Youth rites of passage Leadership training
Ages 18 + | ONLINE
Two Required Weekends: May 23 & 24 and June 6 & 7, 2026
Program Details | Outcomes | Cost | Program Staff | Video | Other Programs
Do you long to be of deep service to young people, future generations, and wholeness in our communities and Earth? To be a more dynamic & informed guide and role model to youth and young adults?
To join the worldwide effort to reclaim authentic and powerful rites of passage for youth in our communities?
COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING
Prepare yourself to begin working with youth and young adults, or to deepen your work, with our core rites of passage training experience. Restoring Youth Rites of Passage through this Leadership Training Course is a four-day, online intensive course designed and presented by experienced Rite of Passage Journeys Guides and trainers. Together we’ll cover the fundamental topics, skills and capacities you need to be ready to step into service with youth and young adults, as volunteers, staff, guides and mentors. Through presentations, discussions, experiential activities and ceremonies, along with the practice of Council, this course is designed to not only provide skills and information, but to support participants on their path of personal growth, healing and professional development. When supporting youth through rites of passage, who we are as guides and initiated adults is as important as what we do within our work
Topics include:
Core principles & frameworks for modern day Rites of Passage
Coming of Age: Youth, Adolescents, Young Adulthood and the Journey of Identity and Belonging
Practice of Council, including its history and multitude of forms and applications in contemporary times
The Art of Mirroring and Storytelling
Regenerative Culture through inclusivity, conflict transformation and mutual care techniques to cultivate safety and manage risk
The role of a guide and the skill of mentorship
Leadership within Rites of Passage, Leadership Identity
Ceremony and Ritual: creating opportunities for meaningful & memorable experiences
Two-weekend Format
This course takes place over two weekends. These two weekends are not stand-alone, and participation in the first weekend is essential to being able to attend the second weekend (if you have a schedule conflict for a portion of a weekend, contact us to discuss whether it might still work to attend).
Weekend 1: The Core Principles of Rites of Passage and the Terrain of working with Adolescents This first weekend will focus on the context of modern day Rites of Passage through exploring the core frameworks that compose a whole, and supported Rite of Passage as well as a deep dive into specific considerations in working with adolescents including risk management, adolescent development, and the pressures and possibilities of these modern times.
Weekend 2: Leadership within Rites of Passage This second weekend focuses on the leadership that is needed as a guide and steward of restoring holistic Rites of Passages for Adolescents. We will explore a variety of skill sets that are crucial from how to create a culture of inclusivity, care and safety, to how to design a meaningful and memorable experience. We will also dive into an experiential inquiry of your own identity as a leader and guide.
WHO THIS TRAINING IS FOR?
This training is for individuals who already are or are interested in working with Youth, Adolescents and Young Adults in a transformational way. This training is specifically for folks who want to integrate more Rites of Passage into their work with younger generations and for individuals that want to expand their leadership capacities.
Within this training we often have current and future Rite of Passage Journey guides and apprentices as well as folks who are running or want to start their own Rite of Passage programs in their communities. We also have mentors and elders, teachers, counselors, and coaches. International folks sign up for this training and take the information into their homelands. We even have Young Adults who are in a position of peer-leadership join and benefit greatly.
This training is for folks over the age of 18, of all genders, identities and professions.
PROGRAM DETAILS
Ages 18 +
All Genders
Spring Session: May 23 & 24 and June 6 & 7
ONLINE WEBINAR—Schedule for the 2 Weekends:
Weekend 1
Saturday: 9:00am - 12:00p PT
1:30pm - 4:00pm PT
(optional) 5:30pm - 7:00pm PT
Sunday: 9:00am - 12:00pm PT
1:30pm - 4:00pm PT
Weekend 2
Saturday: 9:00am - 12:00pm PT
1:30pm - 4:00pm PT
(optional) 5:30pm - 7:00pm PT
Sunday: 9:00 am - 12:00am PT
1:30pm - 4:00pm PT
$300-$650, Sliding Scale
Financial Aid will be available for this course as long as funds remain in our budget.
You Will Leave With...
Familiarity with several well-established mentoring frameworks and programmatic approaches to offering rites of passage and similar experiences
An introduction to adolescent development from neurological, psychological, cultural and ecological perspectives
Training in theoretical and practical fundamentals in creating rite of passage experiences, including Council, ritual and ceremonial design, working with different populations, logistics and safety
Tools and practical skills for cultivating your own personal center, identity & clarity of purpose from which to powerfully support adolescents
Exposure to the network of organizations doing Rites of Passage work with youth here in our region, and around the world
Questions? Check out our FAQ page or send us a message!
Part of the apprenticeship path
Restoring Youth Rites of Passage: Leadership Training course is designed to provide you with enough core training to be ready to begin the learning-by-doing phase of your work as a guide or mentor for adolescents. For those of you that intend to apprentice here at Journeys, this course will provide you with an abundance of material to take into your experience of actually working with adolescents in an initiatory setting. For folks who will not be working directly with Journeys, but are looking to gather information and skills to integrate into your work, this training will offer you an abundance of material and contacts to help support you and your communities.
For most Journeys Apprentices, and for new guides at Journeys, this course is a required part of your training and preparation. If you would like to be considered for an Apprenticeship opportunity at Journeys, please check out the Restoring Youth Rites of Passage Apprenticeship page.
Program Cost
$300-$650, Sliding Scale
Program Details
The Youth Rite of Passage Leadership Training is an Online Webinar via the Zoom platform.
Tuition: $300-$650, sliding scale
Journeys is committed to making this program accessible to all who are called to it, and we hope that this sliding scale will be of support. We invite you to self-select at the most appropriate amount, given your circumstances. Consider the following as you decide:
Assuming we end up with a full or nearly full group of participants, we estimate that:
$300 per person will fall short of covering our direct expenses for this program
$400 will cover the direct expenses of this program
$500 will also cover the general and administrative overhead costs
$650 will support those needing to pay on the low end of the scale, and will support further investment in program development and relationship-building
Thank you for supporting this movement towards greater financial equity and transparency!
“[I’m] grateful for such a deep experience, and know that my life, my work and the youth I have the
opportunity to experience will be gaining directly from the wisdom gained in these two weeks.”
Program Staff
2026 Restoring Youth Rites of Passage Leadership Training Facilitators
Gretchen Grae
Gerlach
Guide, Co-founder of Crone Collective
