About Dianne Edleman, PhD 

I am a spiritual director and author. I work primarily with women in midlife either at my kitchen table in Raleigh, North Carolina or online through video calls.

My first career was in advertising. I started out as a copywriter and worked my way up to Sr. V.P., Creative Director for one of the world’s largest international agencies. I then went solo as a strategic communications consultant to Fortune 500 corporations and smaller consulting firms for many years.

I have been on the spiritual path, however, my entire life. I was raised Catholic and set out on my own journey in my early twenties. Along the way, I've participated in mystery schools, Unity, New Thought Centers for Spiritual Living, numerous Buddhist meditation retreats, and even mental mediumship development circles. I also studied for years with a prominant Human Potential Development mentor and incorporated that learning into my Doctorate.

I’ve had spiritual directors of my own since my late twenties and became one in my late fifties. I completed training as a spiritual director and supervisor with Fr. Jim Galluzzo at the Urban Spirituality Center in Portland, Oregon in 2011. 

Between 2019 and 2022, I completed five units of Clinical Pastoral Education. I did my internship at Duke Raleigh Hospital and my two-year residency at UNC Rex Healthcare, also in Raleigh. During those years, at the height of the Covid 19 pandemic, I provided emotional and spiritual support to over 4,000 hospital patients, family members, and staff. 

I wrote a book about it: Clinical Pastoral Education: Nobody Said It Would Be Like This. It’s on Amazon. (If you have ever thought about going into CPE, read this book first!)

In looking back, I am so grateful for all the passages in my spiritual journey so far. They have enabled me to lovingly walk alongside people of all faiths, no faith, and everything in between as they confront major life challenges of every conceivable kind. 

Today, meeting with my directees is a privilege, a joy, and the most meaningful part of my life.