About
Venerable Nick Santacitto
Venerable Nick, previously a practicing psychotherapist, has been ordained as a Theravada Buddhist monk in Thailand since 2018. His YouTube and other content captures his unique perspective by interweaving the tools of the mental health world and the wisdom from the monastery into simple and practical guides to healing.
Venerable Nick has acquired a diverse range of professional experience from spending over a decade in the mental health field including but not limited to: being the lead clinician at a foster home for over 100 kids aged 12-18, being a program therapist at a drug treatment center in Malibu, California, being a bereavement counselor at a hospice, and being the founder and owner of his private practice True Nature Counseling Center in San Diego, California.
However, at the pinnacle of his professional success, Venerable Nick left it all behind to become a Buddhist monk in Thailand. He wanted to delve deeper into his own healing and become a more refined practitioner of the tools that he was teaching. It is his highest mission to share this knowledge with others in order to help them discover their true nature and live their most authentic lives.
After discovering the healing power of Buddhism and meditation, Venerable Michael decided to abandon material pursuits, paid back his loans, and left his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia to become a Theravada Buddhist monk in Thailand where he has been ordained since 2017. Since then, Venerable Michael has helped with teaching meditation and wisdom to thousands of travelers at the Pa Pae Meditation retreat in Chiang Mai as well as teaching and mentoring men who become a monk with the international ordination program.
He is also an avid writer and is the co-author and narrator of the books/audiobooks that he writes with Venerable Nick about practical wisdom to help readers overcome their suffering. He is also making many other resources, running events and retreats, and traveling the world with his brother monk Venerable Nick on a shared mission to bridge mental health with spiritual health. Venerable Michael is deeply dedicated to continuously aligning his life with his true nature and helping others do the same.