recommend reading the Psychotherapy Supplement of A Course in Miracles and / or taking our classes on this supplement within our Course Companions program.

Does this training include certification?
This training includes a certificate of completion and a graphic you can include on your website.

Is there a Level Two training?

We plan to offer a Level Two Therapy training course in 2027.


Do you plan to offer this as a live training?

We will not be offering this training live again for at least two years.

Are scholarships available?

Yes. Scholarships are available if you would like to take this training but are facing financial hardship. Please email info@circleofa.org and we'll be happy to help.

About Circle of Atonement

From our origin in 1993, the purpose of the Circle of Atonement has been to be a bridge into the profound and unparalleled wisdom of A Course in Miracles. We clarify the Course’s sometimes difficult language in order to make possible a deeper understanding of its teachings. We then help you put those teachings into practice, explaining how to apply them in your everyday life. Our work grows out of our commitment to be as faithful as possible to what A Course in Miracles says. It also grows out of our years of dedication to walking this path ourselves and our desire to see the Course’s purpose realized in the lives of students and in the world. For more information, please visit circleofa.org.